neighborhood. Vic Frohmeyer, the unelected "top man" of the neighborhood, leads the townspeople in taunting Luther and Nora about Christmas celebrations by extending a perimeter of people around their lawn, asking a group of Christmas carolers to sing carols on the Kranks' lawn, calling repeatedly to demand that they decorate their house for Christmas, and picketing with signs, et cetera. Luther stops the protest by freezing his sidewalk to prevent the carolers from singing there. The charities also are upset with the couple: the local Boy Scout troop is dismayed when the Kranks refuse to support them by purchasing a tree, the police are angered when they decline to buy a calendar, the firemen are shocked to learn the Kranks will not be buying a fruitcake this year, and the stationer is upset when he loses their annual order of engraved greeting cards. A newspaper even gets in the act by asking Luther's #1 rival, Walt Scheel, to film the Kranks' house for the story. Luther and Nora find themselves the objects of derision and anxiously await their departure on Christmas Day. Without warning, Blair calls from Miami on Christmas Eve to announce she's en route home with her new Peruvian fiancé to surprise her parents. She's anxious to introduce Enrique to her family's Christmas traditions, and when she asks if they're having their usual party that night, a panicking Nora says, "Yes", much to Luther's dismay. Comic chaos ensues as the couple finds themselves trying to decorate the house and coordinate a party with mere hours to spare before their daughter and future son-in-law arrive. Because the Boy Scouts have sold out of Christmas trees, Luther arranges to borrow the tree of a neighbor who is leaving for the holidays. He and Vic Frohmeyer's son Spike try to transport it across the street, but other neighbors notice and mistakenly think Luther is stealing it, so they call the police, resulting in Luther's barely escaping arrest. Luther attempts to set up Frosty the Snowman on his roof but fails, and ends up hanging by his legs from its electric cord. Scheel calls 9-1-1, and Luther is rescued. The Kranks are then rescued by everyone they've alienated, with the neighbors all pulling together and providing the noisy, festive Christmas celebration Blair is expecting. Blair calls saying she has arrived at the airport; injured Luther can't get her so Vic sends the