Festive, Maryland a small mountain town the bursts with the holiday spirit from Thanksgiving to New Years Day. This is a place where one can find Christmas cheer literally on every corner or at one of the many holiday celebrations. The beliefs of hope, second chances, and forgiveness bubble over there, for there even the resident town grump can find redemption.
Val Young a single mother and owner/chief of the Memories Diner struggles to juggle her life. After fleeing from the haunting devastation that nearly ruined her life in New York, and traveling for a few years in Europe, she settled in Festive, Maryland. Her she felt that she could hide from the meanness of the world and raise her daughter Maggie.
James Hawk a reporter from Chicago begrudgingly arrives in Festive to cover the Christmas events, after his headline mistake lands him reassigned to the newspapers style page. Convinced that the towns Christmas cheer is just a tourist money grabbing gimmick, his mind is set to just get through this assignment and get back on the paper's front pages. After meeting Val Young, he is reminded of her past secrets. Over the course of events he becomes very attached to Val and Maggie. His dilemma begins as he is pressured by his boss to expose her or lose his job.
Hal and Rose are an elderly couple that own the Holly Inn where James is staying. They are both friends and grandparent figures for Val and Maggie. They are that one couple that every small town has behind the scenes making sure everything is needed gets done. They are often dispensing advice whether it is wanted or not, Rose also fancies herself to be the town match maker. She is convinced that Val needs a new man in her life and James is the one to fill that role.