- Here. Come say hi.
Hurry. It's freezing.
- Look! There's Santa!
- Christmas was always different for me.
I'd been an elf at Santaville since I was 5 years old.
I knew the names of every reindeer,
could keep it straight how many lords were leaping
and how many ladies dancing before I learned arithmetic.
- OK, what'd you get for Christmas last year?
Too late. What'd you get?
Oh, that's really great.
What'd you get?
- I got... - Uh-huh. How 'bout you?
- I missed out on slumber parties and school field trips.
It wasn't so bad at first, but by the time I was a teenager,
I started to take a slightly different view of things.
- Have a Merry Christmas,
and we hope to see you again soon at Santaville,
where every day is Christmas.
- Thank you. Merry Christmas.
- I'd worked for Santa for so long,
that Christmas didn't have much magic anymore.
All I knew was the more holiday spirit people had,
the more work it meant for me.
- Have a Merry Christmas,
and we hope to see you again soon at Santaville,
where every day is Christmas.
- Thanks.
- Have a Merry Christmas,
and we hope to see you again soon at Santaville,
where every day is Christmas.
- Such a dork.
- You know, for an elf,
you don't really seem all that jolly.
- Yeah. Well, Santaville's open 365 days a year.
You kind of have to pace yourself
with the whole spirit thing.
- I don't know.
Just being around you puts me in the Christmas spirit.
So what's your real name?
- Holly is my real name.
- Nice to meet you, not-so-jolly Holly.
- Heh heh.
- My name's Peter.
- Yay!
- What's that?
- Come on.
- ...all these guys,
and then this one very cute reindeer says,
"my name is Randolph."
- No!
- And I said to myself, "Randolph...
Does not sound like a reindeer's name."
- He makes a great Santa.
- He should. He's been doing it all my life.
Nick's my dad.
- You dad's name is Nick? Seriously,
as in Saint Nick?
- And you know what I changed it to?
- Rudolph!
- That's right. I changed it to Rudolph.
- I get it. - And from that moment on...
- Nick. Holly.
- Welcome to my world.
- They were all hangin' out together.
- No, really, I like it.
I guess this would sort of make you an expert on Christmas.
- Yeah. Right.
- I see this thing all over during the holidays,
and, I mean, I just don't get it.
It's gotta be the weirdest-looking doll.
- It's not a doll. It's a nutcracker.
You know, from the ballet.
- Yeah. F-from the ballet.
- You've never heard of the nutcracker ballet?
Tchaikovsky?
Clara and Fritz?
Herr Drosselmeyer?
- Never really got ballet.
- This isn't just ballet.
It's a great Christmas tradition.
See, Clara gets the nutcracker as a gift on Christmas Eve,
and it comes to life
and turns into this handsome prince,
and he has to rescue her from the evil mouse king and...
I guess you'd have to see it.
- I will.
- What's this?
- I make things.
- It's beautiful.
- Thank you.
- Whoo!
- All right, Holly,
I got some great new customers for you.
- Just a second, dad.
- Uh, Holly, Santa doesn't have any children.
Santa has elves.
- Santa.
- Yes. I have the magic suit on. OK?
- OK.
- Hey! Well, how'd you like it if Santa bought you one of those?
- Yeah!
- Hey, did you see this? - Yeah!
- Did you look under the Christmas tree?
Have you ever seen a...
- No. - Oh, Santa!
- How would you like it if Santa brought you one of these?
- Holly Crosby's office.
- Yeah, I know. I got stuck behind some guy
unloading one of those steroid Christmas trees
everyone gets all warm and fuzzy about.
- Where are you?
- I'm here now.
- Oh. Good morning, Ms. Crosby. Merry Christmas.
Here are your mail and messages.
The sample's on your desk, and Mr. Holt is on hold.
- Brenda...
What is this?
- What is what?
- This stuff...
On your desk.
- Oh. It's Christmas.
- Yeah. It looks like frosty exploded.
This is a business, Brenda, not the north pole.
- You mean I can't have Christmas decorations?
- OK, um...
Let's just tone it down a bit, OK?
- Sure. OK. Thanks, Ms. Crosby.
Holly Crosby's office.
- This new Celtic line tested through the roof, Mr. Holt.
Uh, people love that warm, handcrafted look,
but at big-box prices, especially for the holidays.
That's true. Christmas is all about tradition,
which is what makes this so perfect.
I mean, people'll hang these up every year,
pass them down to their kids.
You're creating a tradition here.
Y-yes, absolutely. We can ship in 48 hours.
No problem.
No, thank you, Mr. Holt. Thank you very much.
And, uh, Merry Christmas to you, too.
Guess who just doubled her sales for the month.
- Kudos, Holly. Well done. I don't know what it is.
There's just somethin' about this time of year
that makes you go into overdrive.
- Thank you, Mr. Jennings.
- Though it wouldn't hurt to give your holiday spirit
just a little smidgeon of spit-shine.
- What do you mean?
- Christmas is a happy time, Holly.
You make it sound like a root canal.
- Believe me, I know what a happy time this is.
We do half our annual sales in just 6 weeks.
