Festival of Trees (2024) Movie Script

1
(Festive holiday music plays)
- And we're back in five, four...
- You are watching Atlanta's
number one morning show
with Colin Moore and Cindy Shepherd.
- Welcome back to Wake Up
with Atlanta. This morning,
we have been chatting about
exciting holiday events
happening all over the city.
- We sure have.
Now, we've been experiencing
colder weather here in the
metro area, so it's time
to turn up the temperature
on your holiday cheer
Because we are only two
weeks away from that event
that we've all been waiting for.
That's right, folks.
We are counting down to
the Festival of Trees!
- Even better, the money
raised from this year's tree
auction benefits our very own Children's
Healthcare of Atlanta.
- That's fantastic, isn't it, folks?
I mean, it just makes the festival
that much more magical.
- It does. Now, you know, some
of the city's top designers
have actually been discovered
through their beautiful
creations
like Kandrac and Cole.
And even with all the festive cheer,
there can be some pretty
fierce competition.
- Well, we have the
privilege of having one
of those designers here
in studio with us today,
and this designer is no stranger
to the Southeast design scene.
We have with us today, folks,
the talented, incredible Alice Stewart.
- Hello!
- Alice Stewart. Wow.
- I mean.
- Welcome to the show.
- We are such huge fans!
- And I'm very happy to be here.
- Well, it's no secret
that you have dominated this festival.
You've won the coveted grand prize an
incredible eight times.
- You really are amazing.
- Well, I find the
holidays very inspiring.
You know, the, the essence
of the holiday spirit
invokes such creativity.
(Jacquie scoffs)
- I speak for both of us.
We cannot wait to see what
you're gonna dazzle us
with this year.
- Oh, now, Colin, you know,
I can't divulge any details of the design.
- Darn it.
(laughter)
- Oh, no.
- We're gonna
get it outta you.
Well, I will say that
if you are one of the up
and coming designers hoping
to take part this year,
then this astounding lady
right here is the one to beat.
- What happened to 9:45?
- Sorry. Holiday traffic.
- Hey, you live two blocks away. Coffee.
- Oh, you have no idea how
much I love you right now.
Oh, it's cold.
- I know how it
feels.
- I said I was sorry.
- Okay. Apology accepted.
Apology accepted.
Checklist, portfolio?
- Check. - Design sketch. -
Double check. - Okay. That's it.
- How are we for time?
- Five minutes.
- All right. What are we
standing here in the cold for?
Hi, Jacqueline Miller, here
to see Mr. Lowery.
- Miller. Miller.
There you are.
If you'd like to have a seat,
Mr. Lowery will be with you in
a few minutes.
- Okay. Thank you.
- Okay. Remember, you're
young, you're hungry.
What you lack in experience, you make up
for tenfold in enthusiasm and raw talent.
With your eye for vintage design and Mr.
Lowery's corporate sponsorship,
you will be... unstoppable.
Also, I have been thinking
of moving to Dublin
to teach Irish dancing with Bono.
Jacquie! - Yeah, yeah.
Sorry. Sorry, just. - Sorry.
- Have you seen the style of this office?
I mean, if this is his taste?
- Oh my God.
It's like Wayne Newton and
Hugh Hefner threw up in here.
- Yeah. - You are not here
to decorate his office.
- Yes. - You are looking for
a Christmas tree sponsor.
This is just a PR thing for him.
Not that he couldn't use the
help otherwise.
- Ms. Miller, Mr. Lowery
will see you now. - Okay.
I'll just, right. Show myself.
Yeah. - Okay. Go get him. I'll
just be here singing Danke
Schoen until you're done.
Hmm.
This is a lovely space you
have here. It's very cozy.
I like it.
- Ms. Miller, what a pleasure to meet you.
- Mr. Lowery, hi.
- Please call me John.
My father was "Mr. Lowery".
- I, I'll one sec.
Okay. Just gonna,
there just
very, very big chairs.
- So the Festival of Trees. - Yes.
- Ah, such a wonderful event, isn't it?
- It is. I've been attending
every year since I was a kid.
- And your agency is looking
for corporate sponsorship, am I right?
- We are. We're a very small agency,
but we have great style and we work hard.
I have built this agency
from the ground up,
and as I'm sure you saw
when looking into us,
we have only five star reviews.
- So I've heard.
- Yeah.
I think that our unique
approach to design coupled
with the fact that we are up and coming
and hardworking, makes us a really great
fit for Lowery and Lowe.
- Oh, please continue, Ms. Miller.
- Okay. Well, I think the
best thing for me to do is
to let my work speak for itself,
and I will show you our design
concept for the festival.
So the theme of this year's Festival
of Trees is "A Very Vintage Christmas".
- Very elegant,
- Thank you, Mr. Lowery.
It is, I'm not gonna lie,
a very expensive statement.
I took my inspiration from the King
of Couture himself, Louis the XIV.
I think that the concept
of classical elegance,
it's really in keeping
with the whole image of Lowery and Lowe.
- Hmm.
I like
how you say classical
elegance rather than old,
(awkward laughter)
I must say I'm impressed with your work.
You have a bright future ahead
of you. Of that, I am sure.
- Thank you, Mr. Lowery. That is,
that's very kind of you to say.
- And if it were solely my decision,
I would grant you our
sponsorship right now.
However, I have others who
like to sign off on these
sorts of things, publicists and whatnot.
- Of course. Yeah, no,
that's understandable.
If there's anything else that I can do to,
to help you make a decision,
then just, uh, please let me know.
- Well, actually, if you
could leave this with me,
I think it would go a
long way toward helping
them make their decision.
- Of course.
No problem.
- Splendid. Thank you, Ms. Miller.
- Yes, thank you.
- Someone from our
office will be in touch.
- Okay. Thank you.
Okay.
- Okay. How did it go?
- I think it went well.
- Okay, you think it went well or,
you know, it went well?
- I mean, I'm not sure.
- Oh, well that
sounds like my dating life.
- Well, maybe because of your
sparkling personality. - Okay.
It takes a special man to
handle a confident woman.
My point is, you need to put
that positive energy out there.
So let's try again. How
did it go? - It went great.
- Are you sure? I don't want
you to get your hopes up.
- Heather you're impossible. You are
impossible. - Well.
- No, I do, I actually
do think it went well.
I mean, he liked my design
at least. - Okay. Alright.
Yeah, that's awesome. - What's on the
schedule for the rest of the day?
Okay, well, well obviously
there's the festival committee
meeting tonight at six.
Otherwise, you are reviewing tile
and countertop samples for
the Sweet Peach Cafe at 12:30.
- Okay. - At one, I'm eating a slice
of cheesecake from the cafe.
And that is, and that's
followed by... ooh!
A 3:30 color board presentation
for none other than Jim Price.
- Mr. Price. Fantastic.
That's today? - Yep.
(Jacquie groans)
(slow, plodding music plays)
(Heather makes a 'tick tock' noise)
- Ow!
- If it helps, Mr. Price, I think
that the blue palette has
a very nice, calming effect.
- I, I never really was a big fan of blue.
- Okay, well let's just
eliminate that one. Blue is done.
How about a more natural palette?
It's very popular right
now. Sort of farmhouse chic,
- No farmhouse stuff
that Waco couple gets on
my last nerve.
- How d--
- Daring.
is this next color
palette, bold pops of red,
very playful.
Like you?
- No red. It's too flashy.
