{{Short description|American television film}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}} {{Infobox television | image = | image_size = | image_alt = | caption = | genre = Christmas drama | teleplay = {{Plainlist| * Jeb Rosebrook * Christopher Grabenstein * Ronald Venable }} | story = {{Plainlist| * Christopher Grabenstein * Ronald Venable }} | director = Michael Pressman | starring = {{Plainlist| * John Denver * Jane Kaczmarek * Edward Winter * Pat Corley * Kurtwood Smith }} | music = Allyn Ferguson | country = United States | language = English | executive_producer = Norman Rosemont | producer = David A. Rosemont | editor = J. P. Farrell | cinematography = John Coquillon | runtime = 120 minutes | company = {{Plainlist| * Rosemont Productions International * Sunn Classic Pictures }} | budget = | network = CBS | released = {{Start date|1986|12|21}} }} '''''The Christmas Gift''''' is a 1986 American Christmas drama television film directed by Michael Pressman and starring John Denver. It was Denver's first acting role since ''Oh, God!'' (1977).
Denver said he took the role "because it was the perfect opportunity to ease back into acting; it is a light, warm tale of human relationships. I waited for something that I felt really good about and turned down a lot of scripts over the years. I've been very picky about acting projects and, in retrospect, I made a big mistake a few years ago when I turned down the Zack Mayo role (played by Richard Gere) in ''An Officer and a Gentleman''. It was mostly due to my naivete – I couldn't envision the final product from the initial script."<ref>"A Holiday Message from John Denver: He Gets Back Into Acting with 'The Christmas Gift', Airing Tonight". Knutzen, Eirik. ''Philadelphia Inquirer''; Philadelphia, Pa. 21 December 1986: 4.</ref>
== Plot == A widowed New York City architect and his young daughter take a Christmas vacation and end up in a small mystical town in Colorado where everyone believes in Santa Claus.
==Cast== *John Denver – George Billings *Jane Kaczmarek – Susan MacMillen *Gennie James – Alexandra "Alex" Billings *Edward Winter – Thomas A. Renfield *Pat Corley – Bud Sawyer *Mary Wickes – Henrietta "Aunt Henny" Sawyer *Kurtwood Smith – Jake Richards *James T. Callahan – Robert "Bob" Truesdale *Anne Haney – Clara Huckle *Harvey Vernon – Hank Huckle
==See also== * List of Christmas films
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb title|0090839}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20201124034223/https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b700be037 ''The Christmas Gift''] at the British Film Institute{{better source needed|reason=Help request: a live link can be searched for at https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/search/expert - if available, replace the archive URL with the live link. Or if none found, remove this 'better source needed' template. | date=October 2023}} {{Michael Pressman}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Christmas Gift}} Category:1986 television films Category:1986 films Category:1986 drama films Category:1986 in American television Category:1986 American films Category:1980s Christmas drama films Category:1986 English-language films Category:American Christmas drama films Category:American Christmas television films Category:American drama television films Category:CBS films Category:English-language Christmas drama films Category:Films directed by Michael Pressman Category:Films scored by Allyn Ferguson Category:Films set in Colorado
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