John and Madison Carmichael's success in their careers has come at a high price at home: they are on the brink of divorce. To soften the blow for their two children, they decide to spend one final Christmas together as a family. Responding to a travel brochure, they set off to -Celebrate Christmas Past- in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee with a group of historical re-enactors.

Tensions worsen when their car breaks down, but a horse-drawn carriage arrives and delivers them to the home of Judge Andrew Norton and family, where their Victorian Christmas begins. With none of the...