- Okay. We could do bold pops of green.
- And not green either.
- Okay. So that's no red, green, blue,
or farmhouse, which still leaves
us with plenty of options.
- And no purple or orange or yellow
and black doesn't work for me either.
- Okay. So that is no red,
green, blue, yellow, orange,
purple or black.
How about white?
- Get's too dirty.
- Yes, of course. Of course it does.
So why don't you give us a
couple of days to come up
with some more options
based on your preferences.
Did you get all that
Heather? - I sure did.
- Okay, great. So we'll just
head back to the drawing board
- Next time.
I hope to see something
a little more creative.
- Of course. Thank you so much for coming
by today, Mr. Price.
- We need new clients.
- Bet Alice Stewart doesn't
have to deal with this stuff.
Still no word from Mr. Lowery?
- No, it's only been a few hours.
- I just need this win so bad.
(Festive music plays)
- Okay, so where do you
wanna sit? - Anywhere is fine.
- There's some seats right back here.
- Oh, no, not the back. - Uh, the middle?
There's two seats right there. - I know,
but what, what if I have to pee?
- Okay. Okay. How about up front?
- Does the front seem maybe
a little obvious? - Okay.
So when you said anywhere...
Listen, we're here now.
So we either take a seat or do the walk
of shame all the way back
to where we came from.
- We'll sit. - Alright. - This is perfect.
- Oh no.
(A sick beat plays)
(Roger clears throat)
- Oh, hold on a second.
What's the hold up?
- These two obviously can't read. Hi.
These seats are reserved.
- There's some seats in the back next
to the restrooms if you want those.
- So your name gets printed
on a sheet of paper
and that gives you authority?
- It's laminated. - And? - And
you're still sitting here.
- Alice, it's nice to see you again.
- It's Jacqueline. right? - Yeah.
It's been Jacqueline all 10
years we've known each other.
- Oh. Oh, well nice to see you. (sighs)
Are you still interning at the Academy?
- No. No. That was eight years ago.
- Eight years.
You don't say. Where does the time go?
- Well, we saw each other not
that long ago at the Touch
of Class Gala. Remember?
- Oh, I, I go to a lot of
galas. Slovan is calling!
- Why do you need to
reserve an entire row?
- Alice Stewart does not need
to explain herself to you.
- Oh, she doesn't? - No. - You know what?
We'll move. - There's three of them.
- Just move. - You should
listen to your friend.
- Just... okay, Boris and Natasha.
- God, she's amazing. I heard
she gets inspiration by spending
entire days in meditative isolation.
- Have you seen the new
lobby that she did for the St.
Everly Hotel?
- Let's go.
- They're saying that it's better than
anything else in the city.
- Oh, pick that up, Darling. I
just dropped.
- Did you tell him I said hello?
- No, no, no. There's no time
for that. We're talking deals.
(door slams)
- Ow! - Sorry.
- Perfect.
- Look at her up there.
- Hmm. - Like she is so
much better than everyone.
- Yeah, of course
she needs the front row.
It's the only thing that
fits her massive ego.
I should have said that to her.
- It's good.
- It is.
- Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.
(applause)
- Okay, Marina. Uh,
Darling, lemme call you back.
- I want to thank all of you
for participating in this
year's Festival of Trees.
I believe that this year
will be the best one yet.
(applause)
- Yay! - Oh, geez, no.
Before we go any further,
designers, you have
until midnight tomorrow to
submit your concept for approval.
Once the exhibition hall
opens, you will have six hours
to complete your visions
before the judging begins.
The trees will then remain on display
for the enjoyment of our community;
leading up to our Festival of Trees Gala,
where we will have our silent auction
to benefit Children's
Healthcare of Atlanta.
(applause)
as well as
our award ceremony.
This is your chance to show our community
what you are capable of.
Be creative, be flamboyant, be fabulous,
make a statement, tell a story.
But above all else, our goal is
to capture the true spirit
of the Christmas season. To help...
- God, this gets
longer every year.
- our community to, to inspire
others to, to give back
through this amazing event.
(applause)
I want to thank you all again
for participating in this
year's Festival of Trees
and good luck!
(applause)
(Playful holiday music)
- Oh yeah. This one matches.
- Can I get in there?
- Phoebe, right? Hi.
You shopping for the
festival? - Obviously.
What are you doing here?
- Same thing as you.
- Oh wait, you actually shop
for your own materials?
How adorable. Where's
your little helper girl?
- Well, my assistant, Heather,
is doing other things
that we needed to get done this morning.
- Oh, well I don't blame
you, from the looks of her
I wouldn't trust that girl
with my breakfast order.
- Okay, well good to see you.
I'm gonna get back to it.
- Oh, so you've heard back
from the committee then?
- No, but I'm expecting a
call from them any second.
- Oh really? - Why have you heard already?
- Oh, well, we got
confirmation immediately
after we did our submission.
You know, the Chairman actually
called Ms. Stewart directly.
But you know, they have a
very close relationship.
- Yes, of course.
- No, I'm sure you'll get like
an email or something soon.
So you've locked down a sponsor then?
- Yes, we did. We have a sponsor.
It's... we're still working
on a couple of details,
but it's basically a done deal.
So the answer is yes.
- Well, I will tell you
ours if you tell me yours.
- I don't feel like I
should be talking about
it just yet, so...
- Party pooper. I mean,
you haven't even heard
back from the committee.
I just, I don't understand
how you're staying so calm.
- Well, know what? I'm feeling
really good about it, so
thanks. Bye.
- Good for you. Chin up.
Well, you know what?
I gotta get back to it.
- Okay. - Lowery and Lowe are
expecting an update from
Alice.
- Sorry, what did you say?
You said something about...
- Oops, I guess the cat's outta the bag.
John Lowery is our festival sponsor.
He's very eager to have Alice
Stewart representing him,
as you can imagine.
Well, I must dash.
Good luck.
Hi.
Excuse me. You clearly
know what you're doing
and I am woefully outta my depths in here.
I was just wondering, could you maybe
help me find an ornament?
I need to find something special.
- Lemme stop you right there. Okay, I
am a professional designer.
I do this for a living,
okay? So my time is valuable.
You know what? Here. You can
have the whole basket
because I'm sure there's
something in there
that would look great on the tree of, of,
a... construction worker.
- Somebody's having a bad day. Okay, then.
Actually,
Excuse me.
Excuse me, miss? How
much is this little guy?
- Hey, boss lady.
They didn't have anything
at Seasonal Designs?
- Lowery's out. - Out?
What do you mean out?
- I mean, it's not happening.
- But he loved you.
- That's what I thought.
- Well, do we know
for sure? We can do another sketch or,
or change his mind somehow?
What did he say? - He didn't say anything.
- Well, then don't be so negative.
I'm sure he'll call soon.
He seemed really on board with
sponsoring a tree this year.
- Oh, he's sponsoring a tree.
- Well, who's
no.
How do you know?
- Because I ran into Phoebe.
- Well, are you sure she
wasn't just saying that
to get a rise out of you?
- Yes. She didn't even know
that I was interviewing with him.
She just, she let it slip
and... - Well, this blows.
Shoot! - Everything is a mess. Everything.
- Lots of folks do the
festival without a sponsor.
- They don't win.
- Okay. Well,
how about Morton and Miller?
They've sponsored before.
- Taken
- Apotheos Roastery? - Taken
- The Peaceful Plumber?
