12 Dates of Christmas

Kate collapses in a department store after a perfume incident, and Jim and the manager tend to her. She then heads to Nick's Bar for a blind date Sally arranged, where she meets Miles Dufine and senses an awkward future. A chaotic Christmas Eve dinner with Mike and Sally ends with the sense that something bigger is at work as midnight approaches.

When midnight strikes, the world freezes and Kate reopens her eyes back in the department store, sensing a new sense of déjà vu. Time slips backward again as two children dressed as turtle doves race down the street, signaling another run at the day. She tries to salvage the romance with Jack, but learns he plans to propose to Nancy, and Miles returns with news about his past.

On the third pass, the scent of roasted hens signals another loop. Kate questions Jack about their relationship and learns more about Miles and his past. That evening she spends with Margine Frumkin, where she learns to bake and finds a new mentor for friendship and independence.

Day four reveals a turning point as Jack is seen in a jewelry store, signaling the end of Kate and Jack’s romance. She meets Leigh and spends the day with her, building a new connection, while her late-night encounter with Miles is complicated by Toby, whose presence hints he may be a source of the loop. The day ends with the sense that the pattern is shifting.

Kate thanks Jim for his steady presence as she passes a Five Golden Rings perfume display. She spends the day with Miles, deepening their bond, while a family dinner reveals that Sally and Mike do love each other. At Mass, Kate confesses a fear of being alone, and that fear begins to influence the choices she makes about the future.

Jim takes Kate to the botanical gardens, where six goose-hatted children catch her eye. The two grow closer, and Kate realizes that if reality will reboot anyway, she can let go of needing to control everything. She chooses to skip a planned bake with Margine, Leigh, and Miyoko, embracing a more spontaneous life.

The seventh day is marked by seven plastic swans and a renewed sense of possibility as Miles invites Kate to the hockey rink where he coaches the Lords. They skate with the kids, including Michael who had run away earlier, heightening the stakes. They then visit Prospect Park to view a light display Kate arranged, but midnight arrives and the moment dissolves.

Day eight finds Kate telling Jack she’s moved past their relationship, and he invites her for coffee at a café where a sign shows eight maids milking. He confesses he had intended to propose in the past, but her fixation on how life should unfold may have ruined the moment. At the Christmas dinner, Kate learns that Jack never bought an engagement ring, revealing the proposal was doomed from the start.

On day nine, Kate worries she may lose Miles and arrives at the bar early, where nine ladies dance. She shares drinks with Toby, whose patient optimism mirrors her own longing for the right moment to seize love.

Day ten centers on a possible proposal as Rich uses his elaborate light display for Leigh. Kate spots Michael, wearing his Lords hockey sweatshirt with the number 10, and when she chases him he leaps a barrier and vanishes, underscoring how fragile the day’s grip on reality has become.

A pivotal reunion unfolds as Kate finds Michael and reunites him with Miles. She then shares an anonymous date with Miles, taking a risk she once avoided, while a delivery truck advertises an 11-inch pizza in the background.

On the twelfth day, Kate walks past a display of 12 nutcrackers and helps Rich propose to Leigh. She introduces Margine to Jim and Toby to Miyoko, inviting six people to join her family dinner. Miles feels a sense of fate and familiarity that finally seems earned, they kiss, and Kate realizes reality will not reboot at midnight—she now has a life she can shape.