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A child’s changing interest in family traditions does not necessarily mean they want less connection.

Holiday rituals can evolve while preserving the sense of belonging that makes them meaningful.

Creating opportunities for joy works better than requiring everyone to feel it.

Somewhere, Leslie Knope is enthusiastically approving Pineway’s Christmas market budget. Hallmark’s Mr. & Mrs. Christmas gives us a town holiday project, an ambitious accountant named Sophie Shaw, and the reassuring possibility that municipal work might lead to romance. As a fan of both Christmas movies and Parks and Recreation, I appreciate a story that understands the potential of a well-organized community event.

Beneath the community planning, however, Mr. & Mrs. Christmas raises a question many parents will recognize: What happens when the traditions that make us feel closest to our children no longer seem to interest them?

Taylor Lewis is a divorced father and holiday display expert who moves to Pineway with his two children shortly before Christmas. While helping to revive the town’s Christmas market alongside Sophie Shaw, he also faces a more personal challenge:His teenage daughter appears to be outgrowing some of their cherished holiday traditions and efforts to create a magical Christmas do not go as planned.

The movie’s premise offers a useful way to think about a familiar family tension. A parent wants to preserve something precious. A child........

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