Jack Carter, a modest, middle-aged bakery owner, thinks he and his family are in a rut. Not only can he not provide them with the finer things, he realizes that he's not as close to his kids as he wants to be. His 17-year-old son Kyle is preoccupied with sports and will be leaving for college soon; his 14-year-old daughter Sienna is always lost in her phone. So for the upcoming Christmas holiday, Jack has the brilliant idea to reconnect with his family while also trying to spark his desired writing career by going on a Christmas vacation to a cabin resort in the mountains with no technological distractions whatsoever and make their trip the very best Christmas vacation ever. But the trip seems doomed from the start: their cabin is a dilapidated disaster, the kids are constantly complaining, and then Jack runs into his estranged, uber-competitive friend Robert, who used to vacation at the resort with Jack when they were kids. Robert is rich, successful, and better than Jack at everythin
Christmas is supposed to be a season of love, warm feelings, and happy hearts. But with the childrens constant bickering, pretty packages and a sweet-smelling tree dont come close to filling the McDonald home with the true spirit of the first Christmas. Then Mom remembers an old tradition of building a soft bed for Baby Jesus one straw at a time. Each time someone secretly does something nice for another family member, he or she gets to add a single straw to the manger. Soon the childrens quarreling and negative feelings subside and the homemade crib is overflowing. But for one family member, a required act of kindness becomes more than he can take. The Last Straw is a true story.