- I've been looking over your schedule for December.
Looks to me like you're planning on working 12-hour days
right through the 12 days of Christmas.
- We're so busy right now, all these last-minute orders.
I have to finalize the photos for the new catalog.
- But when you stay late,
your whole staff has to be here, too,
and this time of year, a little bird tells me
that they'd rather be home with their families
or out spreading Christmas cheer with their friends.
- Oh.
Well, no, I... I understand.
- Glad to hear it.
So for everyone's sake,
go home early once in a while.
Put up a tree. Sip some eggnog.
Write Santa a letter.
Tell him what a good little sales manager you've been this year.
- Santa and I are like this.
He knows I'm way too busy for that stuff.
- Holly...
You can't be too busy for Christmas.
- I mean it, honey. 3 years is way too long.
We all miss you.
- I wish I could, dad,
but we launch a new line the first week of January.
It's huge. There's no way I can take time off.
- I understand.
You must be doin' a heck of a job.
I just wish you didn't have to be so far away.
- Well, you could come to Boston.
It is my understanding that trains go both ways.
- Yeah. Well, I guess that's somethin' we have in common,
'cause Santaville never closes either,
so I can never leave. What would the kids say?
- Um, maybe that Santa's visiting his daughter.
- Honey, you know Santa doesn't have any children.
- Oh. Right. Santa has elves.
- That's right, and you're his number one.
Always have been, and you always will be.
- OK. Look, dad, I better go.
- All right.
Hey, Merry Christmas.
- You, too.
Night, dad.
- And a DVD player... Blu-ray...
And an Omegatron 6000
with all 5 levels and multiplayer access screen.
You can get that, right?
- Um...
Yes. Yes. It's on my list.
Is there anything else?
- A Zeon command cube, but it's gotta have
the shuffle feature for all 83 games,
or I don't want it.
- Games. Oh. I love games.
Games are great,
and I picture you as a checkers man.
Am I right?
- What's checkers?
- Everybody knows how to play checkers.
It's a game of the mind.
- Sounds lame.
So how does this work?
You make the games here or at the north pole?
- That's a very good question, Willy.
Actually we... We make the games offsite.
- Outsourcing.
Smart.
- You know, Willy...
Christmas is... is not just about multiplayers and Megatrons.
Christmas is a magical time where wonderful things happen,
things that you'd never expect.
- Yeah?
- All right, Willy.
Get ready, son,
because this right here is Santa's workshop.
Ferocious, huh?
- You're kidding, right?
- You don't like it?
- It's fake.
- It's pretend.
- Yeah. Y-yeah.
- Ferocious, huh?
- Heh.
- Of course Santa can't show you
how he really makes the toys. That'd be against the rules.
This is just to help you use your imagination.
- Who are you?
- Why, this is one of my elves. His name is Peter.
- You're not really an elf.
- I help Santa keep things running around here.
What else could I be?
- Hey, guys, uh, can...
- Uup! - Who was that?
- Who was who?
- I didn't... - No.
- I didn't see anything. - No.
- Mom, I wanna go back to the mall.
- Well, you guys come back this weekend,
'cause we've got the reindeer races.
I don't get it, Pete.
Kids used to love Santa's workshop.
- Kids have changed.
Santa's workshop has not.
- I know.
That's my point.
Earl. Earl!
- Sorry, Nick. So sorry.
- Earl, let me tell you something.
That boy sees 2 Santas in the same place,
I mean, that's... that's against the laws of the universe.
- Well...
- That could scar him for life. I just...
- There's never anyone here anymore,
and... and I didn't think about it.
How's it goin', Pete?
- Good, Earl. Uh...
Mall, uh, busy today?
- A zoo.
You know they turn the heat up to 80 degrees in that place?
Th-they think it makes people spend more.
Well, how are they gonna feel
when Santa passes out from heatstroke?
- Not good. - Not good. Not good.
Listen, Earl, you should go back to practicing law.
Really. Come on.
You need a cup of hot cocoa.
- Cocoa? I'm burnin' up.
- And a piece of Ginny's pumpkin pie.
- Twist my arm.
- Don't tempt me.
- So what do you hear from Holly?
- She's doin' well, loves her job.
Course, this is a busy time of year,
so she can't come home for Christmas.
- She says that every year.
- Earl, she has an important job.
People depend on her,
kind of like kids depend on me, you know?
- I don't know about that.
- Don't start.
- Start what?
All I'm sayin' is that in our day,
it was a baseball mitt or a kite
or maybe an electric train if you were lucky.
Moonlight and mistletoe.
- What are you mumblin' about over there?
- You know what I'm gonna do?
I think I'm gonna get the sleigh out and give Ginny a ride home
and thank her for makin' the pie for us.
- Heh. Hey, Romeo,
she's been comin' on to you for 5 years,
and you haven't given her the time of day.
- Earl, I'm not givin' her the time of day, OK?
I'm just givin' her a simple sleigh ride home
under the moonlight with me...
You're jealous.
Whoa.
- Evenin', Ginny.
- So what's all this?
- Well, I thought you might want a lift home.
