One of the most exciting aspects of the Christmas season is all the movies and TV specials that people watch every year. While many enjoy the classics, such as Frosty the Snowman and It’s a Wonderful Life, some prefer cheese and simpler films that are filled to the brim with pure holiday spirit. 2017’s The Spruce’s and the Pine’s is one of these films.

Also known as a Star-Crossed Christmas, the story is a retelling of Shakespeare’s classic, Romeo and Juliet, in the modern day. The story follows Julie Pine, Jonna Walsh, the daughter of James Pine, Tom Kemp, a pine tree salesman, at war with rival spruce tree salesman, Dave Spruce, Ken Cheeseman. The Spruce and Pine families have a deep, personal hatred for each other, much like the two families in Romeo and Juliet.

The plot of the movie begins to unfold when, after she returns home for the holidays, she and her older brother head into town and enter the local bakery. The baker, an old friend of Julie, asks Julie if she can make a few deliveries of baked goods, one of the places being the Spruce family farm. Reluctantly, she agrees, and the two set off into forbidden territory for their family. 

While at the Spruce tree farm, Julie runs into a man struggling to attach a tree to the roof of a car. She assumes that this man is a customer, so she helps him secure the tree, unaware that the man is actually Rick Spruce, Nick Ballard, the nephew of Dave Spruce, and he was actually attaching the tree to the roof of a customer’s car. Both unaware of who each other are, they begin to grow attached to each other, and their relationship is tested as they learn of each other’s families, and the origin of their family rivalry.

The Spruce’s and the Pines is by no means a masterpiece, and among the other movies of its kind, it doesn’t particularly stand out. However, if you are looking for a film that captures the magic of the holiday season, this film might be worth a watch.