may be best known for his legal thrillers, the most famous of which—, , and —were made into 1990s blockbuster movies. Yet, he's also been known to deviate from form every now and then and write something completely different. is one such book. It's a 2001 novella about a family who decides to opt out of the season's annual traditions and instead get away for the holiday. But that plan backfires on them spectacularly, and hijinks ensue. It was adapted into a 2004 film called Christmas with the Kranks, starring Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis, which gained the story an even wider audience. If you're familiar with the film but don’t know much about its literary inspiration, read on to learn about the similarities and differences between the book and movie.
Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Skipping Christmas and its film adaptation, Christmas with the Kranks.
What is about?
Skipping Christmas follows Luther and Nora Krank, a middle-aged married couple who are initially quite sad to say goodbye to their only daughter, Blair, who is flying out the weekend after Thanksgiving for a stint in the Peace Corps. She'll be stationed in Peru for the next year, which means she won't be coming back home in time for Christmas. Her parents are downtrodden about saying goodbye to Blair, so on the way home from dropping her off at the airport, Nora insists they stop at a fancy grocery store to pick up ingredients for a dessert she plans to make for a social event. Luther grudgingly goes into the store for her, gets soaked in the cold rain in the process, and is unable to locate the ingredients.
He's so upset by the ordeal that when he and Nora get home, he begins to crunch the numbers. He realizes that each year, he and Nora spend a total of $6,100 on Christmas celebrations, from gifts to party hosting to decorations. He decides that he'd rather spend that money on a tropical cruise getaway, especially since Blair won't be coming home for the festivities. He surprises Nora with a 10-day Caribbean cruise that leaves on Christmas Eve. At first, she's reluctant, arguing that they still need to make the charitable donations they always do; Luther only protests a little before compromising. Then, it’s all settled, and their vacation is on. The couple is excited for their cruise, and completely oblivious to all of the unforeseen complications that one decision will cause.