You gotta admit toilets and
tinsel has a ring to it.
- (Jacquie groans)
(muffled sounds)
- I'm sorry. I actually have
no idea what you just said.
Can we lose the pillow please?
- Have we heard from the committee?
- Not yet, but they said we may not hear
until end of day.
Come here.
Come here.
- What do we do now? - We get coffee.
The fumes in here are
making me dizzy
and not in a good way.
- Yeah. - We can go to The Lazy Labrador.
They have a new holiday flavor.
Coconut praline, something
like that. Come on.
I will even buy you a muffin.
- White chocolate raspberry?
- Okay,
This was maybe a mistake.
Okay. One raspberry muffin.
And look at these, two snow-caccinos.
Snow-caccinos?
- Okay, Mrs. Grinch,
just eat your muffin.
- Have you refreshed your emails?
Is there anything from the committee
- Twice since we sat down,
okay? Relax.
- The committee's calling.
- Should they be calling?
- I don't think they're supposed to call.
Someone's gotta answer it. Answer it.
I can't answer my own phone.
- Shhh.
- Hello? Jacqueline Miller Designs.
- This is Francis
Appleton, Committee Chair
for the Festival of Trees.
Is Ms. Miller available?
- Oh yes. One moment please.
- Are you?
- What? She wants you!
- What are you doing? I
don't know! She wants you!
- How did she sound? - Like
a Committee Chairman.
- Okay, give it to me.
This is Jacqueline Miller.
- Ms. Miller, I do wish I
were calling with better news,
but unfortunately your
design has been rejected by
the Committee.
- Rejected?
- What? - Why? Did I not
fill out the forms correctly?
I mean, we're still pursuing corporate
sponsorship. We haven't--
- No, no.
Corporate sponsorship is optional.
No, I'm afraid your
submission was rejected
due to plagiarism.
- Plagiarism. What? No,
you must be kidding.
- I wish I was.
- I don't understand. That's not possible.
- Your concept is nearly identical
to another designer's submission.
And since they made their
submission before you,
we have no choice
but to accept that their
design is the original.
- Okay. But I spent months
on this design concept.
I mean, you can't possibly think I stole
it from someone else.
- What?
- Well, perhaps plagiarism
is not the right term,
Ms. Miller. But however
you choose to look at it,
we simply cannot have two
nearly identical
designs in this festival.
Now, if you choose to submit
a new concept by midnight,
the Committee has ample time to review
and accept your submission
- By Midnight?
That's not enough time.
- I suppose I could extend
the deadline to noon tomorrow.
- Oh, noon tomorrow.
That's, that's still
not enough time. - Oh,
we hope you choose to
participate in our festival.
I'll keep an eye out
for your new submission.
- Thank you, ma'am.
- A whole new design
concept in 24 hours.
(Heather speaks with her mouth full)
- We can do it. - We don't
even have a sponsor.
Like, how are we gonna do
this without any new income?
- No, no. We can do this.
A Very Vintage Christmas.
What else signifies vintage?
You have clothes, you have cars, handbags.
You have old people.
Hmm. - Oh, I just wanted
to make a statement.
- You know what's more vintage
than anything? - What?
- Dinosaurs.
- No. - A dinosaur tree
would make a statement.
We could even have little
cutouts of Chris Pratt.
He's hot. - Okay. No more coffee for you.
- Okay. Gimme a minute. Let's just,
Look up the
definition of vintage.
- Oh, okay. - Vintage.
A seasons yield of wine from a vineyard
or alternatively the oldness of wines.
Oh, we are clearly working
off of the beverage here.
- Okay, let's zoom out. A
Festival
of Trees.
It's a festival event
with trees.
- It is. That's good. - Vintage. Vintage.
Vintage. A Very Vintage
Christmas. Vintage is old,
valuable, meaningful,
glamorous, antique, fashionable,
elegant, Louis the XIV Couture.
Why don't we always go there?
Oh, okay. I have nothing.
- Okay. Well, what about
the hospital charity?
Is there anything you
can do with that? - No.
There's nothing less elegant
and fashionable than a hospital.
No. Maybe if we dig deeper
into European royalty,
there's gotta be something there.
What?
(Heather gasps)
What? What are you doing?
- You need a reboot. - Where are we
going? - To get some inspiration!
- I think that's pretty good.
Awesome. Well, thank you guys.
Thanks. It's nice meeting
you. I'll see you next year,
Mike. Cool. Merry Christmas.
Hey guys, how are you?
- Is any of this sparking an
idea in that brain of yours?
- Looks good. I'll see you
guys soon. Thank you.
- It is definitely less elegant.
We just need one idea,
one atom to explode into life.
I have seen you work. You
can do this. Look.
- Okay.
- Well look
what we have here.
A professional designer
coming to our little lot.
To what do I owe the honor?
- We're just looking.
- Do you two know each other?
- No. - Not exactly.
But I did find a really nice
ornament this morning in
case you were worried about me.
- I'm Heather
- Brandon. It's nice to meet you.
And I don't believe we
were formally introduced.
- Hi, I'm Jacqueline Miller. Hi.
And I'm sorry this morning
I was, I'm sorry.
- It's no worries.
No worries. I may not be as
good as an artist as you,
but I do have a pretty good eye
for Christmas trees. What
can I help you girls with?
- We are looking for some inspiration.
- For a tree?
- For the Festival of Trees.
- Oh, that's actually a pretty
big deal. What's your theme?
- Well, up until earlier
today, it was the extravagance
and opulence of Louis the XIV.
Why are you smiling?
You think that's funny?
- Oh, you were serious. Sorry. I just,
I didn't really understand
a word you just said.
- Okay. Well, that's insulting. Goodbye.
- I, I'm kidding. Come
on, stay here. Hold on.
Look, I didn't mean to insult you.
It's just all that fancy,
pantsy stuff might go
down well in your world,
but I can promise you, to every
hardworking family buying
their trees on this lot,
it just doesn't mean anything to 'em.
Not really what Christmas is all about.
- Okay, well, why don't you tell me
what is your perfect Christmas tree?
- Well, the perfect Christmas
tree is not made,
it's born. Look at this
family right over here.
They're here making memories.
They're not looking for elegance.
It's not about some overdressed,
commercialized idea of the holiday.
It's, it's about that, right there.
Families coming together,
looking for a tree
to make part of their family,
help tell their story. I
remember when I was a kid,
we went all out. Finding a tree?
Now that was the big event of the season.
We'd have Santa hats and hot chocolate
and looking for that
perfect tree to bring home.
Man, we had so much fun.
My mom, she would, she'd bust out this
old box from the attic.
It was filled with these horrible,
ugly looking handmade ornaments.
But I don't know.
Somehow it just didn't matter
because when we put 'em
up on the tree, they,
they looked like a work of art.
I guess I'm just saying,
Christmas trees are not about
the decorations you put on.
They, well, they're about the
people that put 'em there.
- Okay. Well, that was
a really lovely story.
Thanks for sharing that. We
do actually have a design
deadline, so we're gonna get back.
But we, we so appreciate your
childlike wonder.
Okay, let's go.
- I'll see you guys.
- Mmmm.
Oh, yes.
- Okay. Vintage. Vintage.
What is vintage?
Vintage is, vintage is antique.
Antique. Vintage is classic. Classic.
Traditional. Traditional. Yeah. Okay.
Traditions, family traditions.
