The Christmas Blessing
GT Media
$14.98
Now on DVD
The Christmas Blessing is the sequel to the popular movie The Christmas Shoes (based on the best-seller by Nancy Van Liere and the Grammy-nominated song by NewSong) and is now available on DVD.
The story picks up with Nathan Andrews (Neil Patrick Harris) as a grown man and a surgeon. But he is questioning his decision to be a doctor at all and moves back to his hometown to figure out his future.
He is surprised that his father is making significant life changes as well. He’s planning to sell Nathan’s childhood home and his auto shop. Nathan is upset and just wants to hold onto everything that reminds him of his mom, but his dad wants to move on and move away from all that reminds him of her. Nathan is even upset by the disappearance of the Christmas shoes he gave his mom when he was a young boy.
| “This simple story is not likely to rise to “holiday classic” status like the movie It’s a Wonderful Life. But it does present several topics for discussion and some good lessons.” |
In the meantime, Nathan works at his dad’s auto shop and volunteers at the school, where he meets Charlie (Angus T. Jones). Charlie’s father does odd jobs around town to make ends meet. His mother abandoned them when he was little, but Charlie’s dad just can’t tell him the truth and makes up stories. His dad’s latest fib is about Charlie’s mother being a dancer. He even gives Charlie a pair of shoes he stole out of a charity bin to make Charlie think she really was a dancer. Charlie comes to treasure these shoes.
Nathan also becomes friends with Charlie’s teacher. Meghan (Rebecca Gayheart) was raised by a single mother and she wants to help other single parents. She is working toward buying a house to open a day care center for single parents. She wants to create a loving, safe environment where these parents can trust that their children are receiving the best care. She also plans to ask doctors to volunteer their time in order to provide health care for those in her care.
Nathan is very supportive and admires her for her kindness, but for some reason he isn’t able to tell her that he is a doctor. After a time of dating and through unusual circumstances, Megan finds out the truth. Naturally she is hurt, confused and can’t understand why Nathan can’t share his life with her. She challenges him to discover what is holding him back.
There are more twists and turns in this story, and some unexpected outcomes. But I will leave those for you to discover on your own. This simple story is not likely to rise to “holiday classic” status like the movie It’s a Wonderful Life. But it does present several topics for discussion and some good lessons such as working through your past and the importance of being honest (I was irritated with all the lying).
The overall message doesn’t truly come to the forefront until the end of the film: a seemingly insignificant act can significantly change a life.
The Christmas Blessing story can stand on its own, but viewers will likely enjoy watching the entire story in sequence with The Christmas Shoes.
This is a family-friendly film but it does include scenes of drinking and might not be of interest to young children.
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