I got you a blanket, some hot cider to keep you warm,
and of course I brought my favorite reindeer.
- You do know that's a horse.
- Well, I know he looks like a horse right now,
but once the Christmas magic kicks in,
his inner reindeer comes out.
- You think he can pull us both?
- Well, dasher's lost a little bit of his dash
over the years, but one tug of these reins, and off...
whoa!
- Hey! - Oh, whoa! Whoa!
- You forgot something! - Whoa! Oh! No! Oh!
- Nick? - The tree. Please. No, no, no!
- Look out! The tree!
- I know! I know!
Ohh. Ohh.
- Nick! - I'm fine. I'm fine.
- Nick!
- Green mountain train 57 arriving from Boston.
Green mountain train 57 arriving from Boston.
- That's fine, Brenda.
Just call me the minute the purchase order gets there.
- Any time? - Absolutely. Day or night.
- Ms. Crosby, Peter Lowdell.
- Even if that means missing my choir practice?
- No, Brenda, I don't mean for you to miss choir practice.
I know you have a solo.
- Clear out. - I just meant...
- I'll do it if you want, Ms. Crosby.
- Look, just call me, OK? I have to go.
Hi. Sorry. Business.
- No problem. - How's my father? Is he OK?
- Oh, sure. Yeah. He's fine.
Listen, I have my truck parked right over here.
- I'm still not exactly clear on what happened.
How did he get hurt?
- Doctor said it was the worst
sleighing accident he's ever seen.
Of course, he said it was
the only sleighing accident he's ever seen, so...
- Actually there were 34 sleighing accidents
in new england just last year. It's not funny.
- Right. Very serious.
- Driving a sleigh in the middle of the night,
that is so typical.
He's lucky he didn't break his neck.
- Uh, I think it would take more than a head-on with a tree
to keep your dad down.
Busted up his leg pretty good, though.
Won't be driving anything for a while.
How I... did the doctor say how long he'd be in the hospital?
- Oh, he's home.
- Home? It hasn't even been 2 days.
- You ever try to keep Nick somewhere he didn't wanna be?
- Point taken.
- Don't worry, though. I've been takin' good care of him...
Me, Ginny, Earl.
- Sounds like he doesn't even really need me here.
- Are you kidding? That's all he's been talking about.
- Oh. Good.
- Nick says you like it in the city.
- Uh-huh.
- Must keep you pretty busy, though,
work and all. He sure misses you.
- I'm sorry. What was your name?
- Peter. Peter. Peter Lowdell. It's OK.
- Oh. Peter. Right.
Peter, do you work for my father?
- I used to be on the payroll.
Now I'm more what you call a volunteer.
Pick up odd jobs around town, though,
paint signs for the locals, that kind of thing.
Mainly I like Nick. I like it here.
It's a nice place.
- Right.
- Green mountain number 57 departing Chester
for white river junction. All aboard.
- You don't remember me, do you?
- Should I?
- I don't know.
We talked about the ballet once.
- Sorry.
- Long time ago.
- Wow. The inn look deserted.
- They don't serve lunches anymore.
Business was too slow.
Dinner's only on the weekends.
- You're kidding.
Wow. That place was always packed this time of year.
Families never missed celebrating Christmas.
- There she is!
- Dad! Oh, my god!
- Oh, I'm sorry you had to come all this way, honey.
- Oh, no. Stop. A-are you OK? - Oh, I'm fine.
- You didn't tell me he was in a wheelchair.
- Oh, I'm not in a wheelchair. I mean,
I'm in a wheelchair, but I can get around great on crutches.
- No, you can't. - Mind your own business.
- You know, I should be really angry at you. What were you thinking?
- Well, I'd been thinking about enterin' dasher in the derby.
- Dad...
Dasher is 20 years old. Neither one of you
has any business riding around in a sleigh.
- Don't you start, too. I've been gettin' it from all sides, honey.
- Good. You deserve it.
That's what I told him.
Listen, it's just great havin' you back here.
Now we can get started.
- Well, dad, I... - I've even hung the mistletoe.
- You just worry about getting better.
- Hey, I'm not worried about anything, honey,
not with you back.
It's gonna be like old times, Holly home for Christmas.
- Who's hungry?
- Speaking of which,
I was thinking about your pot roast this morning.
Oh, you should taste it, Peter.
She makes it with, uh, carrots and potatoes, a-and she has a light sauce.
- Can't wait.
- It's not bland like your Turkey meatloaf.
- You like my Turkey meatloaf.
- I hate your Turkey meatloaf. It's terrible.
- You always eat it. You've never complained.
You... you put ketchup and mustard and all...
- No, that's all that you give me.
I-I've been tryin' to humor you by makin' you feel good.
- You know what'd make me feel... - OK!
I'll make the pot roast.
- Well, he's got a pot for the pot roast.
That's about it. Have to go to the grocery store.
- Still pacing yourself?
- Excuse me?
That's how you phrased it.
365 days a year, you have to pace yourself
with this whole Christmas spirit thing.
- We have met before.
- You should tell him.
- What? Tell who?
- That you're not staying for Christmas. He's...
