To hear his mother describe it, the scene at Jarard Kings' house in Chicago was nothing short of idyllic this Christmas Eve, with gospel music on the stereo, a heap of presents under the tree and a golden turkey crisping in the oven.

Unfortunately for Kings, the description was all he would get. A campaign staffer for Sen. Hillary Clinton, Kings spent the day in Manchester schlepping boxes from the candidate's New Hampshire headquarters to her new field office downtown.

"If I went back home, that would take too much time," Kings said Monday. "We're so close to the finish line. I want to get back to work as soon as I can."

Chicago native Jarard Kings is all smiles despite spending Christmas Eve entering data for the Hillary Clinton campaign at their office on Fir Street in Manchester. (JAMES COOK)

The sentiment was a common one in Presidential campaign offices across the state this week. With two weeks to go until the New Hampshire Primary, many staffers were celebrating a low-key Christmas away from home, hopeful that their sacrifice would pay off at the polls.

"It's unfortunate, but I know it's for a good reason," Kings' mother, Diane, said by telephone during a break from wrapping presents Monday. "I kind of understood, because you can't just put the stew on hold. You've got to finish up the recipe and get it done."

To be sure, the all-out frenzy of the campaign's final weeks did ease up a bit for the holidays. Several campaign offices in Manchester were down to skeleton staffs on Christmas Eve. Staffers at Clinton's headquarters said their office would be locked on Christmas Day.

Marrisa Geller, a 20-year-old Clinton intern from West Orange, N.J., said she was planning to spend the holiday as she always does: by going out to a movie and eating Chinese food.

"I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything," she said. She and another intern, Shelley Gao, 19, spent Christmas Eve filling out a spreadsheet in the advance team office.

"I think it's much more exciting here," Gao said.

►Christmas PJs and deep-fried turkey for presidential contenders
►Across New Hampshire, the Nativity story was again told

For many people, Christmas Day promised to be the first day off they've had since Thanksgiving. Undoubtedly, it would also be their final break until the Primary, which this year arrives earlier than ever before.

"Everything's moved up," said Melissa Wideman, deputy political director for former Sen. John Edwards' New Hampshire campaign. "Every day matters, every hour matters, every second matters to get things done that need to be done."

Edwards' Concord office was closed on Christmas Eve, but Wideman said she continued working from home. An Ohio native, Wideman said she has worked every day since Thanksgiving, a holiday she spent at her sister's home in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Even then, she said, she managed to put in some hours at Edwards' national headquarters in that same city.

"It's commitment," Wideman said. "We're all fighting for a cause. If you don't like the way things in this country are happening, you have to take action."

That's not to say the holiday spirit has bypassed the campaigns entirely. Several offices in New Hampshire have their own Christmas trees. A recent celebration at Clinton's headquarters was enlivened at least a little by a dreidel.

Kings, 23, a Manchester field organizer for the Clinton campaign, said he was feeling good about his holiday away from home. The staff in Manchester had a party on Sunday night, which included a "Secret Snowflake" gift exchange. The group later went out for drinks at Margaritas.

"This has definitely become my new family," Kings said.