What are family traditions?
We've got families. Families
around the Christmas tree.
Yeah. Christmas tree lots.
Hot Christmas tree guy. No.
No. Okay. I have nothing.
I have nothing. Okay.
Okay. It's fine. It's fine.
I'll just, I'll just wait until next year
to be taken seriously as a designer.
Okay. No, there's something
here. There's something here.
You have ideas.
Okay. Let's go to the hospital.
What else are you doing?
(Tense music plays)
(Jacquie sighs)
(Jacquie groans)
Talk to me. I can be inspired.
I can be inspired.
Ow!
Sorry.
Talking to a tree. This is a new low.
- What are you doing on the floor?
- Well, I'm waiting for this
tree to tell me what to do.
- Okay. I think the adult
hospital's on the other side
of town so ya might
wanna (makes a car sound)
on over there.
- No, it's, it's not like that.
I am, I'm looking for inspiration.
- Are you an artist?
- Sort of.
- Could you draw me? Or how
about the pyramids? Or me
on top of a pyramid with the wind blowing
through my hat! Something heroic,
you know?
- I'm, I'm not that type of artist per se.
I, I don't draw people or places.
I design things. I like your hat.
- Oh, thanks. I made it myself.
So what kind of things do you design?
Like clothes and stuff?
You know, when I grow up,
I'd love to be an artist.
I'd paint and draw all the time.
And then that's what I'd give
everybody for Christmas.
A hand-painted picture of
all the things they love.
- Wow. That sounds really nice.
But, you know, what would
you put in your painting?
- Well, since you asked, I
love my dog. I love ballet.
My favorite thing is eating popcorn
and watching movies with my dad.
I write poems. I love feathers
and daisies and silly hats.
The sillier the better.
(Jacquie laughs)
And of course, Christmas trees.
- Wow. That is a lot of things.
Are you sure that you could
fit all that in one picture?
- Of course I could.
- Is everything okay? Wait, what's wrong?
- Nothing. I just keep forgetting.
I'm gonna be stuck here for Christmas.
- Rachel, there you are!
- Sorry, Nana. I just met
this really nice lady.
We're just a couple of
artists having a chat.
- Oh, is that so? - Hi, I'm Jacquie.
- Barbara, or Nana? Depending.
- I'm Rachel.
- Run on back to your room.
It's nearly bedtime.
- Okay. Bye Jacquie.
- Goodnight. Rachel. I'm so sorry.
I didn't realize that it
was getting so late. - Oh, no
need to apologize. It's nice
for her to meet new people.
- Yeah, she is a pistol.
I hope I'm not
overstepping here,
but Rachel mentioned that
she was gonna be here
for the holidays, and
I just... Is is she okay?
- Rachel has a rare heart condition,
but she's doing much better.
Thank God. - Oh, that's good to hear.
- Well, I'll let you
get back to your work.
I've got a pistol
of a granddaughter waiting
on some bedtime stories.
Goodnight.
(Inspirational music plays)
- Pick up.
Pick up. Oh,
Jacqueline Miller call
me back immediately.
The deadline was five minutes ago
and I haven't heard from you yet.
And if, if we missed this festival entry,
and I have to go back to working at
that cat portrait studio,
I'm going to kill you.
Where have you been?
- Hi. The hospital.
- Is everything okay?
- Oh, no, everything's fine.
I went there last night
for some inspiration. - And?
- And I submitted our new
concept design 10 minutes ago.
- Well, well, what is it, woman? - Okay.
it's called The Memory Tree.
So it's a tree filled with decorations
that encapsulates a child's
imagination and the meaning
and the magic of Christmas.
And we incorporate the, "A
Very Vintage Christmas" theme
by doing handmade ornaments
and vintage toys and,
and just memory making items.
- When did you do all this?
- I didn't sleep. Yeah. Here.
See, each ornament will be based on a
child and what they love most.
This one, this one is for Rachel.
It's an ornament that's
reflective of all the things
that she loves most in this world.
So as you can see, she's
got her dogs and ballet
and Christmas trees
and popcorn and movies.
And it's just everything that she loves.
And, and every ornament will be like that.
You see, they'll all be based
on what one child loves.
And so every child will know
that they had an ornament
specifically made for them.
And so there'll just be,
there'll be this whole tree
and every part of it will be meaningful.
Pretty excited about it.
- Bye George, Eliza...
you did it! This tree,
it's, it's amazing.
It's fun. It's magical.
It's incredible. It's clever. It's
- Gonna win us this competition.
I just need to know one thing.
Heather, are you all in?
- Well, that is literally
what you pay me for. - I know.
I just, I wanted to ask
that. It seemed fun.
Okay, so tomorrow we'll go to the hospital
and we'll finish
interviewing all the kids.
Find out what they like
so that we can put them
into each of these ornaments.
- Oh, well, okay.
Maybe I could do, you know, the shopping
or the errand running or anything else.
Kids aren't really my thing.
I don't think they like me.
Please. - Heather. It'll be fun. Trust me.
It'll be fun. Okay?
Here in the meantime, I, what
we need to do today though,
is we need to sort of start to flesh out
all these ideas that we have here.
So what do you like most about music?
- Well, what I like most about music is
how it makes me feel like I can be happy
and, you know, like dancing or sing along
- Pew Pew! Die enemy.
I challenge you to a duel,
- A sword, and a laser.
You are spanning way too
many centuries, buddy.
Oh, maybe I'll put down that
you like torture. That's fair.
That's, that's correct. - Take that!
- I think that takes care of
it. You did great, Jason.
Thank you so much for your time. Jacquie!
- My favorite things are animals.
- Oh, I love that. Do you have any pets?
- But I wanna be a vet and
rescue all the sad animals
because nobody should have to be sad.
- That is so sweet.
- So Scott, is it? What are a
few of your favorite things?
Oh, you only have one favorite thing.
Well, do you wanna tell me what it is? No.
Oh, well, if you do I promise
to make it into an ornament
especially for you.
No. Well, what if you whisper
it to me? How about that?
Okay. Which ones are
your parents?
Maybe they can tell me.
Good talk. Can I have a word?
Maybe you should do this without me.
I'm clearly out of my league
here. - What do you mean?
Oh, listen, I actually have
to go pick up a few things.
Can you finish the last few
interviews yourself?
- Hello? Hello? Have you seen me?
I'm drowning here.
Do not leave me.
- Heather, there's a couple more
interviews and then the fun begins.
- You said this would be fun.
- Listen, I just need to go
to the Christmas tree lot real
quick to pick up something.
What?
- Nothing.
Okay, well then why are
you giving me that look?
- The Christmas tree lot. Huh? - Yes.
I need a branch for one
of my ornaments. - Oh, okay,
well there are branches
on the trees outside.
- What are you saying?
- I'm saying you love him.
- What? - Oh, come on,
that Christmas tree guy
is hot and you know it.
- He's, I mean, I didn't notice.
- Okay, if you have eyes,
you notice. He was yummy.
- Well, he was...
He's...
- Mmm hmm.
Just, okay, can you please
just finish the interviews?
Thank you. Bye.
- No, Ja--
Hey, bud.
- Whoa.
- Excuse me. Hi.
- Hey, Ricardo. When you go to Mrs.
Smith's, can you make sure
and stick around to help
her set up the tree?
- Yeah, sure.
- Excuse Me.
- Oh, also bring some extra garland,
she likes putting that out on
the front porch. Thanks, man.
