Home for the Holidays (2005)

The McMurrin family - parents John and Susan, and their three children, preteen twins Amy and Sam, and young adolescent Michael - live on a rural Washington farm that has been in Susan's family for generations, the actual house built by Susan's father when she was a young girl. At the beginning of December, John and Susan die in an automobile crash.

The only real family the children have left is their single maternal aunt, Martha McCarthy, who also lives in town. Despite she barely being able to provide for herself, there is no question in Martha's mind that she will take care of the children, they all to live on the farm so that the children will continue to be together in the only home they've ever known. Paige Holloway, who is assigned the case worker for Social Services, this her first ever file, is sympathetic to Martha's goals, especially in not wanting any disruption to their family unit during the Christmas season. Paige wants to help Martha in any way she can. But the harder Martha and Paige work toward this end result, the more it looks as if the system is working against them toward the possible reality that the children will be split up in the foster care system, regardless of the fact that John and Susan listed Martha as the children's legal guardian in their will. First, Paige's supervisor, Carol Parker, a by-the-books but generally fair woman, believes Paige is letting her emotions take over and not following the guidelines which are in place for everyone's best interest. And second and perhaps more importantly, Jonathon Covington, a heartless man who is handling the estate on behalf of the bank, informs Martha that the McMurrins were deep in debt, with the life insurance and expropriation of the farm property not even covering that complete debt, meaning that the children not only lose their home but get no money in the process. Martha is hoping that her old beau Jack Cooper, a San Francisco lawyer who has just returned to town, will be able to assist legally in dealing especially with Covington. A little ingenuity plus some Christmas angels may be what is required for Martha and children to be able to stay together under one roof that is truly a home for Christmas.