He's getting his hopes up.
- I'm sorry. Exactly when did I invite you to discuss my...
- Here.
You can borrow my truck to go to the market.
You should probably get that.
- Yeah, Brenda?
- Mr. Holt's Celtic line is ready for shipping.
- Yes. Yes. Have them shipped right away.
- Holly?
Holly Crosby?
It's Della, Della Wallace.
Well, Wallace now.
Della Hamilton from high school.
- Oh. Della.
Wow. I-it's been forever. I can't believe it.
- I know.
Oh, you look fabulous.
I almost didn't recognize you without your little elf suit.
- Yeah, my claim to fame.
- With the little pompom on your hat.
- Quite the fashion statement.
- Yeah, and all that red. I used to say
I could see you coming a mile away.
- I remember.
- Oh, it's so good to see you.
How's your dad? Is he OK?
- Yeah, OK enough to want me
to cook this pot roast I haven't made in years.
- Yeah, it's always something. My family's the same way.
- Oh, you have a family. That's... that's great.
Yeah, living the glamorous life of the soccer mom and loving it.
Roger and I have 3 boys now.
- Roger...
- Oh, Roger Wallace.
Oh, you remember.
Used to read the announcements in high school.
- Oh, yeah. Right. Roger, with all the...
- Oh, that was just an allergy.
His face cleared right up in college.
He's got his own lumberyard now.
- Wow. No kiddin'?
- Yeah.
So, are you seeing anybody?
- Me? No.
No. Who's got the time?
- Uh, you know what?
The three of us should get together for coffee.
- Oh, I don't know. - Oh, oh, don't be silly.
- We'll meet you at the inn tomorrow. -00?
How does that sound?
- Yeah. OK. That sounds great.
- Great. It's a date. - All right.
- It seems so long ago.
I mean, I know it was different for you,
'cause you had to be there,
but for the rest of us, it was so special.
I mean, we never missed a tree lighting ceremony,
and we looked so forward to the holidays at Santaville.
Now it seems nobody finds the time anymore.
It's kind of sad, isn't it?
- Yeah.
Well, I'll see you tomorrow.
- OK. Bye.
- Mmm. Peter, was that not the star on the top of the tree?
- That was good.
- It was good? It was wonderful.
It was wonderful, Holly.
- Thanks, dad.
- Which reminds me, we should save a little somethin' for Earl,
'cause he's gonna stop by after his shift.
- How is Earl?
- He's doin' well. He's doin' well.
He's just, uh, not lawyerin' much anymore,
'cause he's doin' double Santa duty,
for us and the mall, so he's kinda lost interest.
Which is why it's wonderful
that I'm gonna have you around to help out.
- Yeah, dad, about that...
- Here. You know, let me clear some of this away.
- Mm-hmm.
- Dad, I came because I wanted to make sure that you were OK.
- I appreciate that, honey. I really do.
- But I can't stay.
- Well, I didn't think you were movin' back home.
I figured you'd leave right after Christmas.
- N...
I'm not staying for Christmas.
- What do you mean?
- I can stay for a couple more days,
but I need to get back to the city, back to my work.
- Honey, it's Christmas.
- Yeah. I-it's not about Christmas, dad.
There are people who depend on me.
- I depend on you.
- I... I know, and I'll... I'll do everything that I can.
I'll hire someone to help you out until you get back on your feet.
- I'm not gonna have some stranger in my house.
Holly, we're family,
and family takes care of family.
- Nick, I could handle things around here,
the... with the cooking, the cleaning.
- You hear that? With him cookin', I could starve to death.
I'm glad you're home, honey. But it reminds me
Earl is not gonna make the Turkey this year.
Holly's here.
- Dad! - His Turkey's very dry, honey.
- Have you been listening to me?
- Yes, honey, but you're just tired
from the train ride up here, which reminds me
we'll talk about it in the morning
when you make your holiday breakfast.
You're gonna love her scones.
- Welcome home, honey, and Merry Christmas.
Hello.
- Holly. - Oh, Mr. Jennings. Hi.
- How's your dad? - No, he's OK.
I-I'll definitely be in the office next week, no problem.
- Well, then you'll be the only one.
I'm havin' my skiis waxed as we speak,
and our clients'll all be into vacation mode by next week,
which is what you should be doing.
- Uh, yeah. I don't need a vacation.
I don't want a vacation.
- Which, as I recall, is exactly what you said
this time last year and the year before.
- Uh, yeah, but I love my work.
- There'll be plenty of work after the holidays.
Meantime, we got you covered.
Look after your dad and try to enjoy yourself.
- Yeah. No, see, that's the thing. I...
- Give your dad our best. - No, wait. Mr...
- And, Holly, Merry Christmas.
- Wait. No. M-Mr. Jennings.
What?
"Past due." "Urgent."
Dad, what have you been doing?
All these urgent notices, these bills.
- I'm just a little behind, that's all.
- A little behind?
Dad, some of these bills are 6 months old.
- Well, we had a couple slow years,
a-and I kept up until my savings ran out.
- Why didn't you tell me?