- You got it.
- Excuse me. Hi. I'm a customer
and I would like some assistance.
- Well, hello there, miss.
If you'd like to purchase a tree
why didn't you just say so?
Why don't I help you find the
perfect tree just for you?
Ah, aha, okay.
Now this is the height of sophistication.
I mean, it enjoys classical
music, 16th century poetry
and has a propensity for French cinema.
- Okay. Ha ha.
Look, I'm not even trying to get a tree.
What I really need is just some branches.
It could be any branches,
just some branches
that fell off somewhere or something.
- Well, unfortunately
I'm not in the business
of selling just branches.
But if you wanna get a full
tree that can be arranged.
- Okay, well then what I'd
like is to talk to your boss.
- You, you wanna see my boss?
- Yeah, I wanna talk to the owner. Please.
- Hey, listen, I'm,
I'm really sorry. Okay.
We, we can just start
over. We don't have to...
- Okay. Well, I don't think
you've left me any choice, so,
just...
- Okay, I'm gonna,
I'm gonna go get 'em.
It's just, just a minute.
How you doing ma'am? Brandon Holiday,
third generation owner of
Holiday Farms. How can I help?
- You're the owner.
- Own the trees, own the lot, own the farm
that the trees are grown on, so, yeah.
- Okay. Can I please
just have some branches
- Help me understand something here.
Is it not hip to buy a full tree anymore?
I mean, are the cool kids
only buying branches?
I really need to know
because I may need to
restructure my business.
- You know what, I don't
have time for this.
I'll take this one. This
scrawny little tree.
- That wasn't so hard now, was it?
Where are you parked?
I'll help you rope it up.
- Uh, no, that's not gonna
work. I drive a convertible.
Not great for hauling trees.
- Of course you do.
- Can someone deliver it?
I'm happy to pay extra.
- Yeah, sure.
Just leave your address with Ricardo
and I'll make sure and
get this little guy home.
Okay?
- Okay. Thank you.
- A pleasure doing business with you.
I'll see you later.
(Sentimental music plays)
- Okay, this is ready.
- Hi. One Holiday Farms tree
for the fancy designer lady.
- Sorry. You're the delivery guy too.
- Yeah. Tonight. Where'd you want 'em?
- Just you can leave it on the porch.
I don't want it inside.
- What do you mean you
don't want 'em inside?
- I don't want the mess.
- Okay, buddy, you
don't need to hear this.
I've been telling him he
was going to a new home
with his own room, beautiful view.
And now you're saying he
can't go inside? Look at him.
He doesn't belong in the outdoors.
- He's going to a better place.
- Wow. You're serious. Okay.
Sorry man. Staying outside
I guess.
- Let me get you a tip.
- Oh, no. - Thank you for
your troubles, you did
- Absolutely not. - No, I insist.
Please. I insist!
- It's, it's not a problem.
I just wanted to bring you the tree.
- Okay. - It's fine. - Um...
How about some hot apple cider?
Fresh, hot apple cider. I made some,
I was making some when you came.
And if you wanted, I don't know,
that they put up the lights in the park
and it's a nice walk if you're free.
- Yeah, I would. That sounds
actually really nice.
- Okay. I will get us some mugs. So
- Wait right here? - Yeah. You
- I'll, I'll be right here.
- Okay. Alright. - Okay, good.
- So, Brandon Holiday,
Christmas tree farmer.
It's a little on the nose, isn't it?
I knew that was coming. On
the nose or good marketing?
Ah. - So how's the, is it,
Louis Armstrong project coming along?
- Louis the XIV.
And actually I've decided
to deviate a little from my
initial concept after some
careful consideration.
- Wow. She does listen to other people
- When they know what
they're talking about.
Yes.
Yeah, I think my new idea is
actually really gonna
capture the spirit of Christmas.
- You sure you're up for that task?
'Cause I mean, no offense,
you just don't really seem
like the Christmas type.
- What? - Do you even like Christmas?
- Yes. I have very fond
memories of Christmas.
Thank you very much. I just don't stand
around in Christmas tree lots
and wax poetic about them, I think.
- Touche. Yeah, that was fair.
- I mean, I think I just, I
spend so much time decorating
for other people that I kind
of lost interest in doing it
for myself and, and
I lost my mom a few years back
and don't really have a
relationship with my dad
and I have no kids, so I just, yeah.
- Yeah.
Well, I'm sorry to
hear about your family.
It's gotta be hard. My dad
died a little while ago too.
So losing a parent's tough.
- I think sometimes it's
just easier to focus on work.
- I get that. But I don't know. I think
Christmas, you know, it also
brings people together.
You know, you have strangers,
friends, family. - Okay.
- Holidays can be tough,
but also brings a lot of joy, you know?
Wow. I sound like I'm talking
from a Christmas card.
- You do. - I do. - You definitely do.
- I'm just saying.
- You know, I don't
think I've ever met someone
who loves something as
much as you love Christmas.
- Yeah. Yeah. I probably talk
about it too much, don't I?
- I like it. It's sweet.
- Well, you're really easy to talk to.
- Thanks.
What is happening here?
- I'm not sure.
(phone buzzes)
Sorry. I'm sorry. I just one second. Yeah.
I have to take this.
- Oh, yeah, yeah. No,
- Thank you. - Take it.
- Hey honey. No, I know. I know.
I know I had to make
a delivery. I'm sorry.
But I'll be there in
like 15, okay? All right.
I love you too. Okay, bye.
- I'm sorry that was just
- No, it's fine. It is. It's
totally cool.
- Do you need help?
- No,
- I can get you into
- I'm fine. Thank you. It's fine.
Don't worry about it.
It seems like you are
a very busy person.
So Actually I would feel
better though if I gave you
a little cash for your trouble.
So let me just get some
- No, it's, it's on the house.
- Okay, well then goodnight.
- Merry Christmas.
(Jacquie groans) - I'll be
home in 15 minutes, honey.
After I'm done flirting with
a failure of a designer.
(Soft, inspiring music plays)
(Cheerful music plays)
- Anyone home? - Hi Jacquie!
- Hi. Good to see you
again, my dear, to what
do we owe the pleasure?
- Well, I was all out of
ideas the other night
and you really helped me out.
- I did? - Yeah. Yeah, you
showed me a side of Christmas
I haven't seen in a really long time.
- Well, I am quite the
muse, don't you know?
- I even made an ornament based on you
for my tree in the Festival of Trees.
- I love it. There's a
puppy and a ballerina.
There are feathers and daisies.
There's popcorn and a silly hat.
It's all the things I said I love!
- Well, I hope I didn't
miss anything.
- Look at this mini Christmas tree, Nana.
- You were the inspiration for my design.
So you saving me was a Christmas miracle.
- Oh, it sounds like destiny to me.
- I wouldn't say it was destiny.
I mean, I did help four other
struggling artists that night
too. Yeah, I'm a busy person.
- What?
- I kid, I kid.
- Brandon?
- Jacquie?
- Daddy.
- Daddy?
- Yeah. Daddy. Hey mom.
Hey baby. How you doing?
Good. It's good to see you.
- This is the artist lady
I was telling you about.
And look at what she made.
It's an ornament with
everything I love on it.
- Oh my goodness.
Let me see this.
Whoa. You're not kidding.
Those are all the things
you love. Wait a second.
Did you just say everything you love?
- Everything.
