Julian and his brother Chris have difficulty accepting their mother’s new boyfriend, Jean-Paul. When she invites Jean-Paul for Christmas, they know it’s serious. The boys split Christmas between their mom and their dad, whose drinking has caused problems in the past. After a tense Christmas dinner with mom and Jean-Paul, their dad picks them up. All is well initially, but Julian anticipates the worst. When drunken dad tries to replace a bulb on the Christmas lights, he falls on Chris and damages Chris’s knee. Julian, angry at his dad’s behaviour, phones his mother and joins her and Jean-Paul in Quebec. Julian has a surprisingly good time especially after he meets Bernadette, an attractive member of Jean-Paul’s family. The trip is cut short with the news of Julian’s grandfather’s death. The death turns things around and Julian opens up to the changes in his life. Julian no longer resists his mother’s new relationship, and Jean-Paul and his mother get married.

Lou writes a letter to his friend Araba who lives in Africa. Araba wants to know about snow. Lou spends the whole letter describing snow to his friend. He explains how snow can be light and feathery or sharp and splintery. Snow can be like a thrilling toboggan ride, or like walking on the moon. Snow is used to build snowmen and forts. Sometimes it looks like icing or chandeliers. Lou describes how they make angels in the snow. Lou asks Araba to make angels in the sand on Christmas to celebrate the idea that no two snowflakes are alike. Just like people.