Cassie Beaumont is thirty-five and really wants to marry and have children. In fact she is almost desperate. She has meeting nice men at Church Singles groups but those were all women except for two elderly men, and at work but there is no one there who is interesting, blind dates have not worked out and she doesn’t want to go to bars to meet men. What’s a nice girl to do?
After getting the recommendation from her best friend Cassie decides to try a professional matchmaker. His price is $30,000 but he guarantees to match you up with your perfect or “most suitable” mate or you get your money back. Cassie feels she doesn’t’ have much to lose so she makes the appointment.
The man is a “know-it-all” and dictatorial and rude but surprisingly she is not completely turned off by him. When he demands that she perform three tests before he will introduce her to her perfect match she agrees.
First, she must do a 4 hour stint out in the front of a department store in the cold ringing a bell to help raise money for the poor for Christmas. Second, she must serve as an elf and Santa’s helper for 4 hours in the Mall. And, third, she must put on a special holiday turkey dinner inviting all her neighbors (whom she can’t stand).
Each of her three tasks seems to be a huge disaster but in each there is a bright and poignant spot that shows the spirit of Christmas and also shows that Cassie has the qualities it would take to be a great wife and mother. After completing the three tasks successfully her matchmaker is ready to arrange the meeting with her perfect match.
But Cassie calls the meeting off. She confronts the matchmaker with the realization that she has fallen in love with him. Of course that is not supposed to happen and he resists. But Cassie wears him down and he finally admits that he has fallen in love with her too.
In the end they decide to marry and we are left with a nice cozy scene by the fireplace in the apartment of Cassie’s best friend where they hug and kiss as Christmas arrives.
“The Perfect Christmas” is one of those warm and lovely stories that must be read during the season. It is the kind of tale that makes Christmas even better and deserves a 7 of 10 on the Weaver meter.