- Ah, what about me?
- You didn't make the cut.
Sorry. Maybe next year.
- Okay. Me and you, we're talking tonight.
Thank you for doing that.
- I had no idea Rachel was your daughter.
I didn't know you had
a daughter or a family.
- Yeah, I guess it never really came up.
- Well, I, I see where she
gets her Christmas spirit.
- Do you two know each other?
- Jacquie bought a tree
from the lot, baby.
- I did. And it's actually right there.
- Hello Holiday Farms. I've missed you.
- Hey guys.
- Hey, Doc.
- Rachel, you are having a
party and didn't invite me?
- I wouldn't call it a party.
More like a gathering. - Oh.
- They all heard my voice,
so they gathered and
then you heard my voice,
so you gathered. Gathering.
- Okay. Gathering.
So what have you got there?
- It's an ornament for a Christmas tree.
Jacquie made it and it's based on me.
- Oh Wow. That is something.
- I'm her inspiration for the
Festival of Trees competition.
I'm kind of a big deal.
- Mm. So you are the famous Jacquie.
that everyone has just been raving
about?
- Oh, I don't know about that.
- All the children you
interviewed have been going on
and on about you.
They're so excited to be
a part of the festival.
- I should be thanking them.
- This is one of the decorations?
- Yes. This one is based on Rachel
and all of her favorite things.
- Oh, may I? Yeah. Look
at this. Oh my goodness.
Such attention to detail.
- It's all handmade with
the help of my assistant.
- Wow. Well, we will be looking forward
to the finished product.
Brandon, do you mind if I
steal you away for a minute?
- Yeah, yeah, I'll be
right back sweetie, okay?
- Okay. Bye daddy. - Bye.
- Well, I should get going too.
I have lots of more work to do.
I just wanted to come by
and say thank you so much.
So thanks. Hey, I promise
you that I will take
so many photos
of the finished tree and
you're gonna love it.
- Okay. - Okay. - I can't wait.
- All right. - Don't be a stranger.
- I won't. Bye guys. - Bye.
- Hey, Jacquie. Hey.
Is everything okay with the doctor?
- Yeah. No, no, she's fine.
I just, I wanted to say thank you
for what you did for Rachel.
I mean, she was blown
away by that.
- Well she is...
she's amazing. I mean,
pretty much my whole
design is based on her.
- Are we good? You know,
'cause the other night I just,
- Yeah.
No. Yeah, we're, we're good.
We're... so Rachel's mom?
- Yet another reason
the holidays can be kind of rough.
- I'm so sorry.
- It's okay. It's been a long time.
I don't even know if she
remembers a time when it
wasn't just the two of us.
- So, okay. So the call
the other night? That was...
- Oh, that was, that was Rachel.
- Ah, because I thought
- No, no.
She was calling to scold me
for being late on tucking her in.
That's why I had to go.
- Well, that explains it.
- Yeah. Hey, do you wanna get
some dinner with me sometime?
Maybe this weekend? Maybe.
- Oh, well the festival's this weekend,
- Right. I don't know
how I forgot that.
Maybe another time then.
- Well, I could actually, I
could use a date for the Gala.
I mean, I don't have a
date, so if you are free
and it's a stuffy, like, dressy thing.
So if that's okay with you?
- I could use a little
stuffy dressy in my life.
So yes, I would love to go.
- Okay. That's good. Okay.
It's a date. - It's a date.
- All right. - Okay. - Well
- I'm gonna go check on Rachel.
- Yeah, no, you should do that.
And I'm gonna walk away and stop talking.
- Okay. I'll see you this weekend.
- Yeah. Alright.
- I think we may have bitten
off a little more than
we can chew here.
- Nonsense.
We're nearly there.
- What is that?
- That's a horse.
But I know what will reboot our systems.
- What's that?
- Some of Grandma's old
eggnog. - Yes.
Wait, which grandma is this?
Is this the church going one
or the one who lives in Vegas?
- Oh, church. - Oh, okay.
- Nice pour.
- That's a lot. - That's good.
- Cheers.
(Jacquie coughs)
That's, very strong.
I thought you said this was
your church going grandma?
- Yeah, she's the one that's
fond of the old hooch.
- It's like, too tasty.
(Sentimental holiday music plays)
- Even if...
Even if you don't win
this year... You will.
But if you don't. But you, you will.
I'm just, I'm really proud of you
for putting all of this together.
- Well, I couldn't have
done it without you.
- You know. Us two.
- You are seriously
the best. - No, us two.
We've got it. We've got it up
here. - What? - In our skulls.
And we have it down
here in our, our ribs.
I'm talking brains and
heart. Money can't buy that.
And that's why Alice, what's
her face is gonna taste the
sweet smell of losing. - Okay.
no more hooch for you.
- You know what I mean.
You are going to win this year.
- We are gonna win this year.
'cause we're a team. - Yeah, we are.
What are you doing?
Remind me to please
thank my dear old Gran
for this spectacular headache.
- All right, here we are.
Jacqueline Miller Designs.
- Finally.
- I didn't think it was
that fabulous, honestly.
I really didn't, I think that
maybe there were five of them.
Here, here, here.
- Roger, Coffee. - Sorry.
- But there are four of them?
Oh, Natasha is falling. She
is the same miserable person.
- I wonder where Alice's tree
is or what her theme is?
- It's way over on the other
side with the sponsored trees.
- Sponsored trees. Yeah.
- Sorry.
But listen, don't worry about her tree.
Don't worry about anyone
else's tree, okay?
Ours is perfect and it's gonna rock.
- Yeah, it's just, they had
those really fancy carts.
- Okay, everything about
that woman annoys me.
Well, you are so hungover. Come on.
(Cheerful holiday music)
- Wow.
Ow. What? - Is that what I think it is?
- I don't believe it.
- It's your Louis the XIV
couture design.
- It can't be. - It is.
Look who's working on it.
- Alice Stewart.
- There has to be
something that we can do.
We can call the chairman
and have her look at
the dates on the designs.
Maybe we can get Alice
kicked outta the competition.
This can't be allowed to happen, can it?
- It's my exact design. - I know.
How are you so calm right now?
- I don't know what to say.
- Say you'll cover my bail
when they take me to prison
for murdering Alice Stewart.
- I mean it's stunning, but...
- What?
- But it's cold.
There is not one ounce of
Christmas spirit in that tree.
Whereas this? Hey, this on the other hand.
No, this is a tree that
will make people smile.
This is a tree that will remind
people of their childhood.
This is a Christmas tree.
- Well, you just know her
tree will get more bids at
the silent auction, though.
- Okay. If it does, it does.
You know, actually right now,
looking at both these trees,
I am glad that our original
design was rejected.
- Okay, but how did she end
up with your exact design?
The only way that could have
happened is if she somehow got
her hands on your sketch.
- Maybe. But something tells me I was
always meant to do The Memory Tree.
And right now I could not be
prouder of the work that you
and I did to get us this far.
I mean, look at it. I
think it might be some
of our finest work ever.
- Oh, is she a beauty
or what? Such class and elegance.
- Course it is,
a fantastic designer designed it.
- Oh, thank you.
- It's very beautiful,
Alice. Good luck. Come on.
- Oh wait a minute,
I didn't get to see what you put together.
What's your theme?
- Well, it's called The Memory Tree.
(Roger chuckles)
- Sorry.
- Well, it is quaint.
- It's inspiring.
