The Christmas Wife

The Christmas Wife

Year: 1988

Runtime: 73 mins

Language: English

Director: David Hugh Jones

RomanceTV MovieDrama

After his wife dies, an elderly widower dreads a lonely Christmas and answers a newspaper ad promising companionship. He meets a social‑arranger who pairs him with a woman willing to spend the holiday together, on the condition he never probes her private life. Her hidden secret soon threatens their budding friendship and could alter both of their futures.

Warning: spoilers below!

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Timeline – The Christmas Wife (1988)

Trace every key event in The Christmas Wife (1988) with our detailed, chronological timeline. Perfect for unpacking nonlinear stories, spotting hidden connections, and understanding how each scene builds toward the film’s climax. Whether you're revisiting or decoding for the first time, this timeline gives you the full picture.

1

Decision to spend Christmas with a companion

Recently widowed architect John Tanner chooses to stay at his lakeside cabin for Christmas instead of traveling to visit his son. He hopes to find a platonic companion who can share the holiday mood and familiar routines. This decision sets the stage for his encounter with a social arranger who will introduce Iris.

Pre-Christmas Lakeside cabin
2

Meeting Iris through a social arranger in town

In town, a social arranger named Francks introduces John to Iris, a woman around his age. They meet in the hotel lobby/plaza, and Iris says they should meet again later at the local bus depot before departing. She makes it clear she does not want to discuss personal details at this stage.

First meeting Hotel lobby/plaza in town
3

Trip to the countryside cabin; uneasy start

John and Iris travel to the countryside cabin where he spent Christmas with his wife. The initial mood is uneasy as Iris remains non-committal about herself. Iris reveals that she used to be a nurse, adding a hint of her guarded nature.

Arrival day Countryside cabin
4

Morning gift and growing warmth

The next morning John gives Iris a Christmas present—a music box—that she seems touched by. The small gesture begins to thaw the guarded dynamic between them. They start to share a more relaxed, if still tentative, connection.

Morning Cabin
5

Walk, music, and poetry

Before lunch they walk in the woods and later return to the cabin to eat. John reveals he used to play the tiple at Christmas and performs it, followed by Iris reciting a Dorothy Parker poem, which John applauds. Iris admits she is not being entirely honest, but she withholds the reasons, and they share a hug.

Afternoon Countryside cabin
6

Nighttime lull and ambiguous closeness

During the night, John is awakened by the sound of the music box and finds Iris listening. He takes her hand in silence and leads her back to their rooms, where they look at each other wistfully before separating. The moment underscores the unspoken tension between them.

Night Cabin
7

Morning confession and motive revealed

The next morning, Iris prepares to leave and John presses for answers. Iris reveals she is married and that the social arranger is her husband; she had agreed to meet John solely for the $500 agency fee due to poor business.

Morning Cabin
8

Parting ways

John and Iris part company, ending their planned Christmas companionship on uneasy terms. The revelation of Iris's situation makes the arrangement seem transactional rather than romantic.

Post-breakup morning Cabin
9

A cafe encounter with a new possibility

On a following day, John goes to his usual cafe with a book and notices Helen Frost, a woman he had seen before also reading a book. He asks the waitress to tell him about the book she is reading, hoping to strike up a connection.

Following day Town cafe
10

A playful exchange and a hopeful note

The waitress says 'She says she'll trade ya,' prompting John and the other woman to exchange smiles. The moment hints at a potential new connection and a softer note of optimism after the earlier disillusionment with Iris.

Same day Town cafe
11

Open-ended possibility

The sequence in the cafe ends with a sense of possibility for John, suggesting that Christmas may lead to new connections even after the complicated experience with Iris. The film closes on a note of hopeful potential rather than a definite resolution.

End Town

Last Updated: October 09, 2025 at 14:33

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The Christmas Wife Summary

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The Christmas Wife Summary

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Characters, Settings & Themes in The Christmas Wife

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