查莉一家要去Amy Duncan的家去过圣诞节。本来只是个很平凡的事情,但是由于一些出乎意料事情的出现,导致了这个假期注定不平凡。Teddy想在春假时和她的朋友ivy一起到外面玩,但是Amy就是不肯。后面Bob妥协了,答应Teddy如果她能搞定机票,就可以让她出去。Gabe沉溺于死亡星系二之中,可是还没打通关就得出发,他想偷偷的把游戏机带过去。而对于Amy,圣诞树顶的星星的丢失对她打击很大。而Bob则很惧怕面对Amy的母亲。就这样,大家各怀心事地登上了飞机,精彩的故事就此展开。Teddy Duncan's middle-class family embarks on a plane flight from their Denver home to visit Mrs. Duncan's parents, the Blankenhoopers, in Palm Springs - all except daughter Teddy and mother Amy, for whom a cross country odyssey begins when a chance at free plane fare leads to a curtailed bus ride, a nightmarish experience in a Yugo, hitchhiking with a pair of alien abductees, and peddling through the desert on a tandem bike. All the while, the male Duncans survive a zany Christmas with Grandpa and Grandma Blankenhooper.