** spoiler alert ** The quality of the writing was excellent. I thoroughly enjoyed the first half plus. I felt there was a statement to be made; that the author was providing witness to the rantings and the materialism of the holiday season. Which, if that were the case, would have been brilliant. I think many of us get crazy and forget the true meaning of the celebration of Christmas this time of year. We make the holiday much more complex that it has to be - because we are Americans. More is never enough in this country. So, I loved that the author noted the difference of Christmas here in the USA vs another country with significantly less means. That message should really have brought this book home to a marvelous end. The daughter, having just spent time witnessing great poverty, should have been happy that her parents had decided to take on such simplicity for the season. Instead, the parents play out the holiday as they would have if she had never left, frantically catching up within hours on decor, party plans, etc. Dumb. Do they think she is so shallow or do they know she is? What would have been wrong with simply telling the TRUTH? It was nice that they gave the trip to someone who could really cherish that time together alone, but I still think that whether they went on the trip or not, they should not have backed down on their agreement to each other.