- Oh my darling.
All art is inspiring.
That's why we do what we do.
Okay, I'm gonna explain something to you.
These average people that come in here
for the festival, poor things.
They don't know anything about style.
They don't know what looks
good or what doesn't.
You know who they turn
to for guidance? Me. - Her.
- Now I... can you...
I could strip these branches bare
and next year it'd be
considered the latest trend.
That's all design is.
You decide what you like,
you tell other people it's what they want.
- Well, maybe that's what
it is for you, Alice,
and good for you.
- Thank you. - But one
thing I've learned
learned from the festival this
year is that a true
artist learns from others.
A true artist draws
inspiration from the world
around them and opens their heart
and mind so they can see
what's important to people
and help try to bring that
to life for them to enjoy.
- Now that's poetic.
- Best of luck to you, Alice
May the best tree win.
Come on.
I'm proud of our tree.
- Don't worry,
it will.
- Roger, you're doing it again.
- I'll be right there.
- Wow. I mean, good evening, Miss.
I'm here to escort the very
talented world famous designer
to her event. - Stop it.
- Seriously, you look very gala-esque.
- Is that your
tree lot salesman
way of saying I look nice?
- Okay. I'm better with
trees than people sometimes.
But you look way better than
nice. You, you look gorgeous
- And you look very handsome.
- These are for you by the way.
- Thank you.
- What happened to the scrawny
little guy? Wood chipper?
- Well, I took your advice
and I decided to celebrate
Christmas for myself again.
- It's beautiful.
- And you're right.
I do feel less alone.
- Well, we should get going.
Can't leave your fans waiting, you know?
- Yes. Let me just put
these in some water.
Will you grab my coat? - Of course.
- Okay. I'm Ready.
- You ready? - Yeah.
- Let's go.
- Thank You.
- Alright, let's go.
(Holiday party music plays)
- Excuse me?
We're Looking to interview
some good-looking people
for the news.
You wanna come with me?
- Sure. - Alright, come on.
Enjoy yourself
(Holiday party music continues)
- Oh, it looks so beautiful.
- Rachel would love this.
- Yeah. Oh my gosh. Look at these.
- That is huge!
- So big. All the colors on
- this one.
I love the snow tips.
- Oh yeah.
- That's my favorite.
- Very cool.
- Go on.
Enjoy it. You deserve it.
- Okay ladies
and gentlemen, allow me
to introduce the very talented
designer of this tree.
Jacqueline Miller.
- Beautiful.
- You should call me. - Oh my
gosh, yes. Thank you. You?
Yeah. Yeah. I will. Thank you.
- Wow. It's beautiful.
- Hey, thank you for being here with me.
- So what do we have here?
Hot Christmas tree guy,
you finally broke the ice
queen down, did ya?
- Something like that.
- Tell me something. What do you do
with all the leftover trees?
- Oh, we take 'em off to a
farm where they live out the
rest of their lives
frolicking in the wild.
- Yeah, you chip them up, don't you?
- Yeah, pretty much.
- You're a sicko. Are you kidding me?
- You are a piece of work.
You know that, right?
- I'm a fixer upper.
That's why Jacquie loves me.
- Is she serious? - She is.
- Wow. - I do love her.
- Okay. - It's true.
- She's, she's great.
- Congratulations Ms. Miller.
Your design is really
causing quite a stir.
- Well, thank you so much.
Oh, and this is Brandon
Holiday from Holiday Farms,
the tree lot.
- Oh, over on Prince Avenue, yes?
- Yes ma'am. That's the one.
- Yes. That's a charming little lot.
We must talk about getting
our trees from you next year.
- I would love that. And thank
you so much for what you do
with the Children's Healthcare.
Oh, it means so much to
the kids and the families.
- Well that's our pleasure.
Well, I have a lot of glad-handing to do.
Congratulations again
on your lovely tree. - Thank you.
- And I'm sure your auction
winner will be very pleased.
I am sure. Tah tah!
- What's wrong?
- Oh, how could I have been so stupid?
- What? - The tree.
- What about it?
- Whoever wins the auction, they, they get
to take the tree home.
They own it. Everything.
The the tree, the ornaments, all of it.
- So what's the problem?
I thought that was the whole
point of the festival.
- The problem is that I
promised those children
that I would give them each their very own
ornament at the end of the festival.
They're gonna be heartbroken.
- They're gonna be fine.
It's okay. I promise.
Kids are resilient. Trust me.
- I'm, no, I have to find
Heather.
- No, Jacquie. Jacquie!
- Mr. Holiday.
- Dr. Stanley
- Enjoying the festival?
- Yeah. Yeah. I'm good.
It's good to see you.
- Good to see you too. So this
is the final product, is it?
- Yeah.
She knocked it outta
the park. If you ask me.
- Better than that, I'd say it's perfect.
It may be the most beautiful,
meaningful tree I've seen in a long time.
- All right if we could
have everyone gather over
toward the stage, we're
gonna give away some prizes.
- It's that time.
- I know the trees are beautiful,
but we've got all night to look.
- Are you ready?
- Let's get those bids
in folks, huh? Last call.
- That's my cue.
- See you up there.
- Well, good evening everyone.
And we want to thank
you all for being here.
You know Cindy, I say this every year.
- Oh, I know what you're gonna say.
- But every festival out
does the previous one.
- I know, how do they do it?
I mean.
- Year after year.
- You know, from the committee
members to the volunteers,
from the designers, to the sponsors.
Everybody has worked so hard
to make this year the
best Festival of Trees ever.
- And it really is another
round of applause for that.
- It deserves it, doesn't it? I know.
Let's just keep it going.
- Okay. Well now listen,
before we get to the top
auction prize, Cindy,
it's time to have a little fun.
You ready for some fun?
Are you ready for some fun?
So we are gonna begin
with the judges awards.
And the first award is
for the Most Unique prize.
And that award goes to Bethany Atwell
for her Jurassic Jingle Design.
Well done Bethany.
- Yes, congratulations.
Alright, let's see.
Next up is Most Elegant.
I mean, I don't feel
like I even need to open it.
- Hey, have you seen Jacquie?
- No. She said she was gonna look for you.
Have you talked to her?
- Most Elegant is Versailles
on Holiday by Alice Stewart.
- Where did she go?
- She got more upset when she
remembered the tree was getting auctioned.
- Oh, poor thing. Okay. We
have to go find her,
I think. Yeah.
- Elegance and Alice Stewart,
it just goes hand in hand
- Like biscuits and gravy folks. - Yes.
Like Xanax and champagne.
(audience laughs)
(Somber music plays)
- Hey, what are you doing down here?
They're giving out the awards.
- All I wanted to do was create a tree
that people would go nuts for.
And then I did it. And
somehow I still feel sad.
Like, like it was all for nothing.
- Jacquie, you're putting too
much pressure on yourself.
Those kids, they love just getting
to be involved with something, okay?
You are the only designer
who even thought of them.
It means more than any
gift. You showed them
their stories matter.
- Well then why do I feel terrible?
- Okay,
listen to me, Jacquie. I
love you like a sister.
You know I do, right? - Right.
- And you know, I will
always be honest with you,
right? - Right.
- Okay.
You're being a drama queen.
You are here with a hot guy,
you made a bunch of kids, even
the weird ones, very happy.
And you have a tree that
would knock the stockings off
of Santa himself.
We will figure something out
about the ornaments, okay?
