The story of This Christmas centers on the Whitfield family, who gather together for the first time in four years at their mother Shirley “Ma’Dere” Whitfield’s home during the holiday season. Ma’Dere has six grown children — Lisa, Kelli, Quentin Jr., Claude, Melanie (“Mel”) and Michael (“Baby”) — each of whom returns home with their own baggage and unresolved tensions. The family home, a dry-cleaning business run by Ma’Dere, is the setting for a Christmas reunion that promises warmth and tradition but quickly reveals cracks beneath the surface.
As the children arrive, issues begin to surface. Lisa, the eldest daughter, is being pressured by her husband Malcolm to convince the family to sell the dry-cleaning business so that Malcolm can get capital for a business deal. Kelli, the middle daughter and a driven business-woman, opposes the idea, angry that the family’s legacy might be surrendered. Meanwhile, Quentin Jr., the eldest son, resurfaces after years of absence and brings unresolved resentment — especially toward Ma’Dere’s boyfriend Joe, and toward the father who abandoned them.
Claude, the Marine, also comes home bearing his secret burdens and impulsive behavior, and “Baby,” the youngest, reveals he has ambitions beyond what his family expected. The dynamics of the Whitfield siblings shift as each one grapples with career ambitions, romantic relationships, hidden debts and the impact of their mother’s sacrifices. Ma’Dere watches as her children clash, change and struggle, trying to hold together the ritual of a big family Christmas dinner even when emotional bombs are about to go off.
Christmas itself becomes both a backdrop and a character— the lights, decorations, festive songs and generosity of the season contrast sharply with the friction, secrets and guilt that the Whitfields carry. For example, at the church service toward the end Baby surprises the family with his singing talent, bringing music and hope even after heated arguments and family revelations. The film uses the holiday gathering to probe deeper questions: what it means to be a family, how we forgive, how we carry on traditions when life has pushed us apart, and how we reconcile the person we became with the place we came from.
In the conclusion, old wounds are confronted — Ma’Dere and Joe, Quentin and his anger, Lisa and Malcolm’s marriage, Kelli and her choices — and the family edges toward reconciliation. While not all conflicts are cleanly resolved, the gathering helps each member see that family still matters, and that coming home, even with pain, is part of healing. Overall, This Christmas delivers a holiday-story that is both warm and real, mixing laughter and tears, reminding viewers that beneath festive lights there may lie the real work of connection, forgiveness and rediscovery.
