Jules’s sister and brother-in-law died last Christmas, leaving her to raise her nephew Milo and niece Maddie alone. It’s a daily struggle about to get worse when Jules loses her job shortly before the holidays. But then one day, a man improbably named Paisley Winterbottom shows up at the door, with an olive branch and some plane tickets. Turns out, the kids’ father was some member of royalty disowned by his father the Duke when he fell in love with a commoner with no wealth or title. Now on his death bed, the Duke of Castlebury is entertaining some regrets, and hopes that Jules and the children will visit him.

Penury is an even greater motivator than forgiveness, so Jules (Katie McGrath) makes the trek out with Milo and Maddie in tow. The Duke (Roger Moore) may or may not be on his last legs, and may or may  not have turned over a new leaf, but his son, Prince Ashtom (Sam Heughan) is dashing, handsome, and a little more progressive-minded than his father. If the Duke is not entirely welcoming, the Prince and indeed the staff make up for it. And soon Jules and the kids are decking the halls of what used to be a very cold castle.

Are cute grandkids enough to melt the Duke’s heart? And how will he feel if another son (his only living one left!) is about to fall in love with an unemployed single mother from Buffalo, New York? Well, if butler Winterbottom has anything to do with it (and why wouldn’t the staff be overly involved?), he’s going to push them together and even buy her a ball gown if that’s what it takes. Let the princess transformation begin!

The world has an appetite for royalty at the holidays, that much is clear. And it’s also pretty clear that Sam Heughan needed to pay the bills before Outlander came knocking. The result is A Princess For Christmas – you can take it or leave it.