On the last day of summer on a hot Texas sandlot, troubled young teen - TRAMPAS ELLIOT (14), chases a fly ball over the wall of the abandoned Victorian mansion . There in the dusty basement of the old house, he discovers a portal to a mysterious frozen waste-land, inhabited by a monstrous snow creature.
He escapes the closet and returns the fly ball to his best friend JENNY BAKER (13) the tomboy neighbor who harbors a crush on the aspiring young comic book artist. Afraid of being called ‘crazy’; he dodges her questions about the basement and plots a return to confirm his impressions.
Armed with a winter jacket and a baseball bat Trampas sneaks back into the basement; where he encounters not a monster, but a friendly Giant, who leads Trampas through a maze of Christmas childhood memories. When Trampas doubts the magic of the memories, the Giant replies “Memories aren’t always made up of real things; but that doesn’t mean they are not real memories.”
When confronted by his overworked single father, Trampas confesses to visiting the old mansion, and is forbidden to enter the condemned building.
With each childhood holiday; His birthday, Halloween, and Thanksgiving - Trampas returns to the closet. These magical visits are the only chance Trampas gets to see his mother, who left Trampas and his father in order to pursue her career as an artist in Colorado.
Meanwhile the relationship with his father falls apart when Trampas discovers his Dad has not been mailing his letters to his mother. Trampas seeks comfort from Jenny and decides to let her in on the secret. He is shocked to find out that her father has secured the job of demolishing the old building. Afraid that the destruction of the closet will mean the loss of Christmas and his connection to his mother; Trampas struggles to preserve what is most important to him.
In an effort to convince Jenny he is not ‘crazy’ he persuades her to make one last visit to the Christmas Closet. Together they uncover a magical tree with unusual ornaments - but despite their best efforts, the house is destroyed and all evidence of the Christmas magic goes with it.
Broken hearted, and under the guidance of a therapist, who bears a striking resemblance to the Christmas Giant - Trampas and his father are forced to confront the reality of his mother’s absence and the loss of his childhood innocence.
Left to wonder if the magic was nothing but repressed memories – Trampas abandons hope for a Christmas Miracle. Alone in the vacant lot at midnight on Christmas Eve – he is joined by Jenny where the Christmas Closet works its final moment of magic on the young couple.
A coming of age Christmas Story