- Honey, you have your own life.
I'm not gonna trouble you with my problems.
Besides, it's December,
and that's always our best month, remember?
- They can come after your assets, dad.
Do you know what that means?
- Who's gonna do a thing like that to Santa?
- These bills aren't made out to Santa.
They're made out to Nick Crosby.
- You always were a worrier.
Honey, you have to have a little faith.
Wonderful things can happen at Christmas.
- Well, then you better come up with a real miracle, dad.
Otherwise, this time next year, there won't be a Santaville.
- Thank you for seeing me here
on such short notice, Mr. Corwell.
- Holly, I just wish we were meeting under better circumstances.
Around here, we all love our Santa.
- You've known my father for 30 years.
This bank loaned him the money to buy the property,
to renovate the buildings, to create Santaville.
You know the economic impact he's had on the community,
the tourists he's brought in...
- Of course he has.
I used to take my family every year.
It was a family tradition. Now my grandkids,
they've got, like, 500 channels.
What do they care about Santaville?
- All the time and love my father
has put into this town, that has to mean something.
- Yes, it does.
It means the world
to anyone who remembers what Santaville once was.
- But it's still there.
- People only drive through here now
because we're on the way to the ski lifts.
We're lucky if they even stop for gas.
Why would they stop for Santaville?
I'm sorry, Holly.
I've already extended your father more credit than I should have.
- Dad!
- Earl, are you here?
Supposed to be out there on that sleigh.
- Have a heart. I'm freezin' my bells off out there.
Besides, haven't had a visitor since lunch.
- Well, kids used to play hooky just to come here in December.
- It's the Internet.
They're sending virtual Christmas cards
and living virtual lives. Hey!
Ran into John Corwell on my way back from the mall.
Says Holly was up to see him.
- Yeah. She's takin' care of a couple of things for me.
- What kind of things?
- She's takin' care of 'em. She always does.
- Nick...
I been your friend, your lawyer
since longer than I can remember.
Whatever's goin' on,
you know I'll help in any way I can.
- I know that, Earl.
You don't have 50 grand stuck in that boot, do you?
- $50,000?
- It's funny how some numbers will make the hair
on the back of your neck stand up.
Earl...
Gonna be all right. Don't worry.
Get back out there.
- Ho ho ho!
- When I saw that sleigh upside down
and your dad all catawampus in the snow,
I'm tellin' you, honey, my heart stopped.
It was a sweet thought, though.
I'll give him that.
Sleigh ride under a full moon.
Heh. He can be quite the charmer when he wants to be.
- Is there something I should know about?
- Heh. You tell me, and we'll both know.
He flirts. I flirt back.
Gets us through the day.
- Well, thanks for taking care of him, Ginny.
I know he can be...
Difficult sometimes.
- He's not so bad, you know, once you get used to him.
And he sure has perked up since you got home, honey.
- Sure.
- Sweetheart, is there something that you wanna talk about?
- Oh. No, nothing. I'm fine.
I just, um...
You know, I think that my... My friends are runnin' late.
- Well, I'm here if you ever need me.
OK?
- Santaville inn.
- I'm not staring. I swear.
- Uh-huh.
- But I'm wondering...
And I know this'll sound like a line. Uh...
But do you come here often?
- Yeah, why would that sound like a line?
- I'm genuinely curious.
You don't look like a local.
- Not for a long time.
And you're not exactly the Santaville type yourself.
- I am staying here at the inn, but I'm in from out of town
visiting an old college friend and his wife.
I was actually supposed to meet here at 4:00, but, uh...
- Your friends wouldn't happen to be Roger and Della Wallace?
- How'd you know?
- I... I was supposed to meet them, too.
- Wait a second. Do you think they...
- Yeah. Yeah, we've been set up, big time.
- Heh heh.
Well, gee, I wonder who that could be?
- Ben, is that you? - Hey, Roger.
Yeah, I'm here.
- Sorry I can't come.
- Oh, no.
- Kids have fevers.
- Fever, huh?
- All 3 boys.
Wow. That's terrible. I'm sorry.
- Say hi to my friend.
- Really? What's her name?
- Holly Crosby.
That's a pretty name.
What's she look like?
- Great.
- How good-looking?
- Exquisite.
- Wow, that good-lookin', huh?
- Say hi. - OK, I will.
Thanks, man. I'll catch up with you later.
- Yeah, later, man.
- Bye.
He wants me to introduce myself
and explain his sons are sick. You get the idea.
- Yeah. Della.
- Hi. I'm Ben Richards.
- You do not have to do this.
- Oh, yes, I do.
It would mean so much to Roger and Della.
- See over there?
- Oh, yeah.
- This is incredible.
I didn't think places like this still existed.
- They are an endangered species.
- And your dad put all this together himself?
- Yeah, pretty much.
I mean, he was the creative force.
But it was my mom
who had all the business sense in the family.
I mean, she knew how much he was into the whole Santa thing,
and... and this way he could make all those other kids really happy
and still support his family.
- Wow. Heh. You must have had,
like, the most amazing childhood on record.
- I mean, you grew up in Santaville.
