Walter and Eleanor Maldanado decide to break tradition and plan to spend Christmas in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee instead of New York City. Their children Austin and Karie are not too keen on the idea, but it was not up for a vote. The family, like many, are recovering and coping with the government covid shutdowns imposed for the past year. Eleanor has been homeschooling their children, not one to warm up to the other options posed.
With reservations in the Volunteer state secured, it is just a matter of getting there on schedule. Walter, embracing the thrill of the road trip, remembering those from his childhood, decides that the families could use a little side trip excursion. He detours from the GPS insisting that he do what is necessary to return to the designated route. Family fun awaits even if family isn't too fond of what he has in mind. Again, the Maldanado family does not run a democracy where everyone has a say.
Off route and then some, a planned family holiday goes off the grid. Untraditional takes an unforeseen turn. This is the way it has always been, is no more. Can the family hold it together when nothing is going as planned? This is not a Griswold's Christmas vacation, but is one filled with surprises and lessons for those open to learning. Welcome to a Throwback Christmas.