I’ll Be Home for Christmas

Jake Wilkinson, a student in California, has not returned home to Larchmont for holidays since his mother's death and his father's remarriage ten months earlier. The backstory explains his motivation to chase the Porsche and reconcile with his family.

Jake's father offers to give him his vintage 1957 Porsche 356 if he arrives by 6:00 PM on Christmas Eve for dinner. Missing this deadline would jeopardize both the gift and the chance to repair their relationship.

Allie Henderson, Jake's girlfriend who opposed the Cabo trip, agrees to ride with him to Larchmont, where her family also lives for the holidays. Her decision adds urgency and a shifting dynamic to Jake's cross-country plan.

Jake helps a trio of jocks cheat on their midterm, but Eddie Taffet sabotages him. The jocks leave Jake stranded in the California desert with a Santa suit glued to his body, marking a humiliating setback.

With Jake unable to continue, Allie reluctantly agrees to ride to New York with Eddie, hoping to reach her family and continue her own holiday plans. Her choice shifts loyalties and deepens the evolving tension between her and Jake.

Jake and Nolan are pulled over by Officer Max in Red Cliff, Colorado for speeding; Jake convinces him they are delivering goods to a children's hospital. Max escorts them to the hospital, forcing them to surrender the stolen goods.

Seeing the children inspires Nolan to turn west to see his wife, while Max tries to reunite with his own wife Marjorie in North Platte, Nebraska, adding emotional stakes to their respective journeys.

Jake, with the help of a traveling band, gets Marjorie to take Max back, and Max buys Jake a bus ticket to New York, giving him a path back toward his goal.

Allie and Eddie grow closer and stay the night at Edelbruck, a Bavarian village hotel in Amana, Iowa, where they are shown on TV underneath a sprig of mistletoe. The scene underscores the growing closeness between them while highlighting holiday misdirection.

Jake sees Allie and Eddie kiss on TV while waiting at a bus station in Nebraska, prompting him to scheme to have the bus drop him at the Bavarian village. Allie later explains the misunderstanding and the two begin to reconcile.

Allie explains the misunderstanding to Jake and they make up, but Jake mentions his deal with his father. Allie storms out and takes Jake's seat on the bus, complicating the journey.

Jake hitches a ride with Eddie, but Eddie's jealousy leads to Jake being dumped near a Wisconsin town. Jake enters a Santa Claus 5K run, wins the prize money, and donates the money after learning the mayor's tradition of using it for charity.

Jake's sister Tracey uses her savings to buy him a ticket home, but cannot fly without photo ID and stows away in a dog kennel on a cargo aircraft to reach him. Her gambit adds a crucial climactic twist to the journey.

Tracey's plan culminates as Jake steals a one-horse open sleigh from the local parade and rides to Allie's house to make up with her. They arrive at Jake's house at 5:59 PM, and when his father offers the car, he refuses but looks forward to spending holidays with his father and stepmother.

The Wilkinsons and Allie jump into the sleigh just as the Christmas parade arrives and join the procession, signaling a renewed family Christmas away from the lure of the Porsche.