- Uh... heh. It... it had its moments.
- You mind if I ask you
how your dad affords to keep this place open all year round?
- Um, he can't.
Not anymore.
- Oh, yeah? What do you mean?
- Oh. Well, look around.
I mean, all these beautiful buildings,
but there's no people.
Times have changed.
Nobody's interested in a traditional Christmas anymore.
So now he's in a bit of a pickle.
- How bad is it?
- He could lose everything.
- Come on. This is prime new england property,
charming little town.
I mean, you know how the world works.
It's gotta be worth somethin'.
- Oh. Selling is not an option.
- Well, what about a loan then?
- He couldn't borrow enough to buy a candy cane.
- In that case, it sounds to me like you guys are in need
of the services of a good financial advisor.
- Sure. I'll just Google one up.
- Well, there's a rumor goin' around
that this new guy, Ben Richards,
might know a thing or two.
- You? Seriously?
- I can't promise anything, but...
I might know some people.
- People? What... What does that mean?
- Just means I can make a couple of phone calls.
If you'd like.
- Are you kidding?
Yes. Um, please.
Gosh, I... I am in way over my head here.
Anything you could do for... I just... I would be so...
Thank you.
- You're welcome, Holly.
- Dad!
- Oh.
- Sorry. I... I...
- No, that's OK.
- I was looking for my father.
- I think he's in the house.
- Is this yours?
- It's just a hobby.
- No. They're... They're beautiful.
- Thank you.
- Does my father know about this?
- I would say probably. - Probably?
- Well, I leave one under his tree every year,
but we've never actually really talked about it.
I have noticed he makes a point never to come back here.
Think he still wants to believe in the magic.
- Have you ever considered marketing these?
I mean, you just don't find this kind of craftsmanship anymore.
- Like I said, just a hobby.
- Well, you must really like nutcrackers.
- Someone told me a story about the ballet a long time ago.
Been hooked ever since.
Clara, Fritz,
Herr Drosselmeyer.
- Peter...
- Hi.
- You make things.
- Yeah.
- You just left.
- I came back.
- Yeah.
I... I really have to go find my father.
Can we talk later?
- Sure.
- So I'll just see you.
- OK.
- So, Morgan, you've been a good little girl all year?
You've got a chimney?
Good.
You've got a list.
Tiara.
OK, we might have a little trouble with the pony,
but a charm bracelet, yeah, red scooter,
makeup set.
- Dad.
- Well?
- Well, what?
- Well, what's the plan with Corwell?
- Oh. There's no plan. He couldn't help us.
- What do you mean?
- W... you're mortgaged to the hilt, dad.
The bank's in line with everyone else.
What did you expect?
- I... I expected a little loyalty,
maybe a little faith in an old friend.
- Doesn't work that way.
- Then what are we gonna do about it?
- I met someone today, a financial advisor.
- A financial advisor. That's good. That's good. Yeah.
- He's gonna try to help us.
- Try? He's... Wh-what does "try" mean?
- I don't know, dad. 50 grand's a lot of money.
I'm... I'm sorta wingin' it here.
- Well, we gotta figure out somethin', Holly.
You have to stop this. You have to!
- Yeah, I know, dad. I get it.
You're a wonderful man, and this is your life,
and the clock is ticking, but maybe if you hadn't lived
in such a blissful state of denial for so long...
- Do I look blissful to you?! Is this blissful?!
Holly, I'm trying to save my home, our home,
and I thought you cared about that.
- I do care, dad, but...
- But see, that's the thing. There is no buts, ever.
You're either in, or you're out.
That's the way it works.
This is everything your mother and I ever worked for,
and if I lose Santaville, then I have nothing.
Nothing.
- You have me!
- Holly.
- Ben. Hi.
- I was just comin' to find you.
You do know it's December, right?
- What is it?
- I wanted to tell you right away.
I made those phone calls I was tellin' you about.
I don't know. This never happens.
- What?
- I don't wanna get your hopes up too much,
but these people are very interested.
- Seriously?
- It's incredible.
They got great ideas, very creative.
- Well, tell me.
- No, I don't wanna say too much.
It's very fluid, and I don't wanna jinx it.
We'll call 'em in the morning.
- Oh, come on, Ben.
- Not until I'm sure.
Think of it like having to wait
until Christmas Eve to open your presents.
- Wait. You open your presents on Christmas Eve?
- Sure.
What?
- No, it's just that Santa comes on Christmas Eve.
The presents are for Christmas morning.
- OK. I'll remember that from now on,
but the point is I may have just found
that Christmas miracle you've been hopin' for.
- Thank you so much.
- Oh! This is gonna be great.
Thank you, Ben.
- Covered bridge.
- Hey.
- Hi.
I got your note.
- Great.
- My mom used to bring me here
when things would get a little too crazy.
Sometimes we wouldn't even talk. We'd just listen to the water.
I'd be all geeked out about something or other,
and that sound would be so relaxing.
She told me stories, and... And we'd laugh, and...
Yeah, and then I'd just forget what was even bothering me.
She always knew just what to do.
- She sounds like a great person.
- She was.
