This movie makes me laugh, and laughter can come in handy during the sometimes-stressful month of December. Here’s what this whacky comedy taught me when I took a deeper look:
1. No change occurs in isolation. When the Kranks decided that they would personally skip Christmas, they didn’t take into account that they were part of a much larger system that was rocked when they made this choice. It’s interesting to watch how much of the system was disrupted by one person (really) deciding to skip Christmas.
2. When you get a group of people working toward the same goal, the seemingly impossible becomes possible. I also love how the relationships were repaired when they focused on something (or someone) besides themselves. The power of selflessness and collaboration come through loud and clear.
3. This decision to skip Christmas was made from a purely analytical place. When comparing $6200 to $3000, it seemed like a no-brainer to spend half the money and still “celebrate” Christmas. As humans, we each have a bias toward task-focused or relationship-focused decision making. Thinking through our choices from only one or the other typically leads to poorer decisions. We all would benefit if we explored our options from both the logical and the emotional perspectives. I’m not sure the Kranks would have skipped Christmas if they had done that.
