Georgetown, Colorado, is a wonderful example of a quaint Main Street town. People know and care about one another. And in snowy December, it's an even more beautiful place. Residents of all ages are busy writing letters to Santa and are getting ready for all of the holiday festivities. It's the kind of community you would like to live in or come from.

This warm atmosphere greets George Billings (John Denver) and his 7-year-old daughter, Alex (Gennie James), who are visiting from New York. The two are alone this year, now that Alex's mother has passed away. Father and daughter need to find a new holiday tradition without feeling the loss. But this trip isn't really about having a restful vacation. George is an architect for the Renfield Development Co. He's on a fact-finding mission for Thomas A. Renfield (Edward Winter) to scout out land opportunities. He'll be looking for a tract big enough to support condominiums, a golf course and more. The potential project has to be submitted to the funding company, Tompkins International, by Dec. 31. The pressure is on George to deliver the perfect place. Presumably, Georgetown.

But of course, the townsfolk don't know about George's ulterior motive. At least, not at first.

Some interesting characters live in this town. Bud Sawyer (Pat Corley) drives an old Hudson as a taxi called the Busy Bee Cab. His sister Henrietta "Aunt Henny" Sawyer (Mary Wickes) runs the hotel. Susan McMillan (Jane Kaczmarek) minds the small post office. They greet George and Alex with smiles and with open arms. Well, except that George and Susan have an argument when they first meet, so they start behind, right off the bat. How will everyone feel when they find out why the Billings are really in town? You can probably guess.

In the meantime: local rancher Jake Richards (Kurtwood Smith) is facing foreclosure on his property. It's the Richards land that Renfield's company is targeting. Jake's son Scruff (William Eric Bookland) likes to ride into town on his horse. Alex meets Scruff and begins to befriend him. When she finds out what her father has been sent to Georgetown to do, she immediately supports the Richards family instead. George begins to lean this way, too. The bottom line is: When push comes to shove, which side will George choose? Will he go with this Colorado town or stay with his New York employer?

You can't cast Denver in a television movie without having him sing at least one of his songs. Here it's "Love Again." Coincidentally in real life, he wrote it when he was leaving his first marriage and heading into the second one. Here, portraying a widower, he's anticipating a possible next step. And we get to hear John sing a few carols with the townsfolk, too. (Although it's his voice that rises above the congregation.)

The actors have been cast in fairly stereotypical roles. As usual, I love what Wickes does here. She's one of my favorite character actors. And Corley is simply perfect as her brother and taxi driver. Winter is great as Renfield, the demanding developer. (Television viewers will no doubt remember Winter from other nasty-man roles, especially as Colonel Flagg on the show M*A*S*H*.) He is easy enough to hate.

You have to shake your head at the irony in the story. Denver actually did study architecture in college, and he designed his own home in Aspen. But of course, in real life, he probably would have resisted the Renfield plan for development from the get-go. Especially if it had happened back in Aspen in the 1970s.

Is A Christmas Gift predictable and maybe even borderline hokey? Sure. But it can still leave you with a warm feeling in your heart and a restored faith in mankind. And if you're a John Denver fan like I am, you'll be nicely rewarded by being able to see him walking, talking, and singing again. If only....