- Nick never talks about her.
- Ah, you noticed.
- None of my business.
- When I was little, family was his whole life...
Me and my mom.
When she died, he changed.
I was 12.
It's like the only way he could hang on
was to go all Santa all the time.
A heart big enough to hold the whole world,
but when it came to his real family, me, well...
- So you left.
- Yep.
That day in the toy shop, why'd you disappear like that?
- My parents were in a hurry.
We, uh, still had a long drive ahead of us.
- Visiting relatives?
- Back to school.
- No, wait. I-it was Christmas break.
Everyone was out of school.
- Yeah, well, they kept the dorms open just in case.
- In case of what?
- In case your parents wanted to fly to Europe for the holidays
and taking you along didn't exactly fit into their plans.
- Your parents left you in boarding school over Christmas?
- On the plus side, I got a lot of extra studying done,
which meant I graduated early, moved to college,
which really simplified
mom and dad's plans for the world cruise.
- That must have been awful.
- No. It was... It was normal to me.
Mmm...
Actually all worked out.
I went to college for, like, a decade,
got several degrees,
and then dad tried to squeeze me into his world of business.
I rebelled, he cut me off,
so I decided to do some traveling of my own.
I remembered a certain elf
with a love of the ballet.
Here I am.
- You came back here because of me?
- That and Christmas 365 days a year.
- I would have traded places with you in a heartbeat.
- Believe me, it wasn't all candy canes and sleigh rides.
- Ah, it doesn't have to be,
as long as you have someone who loves you
and wants you to be happy,
and that's what you had here, Holly.
It's what you still have here.
It's all I ever wanted.
- I, uh... I better take this.
Hello.
- Holly.
- Ben, hi.
- Tellin' you, Holly, I've never seen a deal close this quickly.
I mean, those folks are even willin' to pay off all your father's bills,
wipe the slate clean.
- That's a lot of money.
- Aw, 50 or 60 grand, small change to these people.
- Well, it's a fortune around here.
What do they get out of it?
- Well, the timing couldn't have been more perfect.
These guys just quietly closed a deal
for controlling interest in 2 ski resorts just north of here,
and the way they see it, Santaville's just another way
to draw more families to the area.
You know, stop here on the way up, on the way back.
You know, some kind of package deal, maybe,
free lift tickets with every park pass,
somethin' like that.
- Yeah, that could... That could work.
- And after all, Roger's been tellin' me for years
this little burg is about to explode, so...
And anyway, point is your dad's not hangin' in the wind anymore.
He's got partners now.
- Oh, he won't let anyone tell him how to run this place.
- Oh, no, no, no. Silent partners. Absolutely.
Don't worry. Your dad's still the man.
- It sounds perfect. Thank you.
- Think he'll go for it?
- How could he say no?
- No. I've never needed anyone's help to run this place
besides Holly and her mother, and I don't intend to start now.
- It's a good deal, Mr. Crosby.
It's better than you'll find anyplace else.
- I need money, not partners.
- Silent partners, dad. You'd still be in charge.
- Oh, and how would these silent partners get their money back?
They do want their money back, right?
- Aw, eventually, of course, and with fair market interest,
but not until you're back on your feet.
- But in the meantime, they'd own a piece of my home.
- Technically that's true.
- But it would better than losing your home,
which is what'll happen if you don't do this soon.
- Not interested.
- At least read it.
- I don't have to read it. I know exactly what it says.
It's a lot of legal words that boils down to one thing.
You gave up on Santaville years ago, and you're doin' it again.
- Gave up? Dad, I went to college.
I got a job, a career.
- Right, and you were supposed to come back here
and be my number one elf and help me run this place.
- I mean, that... that's all I ever really was to you,
just some silly mascot
dressed up in a costume all these years.
- You know better than that.
- How would I know?
When did you ever tell me?
Since mom died, when did you once say to me...
- Good day, Ben.
- You are a damn fool, Nick Crosby.
- Shut up.
- Heard you were leaving.
Without saying good-bye?
- Good-bye, Peter.
- You know, sometimes people
don't know how to say what they feel.
The words just won't come out.
Talk about everything except what...
Really matters to him the most.
- Yeah.
Yeah, it's funny.
I always thought I was a great listener.
I mean, I got 30 years experience, so I ought to be.
Turns out I'm great at listenin' to everyone but you,
and I'm really sorry, Holly,
and I wanna fix that.
- I just wanted you to be my dad.
- That's all I ever wanted to be.
- But you were always so busy
being jolly and merry for everybody else,
always Santa.
- Well, maybe that's 'cause it's easier to live in a world
where wishes do come true, OK, where everybody is happy,
where nobody ever leaves me.
- I couldn't live in that world, dad,
pretending like the past never happened.
I still miss her all the time.
- So do I. So do I, honey.
- But you never talk about her. It's like she was never here.
- She was here.
Some days, I think she still is,
because I can see her.
I can see her in your eyes, your smile.
And when you laugh, I can hear her.
She's been here a lot these last few days.
- Really?
- Yeah.
It's a wonderful thing havin' you come back home.
- I miss you, too, dad,
so much.
