Skipping Christmas

Tim Allen is starring in another Christmas movie, but this time there’s no Santa Clause. Christmas with the Kranks offers an intriguing look at whether it’s possible, or even advisable, to skip Christmas. After all, what would we miss?

Skipping the holidays.

It’s kinda tempting, don’t you think? Disappear this Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving, and reappear on Sunday, January 2, 2005. Avoid the holiday hoopla in its entirety. No crowded malls, no out-of-control office parties, no stale Christmas letter, no anxiety about finding the perfect gifts, no stretched-to-the-limit credit cards.

Best of all, no fruitcakes.

By leaping over this stressful season, you actually have a shot at experiencing peace on earth, good will to all and maybe even a Silent Night.

But alas ... no technology for this kind of seasonal time travel currently exists. About the best we can do is buy a ticket to the multiplex and escape into the movie Christmas with the Kranks, originally called Skipping Christmas and based on a book by John Grisham. It opens this week, starring Tim Allen, Jamie Lee Curtis and Dan Aykroyd.

Tim Allen plays Luther Krank, a man who is incensed that his family spent over $6,000 on the previous Christmas, and now they...