Christmas At Exit 24

KIM DOUGLAS is a waitress at Louie's Diner and Truck Stop. Truck driver CHRIS, with his white beard and jolly disposition, is a regular, but Kim’s ten-year-old daughter, MIA, is convinced he is Santa Claus. Super-smooth DEREK BRUCE, a traveling jewelry salesman with an eye for Kim, tries to win her affection by offering an expensive brooch that belonged to his grandmother. He persuades her to have it appraised, which she does—to the tune of $32,000! Kim refuses and returns the brooch. When Derek mails it back asking for a dinner date in return, she reluctantly agrees. Another customer, KEN CHAMBERS, kind, and down-to-earth, has eyes for Kim as well but can’t find the courage to ask her to lunch. Meanwhile, Chris, driving his rig, manages to “break down” right in front of Ken’s home, a small trailer by the forest, where he is actually renovating his late parents’ home deep in the woods. The next day, in his travels up and down the state, Chris discovers waitresses at different diners wearing identical brooches given to them by the slimy Derek.

As the annual Christmas Eve “All-Day Dinner” at the diner approaches, owner LOUIE and chef WU must deal with both the furnace and meat freezer which, having long threatened to die, have finally done so. Kim hears of Chris’ terrible discovery. Furious, she decides to pawn the brooch to fund a new boiler and freezer. When the pawn shop offers $10 for it, she returns to the jewelry appraiser who tells her that this brooch is costume jewelry. Derek mailed her back a fake. Louie is left with no choice but to cancel the annual Christmas Eve dinner. Believing that Chris is Santa, Mia pleads with him for help, but Chris must go to make deliveries for Christmas. When he is gone from sight, a loud thud rumbles on the diner roof. Crazy banging noises echo up from the cellar and then stop. Louie and Wu venture down the cellar steps to discover a new working boiler and a new freezer filled with their supplies! Could Mia have been right all along?

After a successful “All-Day Dinner” at the diner, and an outrageous payback prank for Derek, Ken invites Kim and Mia to his home which he finally finished on time for Christmas—although he wasn’t able to properly decorate it for the holidays. When they arrive, Ken is dumbfounded to find his home ablaze with beautiful lights and festive decorations. Inside they find a turkey dinner for three and a gorgeous Christmas tree with presents underneath, plus a letter from Santa for Ken—compliments of Chris.