A ghost writer/partner of a travel web site and TV feature arrives in Midway before Christmas to write about it. He falls for The Mistletoe Diner's Aria, as does his tall, handsome partner.
Midway, Utah is in contention with two other cities to be featured on Sterling Masters' (Christopher Russell) Holiday Adventures. Heading up Midway's push to get the attention which would give a much-needed boost to the local resort and recreation business industry is Aria (Kellie Pickler) whose family owns The Mistletoe Diner. As it turns out Sterling Masters is only the face of the show while his best friend Alex is the writer and heart of the show. Alex comes to the Mistletoe Diner in advance to gather intel. He butts heads with Aria, who is none too subtle about her idolization of Masters and is rubbed the wrong way by Alex's sarcastic remarks questioning Masters' dubious talents. Loosely based on NY Times best-selling author Richard Paul Evans' novel of the same name.
The town of Midway, Utah -- which celebrates Christmas in a big way as can be seen by the fact that they have a Christmas Council -- has seen its Christmas tourist fortunes decline with a new nearby winter resort sucking up all the regional business. President of the council Aria Eubanks (Kellie Pickler), who has owned and operated the Mistletoe Diner ever since her widowed father Mack Eubanks retired, believes her latest act as President may be the boost the town needs for Christmas -- she submitted the town as an entry for famed travel writer and travel TV show host Sterling Masters' (Christopher Russell) annual Big Holiday Adventure's destination feature on his travel website. Midway made the final three against some big city competition, namely Tokyo and Austin. Aria, who has a celebrity crush on Sterling in having fallen in love with both him from what she sees on TV but especially his writing, is unaware of two things about Sterling and the competition. First, Sterling's travel books and the website are actually ghost-written by his best friend from college, Alex Bartlett, Sterling solely being the good-looking, charismatic front for the travel brand. And second, Midway has already been chosen solely for logistical reasons by Sterling, Alex not too happy about spending his Christmas in small town Midway against the exciting bright lights of either of the other two finalists as he is the one who has to experience about what he will be writing. Despite their initial animosity, Alex and Aria begin to hit it off as Aria, in her genuine manner, shows him all that she and Midway have to offer. Things take a turn when Sterling unexpectedly swoops into town, and begins to fall for Aria himself, his sheer presence which may ruin any chance Alex has with her as even if she was aware of the truth, it was his honesty which made her fall for Alex in the first place.—Huggo
Ghost writer Alex Bartlett reluctantly agrees in between two major cities to visit small town Midway, Utah where Christmas is an obsession, furthered by a Christmas Council, ahead of TV celebrity Sterling Masters, the 'author' and Alex's cocky buddy since college, for another of his popular Holiday Adventures. His foxy hostel host is council president Aria Eubanks, who adores Sterling as much as Christmas and barely has an eye for Alex, who seems lukewarm about both. Although Alex faithfully covers for Sterling and tries to fix his faux-pas, he grows fond of Midway Christmas festival fun and starts bonding with Aria, who after disappointing flirtation with hollow Sterling ends up appreciating the real thing over her fake hero.—KGF Vissers
