Un-Tech the Halls

The Parker family's Friday night dinner is off to a rocky start. Eva Parker has cooked chicken and dumplings, but nobody comes when she calls: Matthew is busy "saving the world" in a video game, Olivia can't hear anything through her headphones, Camilla is texting friends, and even Dad is sneakily watching the game on his phone at the table. Worse, Grandma has been standing out on the freezing porch the whole time, not because she's locked out, but because she's posting to her "cheetering" account, where her friends enjoy her reports on the family's most embarrassing moments, from Matthew's haircut to the time David poured transmission fluid into the radiator. Fed up, Eva points out that it's the Christmas season and the family should be making memories instead of staring at screens. The family agrees to a tech-free outing the next day to cut down a Christmas tree, though Camilla is nervous; ever since a tree fell on her when she was three, Christmas trees have scared her.

In the morning, Eva collects every device in a laundry basket, even catching Grandma trying to smuggle her phone inside a water bottle. With no navigation and no music, the family sings carols on the drive, and at Eva's urging David steers off the main road toward a promising patch of trees. They find a snowy grove, but every tree seems too small, too prickly, or bald on one side. Then Camilla accidentally slides down a hidden, iced-over slope, and the mishap turns into the best part of the day: the whole family takes turns whooshing down the hill, with Grandma winning race after race. When Camilla careens out of control and lands against a tree, she looks up to discover she has crashed into the perfect Christmas tree.

They cut it down, only to learn Matthew forgot to pack the rope. Improvising, the family lashes the tree to the car with belts and their extra-long knitted socks. But on the way back, snow is falling hard, David can't find the turnoff, and the car slides off the icy road and gets stuck fast. With every phone at home in a laundry basket, there's no way to call a tow truck, and the family settles in for the night. Camilla starts composing a farewell note: "I'm just writing a letter to whoever finds our bodies." Dinner turns out to be hiding in the car itself; Matthew discovers granola bars and cheese sticks stuffed under the seats, where the kids have been hiding the parts of their lunches they don't like, an idea they got from Grandma, who once stashed Eva's fruitcake there. Grandma insists her senior group could never have eaten it anyway: "It'd be like chewing on a log cabin." Eva then has David fetch Grandma's Christmas present early from the trunk, a warm quilt printed with pictures of the grandchildren, and everyone snuggles under it together.

When the snow stops, the family climbs out to admire the stars glittering over the white hills. Matthew spots two slow-moving lights that turn out not to be shooting stars at all, but headlights. It's Mr. Whittaker, driving home late from a day of ice fishing, and he happily packs the whole sockless family into his car. They sing a goofy homemade version of "The Twelve Days of Christmas" about their misadventures, and Camilla cheers, "We survived technology-free all day!"

Back home over bowls of chili with Whit, the family reflects on the day. David admits the lesson was as much for him as for the kids; he's been letting distractions crowd out family, friends, and faith. Whit agrees that Christmas is a season of reflection and rededication. Olivia, after one quick update, decides her laptop belongs back in the laundry basket, since the stars reminded her how amazing God is and the sledding reminded her how fun her family is. Matthew realizes that after scrolling his friends' dull updates, he didn't miss a thing, because his family actually did something today. But old habits die hard: within moments, everyone is chattering about looking up ornament crafts, searching for top-rated board games, and snapping a new profile picture, leaving Olivia to sigh, "Well, Whit, it was fun while it lasted."