But for right now, I need you
to get over this little
pity party you're in
and get your butt back
inside. Because, so help me,
if I have to miss the look on
Alice Stewart's face when you
beat her this year, I
will never forgive you.
No. Christmas Day can be about the kids.
Today is about winning.
- Okay. You're right.
- Yep, yep.
- Okay, let's go.
- Let's do it.
- Alright.
- Future reference?
You never have to be that honest with me.
- Wonderful, isn't it? Thank
you all for being patient.
Counting down from 15th Place.
We are now at second place.
All right, and the winner
is... oh, Tourmaline Ice
by Bob Lucy.
- It's ready.
- What a beautiful tree.
Right? - Lovely. Lovely.
But this is the big one, folks.
The final award goes to the tree
that received the highest bids
in the silent auction. Cindy,
it's the tree that exemplifies the theme
and the true spirit of
the Festival of Trees.
And the winning tree is
- The Memory Tree by
designer Jacqueline Miller,
(applause)
- What?
- Who even is that?
- You did it. - It's
amazing. - What? What?
- Oh. Oh, that must be her there.
- Oh. Let's get Ms. Miller
up here to receive her
Beautiful award.
- Now we have one more
piece of wonderful news.
The Memory Tree just set a new record
for the highest bid
ever received
in the Festival of Trees.
- Wow. And here she is!
- Get it away! Get moving! Move!
- Wooo!
- Um...
Thank you.
Wow. I just,
I just wanna say that as a
designer, this is something
that I have been dreaming
of for a long time,
but I didn't do it alone.
I would like to dedicate
this award to Rachel Holiday
and to all the kids at
Children's Healthcare
and to everyone actually that,
that helped remind me that
as great as this festival is,
and it is so great, it's,
it's really wonderful,
but... But a Christmas tree,
it's not about its decorations,
it's about the people who put them there.
So my hope is that to the
winners of all the trees, that
as you are enjoying your tree in your home
or in your place of
business, that you remember
to be grateful for the people
gathered around the tree
with you because those memories made.
That's where the real
magic of Christmas happens.
Thank you again so much.
- Wow. - That's the
True Spirit folks.
That's the spirit.
- It's why we're all here, isn't it?
Well, we hope that you
all have enjoyed the
awards ceremony tonight.
Please take a look around,
check out The Memory Tree,
new hot gal on the block.
Thank you all so much! Goodnight.
- We'll see you next year!
- It's time for champagne number five.
- We did it! - Ms. Miller?
- Mr. Lowery.
- Congratulations. I
owe you an apology.
- Oh, you owe her more
than that. - Heather.
- No, she's right. I
owe you an explanation.
It seems Ms. Stewart
came by my office shortly
after you were there
and convinced me to
sponsor a designer who,
as she put it, had far more experience
and a reputation for class.
- If you ask me, stealing is never classy.
- Burn.
- She's right again. And I was wrong.
I allowed her to look at your design.
I never imagined being a person of class
that she would steal it for her very own.
I claim full responsibility.
And I do hope we can still be friends.
- Well, I mean, it is Christmas.
- Yes. And on that note,
my wife loved your tree,
and especially the thought
that went into its design,
and she has been gently coaxing me
to do a complete redesign of our offices.
- Oh, thank God. - Heather.
- I, I mean. - It is overdue,
so if you're willing
I would like
to offer you that opportunity.
- Thank you, Mr. Lowery. Why
don't I have Heather call you
next week and we'll set up
a meeting at our office?
- Perfect. I look forward
to what you come up with,
and congratulations again.
It was well deserved.
- You are not really
going to work with him.
- Heather, you're fired. - I'm
sorry. What? - You're fired.
We're about to get a contract
for all 24 floors of Lowery and Lowe.
I have a hundred other
business cards in my pocket.
We're about to be very busy for a while,
and I'm gonna need you
as my Head of Operations.
- There are literally
a million better ways
to give somebody a promotion.
- I know, but this was fun for me.
My first order of
business hire us both new
assistants. - Both of us?
- Yep. I can't have my Head
of Operations answering
her own phone now, can I?
- No. No, we most certainly cannot.
I deserve a drink. -
You do. - Do you? I can.
I'll keep this safe. Okay. All right.
- Okay.
I mean, do keep it safe.
- Hey, congratulations.
- Thank you. Do you wanna
grab a late night hot cocoa?
- Yes, I do want to,
but I should really get
back to the hospital.
- Yeah, of course. You want company?
- No, no, no, no. You
and Heather go celebrate. Can
I come see you in the morning?
- Yeah, absolutely.
- Do I need to make an appointment now?
Because I mean, you're pretty popular.
- Yeah, no, I think I might
be able to pencil you in.
I mean, I'll have to check my
- I wanted to do that
for a really long time.
(Romantic music swells)
- 20 new emails in the last half hour.
I need an assistant just to
help me hire an assistant.
- It is a good problem to have.
- Hi. Morning.
- Hey.
- Hey. Couple snow-caccinos
for the local celebrities.
- Oh, you're swell. - Thank
you. - How's it going?
- Oh, it's great. I, I mean,
the phone has been ringing
all morning with new clients.
- That's amazing. - Yeah.
I do still feel bad about the
kids and their ornaments though.
- Well, about that. I was
- Well, actually, I was thinking
maybe it would be nice to give those
to the kids.
- The drawings?
Yeah. That's a great
idea. What do you think?
- I think we should go down there
right now and pass 'em out.
- Heather, this is a great idea.
Okay, so we'll hand out
sketches to the kids.
I actually think that they're gonna
(Tender music plays)
(kids chatter excitedly)
Wait.
What in the world? Did
you know about this?
- Being a Christmas tree
farmer has its advantages.
Direct line to Santa and all, you know?
- But how?
- Let's just call it a Christmas miracle.
Hey, princess! - Daddy!
Hey. Oh, I missed you.
- I missed you so much.
- Wow. Look at that tree.
- It's even more beautiful
than I ever imagined.
We love it. We love it so much!
- Well, it's really all
because of you, Rachel.
- You had the Christmas
spirit in you the entire
time. I just set it free.
- Seriously. How old is she?
- I'm still trying to figure that out.
- Look at where my ornament is, Daddy.
- Oh, my goodness.
That is the best ornament
ever. Here you go, sweetie.
- We should put it back.
- Why?
- It's yours to keep, Rachel.
- I know, but the ornaments
are what makes The Memory Tree
so unique. Besides, I'd like
to see it hanging there over Christmas.
- Well, when we're
decorating the tree at home,
aren't you gonna miss the ornament?
- What do you mean at home?
- Dr. Stanley called me this morning
- And - And she gave us the
all clear, honey, you want
to come home for Christmas?
- Are you for real?
- 100%.
Boom.
- That's so awesome. Oh my
gosh. There's so much to do.
We gotta decorate our
tree and make cookies.
Oh, and watch Christmas movies.
And eat popcorn until we explode!
- We're gonna do all that
minus the exploding part.
Gimme a hug. Oh, I love you so much.
- Do you like Christmas
movies, Jacquie?
- I love them.
Christmas movie, our house,
tonight. I have a few ideas on how
to turn The Memory Tree into a franchise
(Upbeat holiday music plays)
- Ah!
Merry Christmas, kid.
Okay.
Daddy... it's snowing!
Oh my gosh!
(kids all shouting with joy)
(Upbeat holiday music swells)