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Christmas at the Ivanovs bears the stylistic characteristics of the avant-garde, the absurd, the grotesque, social satire, and horror drama. The structure of the play is episodic, a chain of loose scenes lacking any causality or logical coherence.
The title of the play suggests that we are about to see an intimate story. However, at the centre of the drama is a brutal, horrifying murder. On the evening before Christmas, while the Puzirjov parents are at the theatre watching a ballet, the nanny bathes their child. Sonja Ostrova, the 32 year old girl, talks back to her nanny who, in her fury, beheads the child with an axe. The police arrestthe nanny. The parents, returning home, panic and then make love. Despite the tragic events, the parents decide that the Puzirjov family will celebrate Christmas. Some woodcutters are cutting fir trees in the forest and they take one to the Puzirjovs. At first, the nanny is put into an asylum, but the doctor declares her healthy, so she has to appear in court. During the judicial process the judges die, one after the other. Finally, we see Christmas Eve at the Puzirjovs, where all the members of the family die during the course of the evening.