- Please don't leave, honey, not yet.
- Mmm, scones.
You know, I... I thought about what you said last night
about how I never talked about your mother.
- Dad, you don't have to.
- No, no, no. You're right.
You're right. I haven't, and it's very selfish of me,
because she was an amazing woman.
- I remember.
- But there's a lot you don't remember,
and I want you to. Important things.
So...
I figured it was about time we opened this up.
Go ahead.
- Dad...
- In here is every letter, card, and note
your mom ever sent to me.
I mean, a lot of the notes are silly.
I saved everything.
"I'll always love you," and stuff that...
She'd sneak in my pants in the morning, and...
Then I'd find it later.
Uh, she was funny.
Oh, and this is the first Christmas card we ever made you.
Remember?
Ah.
Oh, and there's pictures.
Remember when you won the spelling bee?
You were in the third grade, and you beat the sixth graders. Huh?
And this is your mom and I's first date.
Fancy.
And this is from our honeymoon, when we went to Wisconson Dales.
Lot of people go to Vegas, but not good enough for your mom.
Oh, and this.
The night I asked her to marry me...
I gave her this ring.
And our wedding rings are in here, too.
And I want you to have this,
and maybe one day...
You'll need 'em.
And then there's this.
- Mistletoe?
- This is from the first night I met your mom.
My friends were havin' a party, and I almost didn't go,
but I did, and I walked in the door,
and I saw your mom standing in the moonlight under the mistletoe.
- Moonlight and mistletoe.
- Yeah.
And so, I don't know what got into me,
but I went right up and kissed her.
And it could've gone either way,
'cause your mom was very beautiful, and I was, uh...
Me...
But as luck would have it, it went my way,
and about a year later, you were born.
- That must have been some kiss.
- I think she thought so.
- And that's why you never forget to hang the mistletoe.
- Yeah. Well, there was a lot of Christmas magic
in the air that night for me.
We all need a little Christmas magic once in a while.
And if the mistletoe helps, I figure, "why not?"
You might need some one day, too, so...
But that's me. I'm just...
Probably just a romantic old fool.
Anyway, I want you to...
Take care of her.
- I will.
And you're not old. Heh.
- I know. And I was thinkin' about that other thing,
about the contract, and if you think it's a good thing,
I'll sign it.
- You mean it?
- Yeah.
You're very smart, Holly.
You're like your mom.
And it's time I started listening to you.
- You won't regret it, dad.
- I know. I know.
And I got Earl lookin' at all the legal mumbo jumbo right now.
- Everything's gonna be OK. I promise.
- I know, Holly.
I know.
- There you go.
- Thanks, Ginny.
- Decide to stay?
- Yeah.
- I'm glad.
- I, uh, noticed
that you've been working in here all morning,
and I thought you might like hot coffee.
- Oh. You read my mind.
- I wanted to thank you
for being there last night.
- I didn't do anything.
- No, you have a way of simplifying the truth.
What you said really helped.
For the first time in years, dad and I actually talked.
He even agreed to sign the contract.
- So everything works out.
He gets to keep Santaville, and, uh...
You get to go back to the city.
- Yeah.
- I was planning on taking the sleigh out tonight.
Why don't you come with me.
- Uh, I'd like to, but I'm meeting Ben.
He has to get the contract to his people right away.
- Mmm. Maybe I should get people.
Makes you sound more important.
- The investors, OK?
- What's the rush?
- They need to get this deal together
before the end of the quarter,
or else their tax liability on the money doubles.
- And we can't have that.
- You really don't like business, do you?
- Been there.
I prefer sleigh rides.
- Maybe another time.
- Sure.
I'm not goin' anywhere.
- OK, now where does this go?
- Um, on the top, Earl...
- Oh. - Where it always goes...
Every year. Yeah. Yeah.
- Try not to swallow this one whole, Nick Crosby.
- Ooh. Pie.
- You act like I'm made of pies.
- Well, see, that's our secret.
You make the pies, and I eat the pies.
It's like words and music.
We belong together, you know,
like hot and toddy.
- Only Santa could get away with a line like that. Mmm.
Wow. Look at you.
- You look great, honey.
- Thank you.
- Somebody's got a hot date.
- No, it's not a date. I'm just meeting Ben for dinner
to look over the paperwork.
Um, speaking of which, Earl, do you have the contract?
- Uh, yeah.
Yeah.
- Anything I should know about?
- Um, n-no, it's all pretty standard stuff.
I-it seems fine to me.
- Great. Dad, do you have a pen?
- Mm-hmm. Course I have a pen.
Heh.
- I'll go get one.
- OK, you get it.
Usually have a pen.
- Wow. I'm impressed.
I thought your dad threw in the towel.
- Christmas is a time for miracles.
- Heh. I'm gonna remember that from now on.
- I can't thank you enough, Ben.
I mean, I feel like this enormous weight
has been lifted off my shoulders.
- Was happy to do it.
- For the first time in years,
I'll be able to enjoy the holiday with my father,
and it's because of you.
- I can't take all the credit.
I mean, you're the one that sold him on the idea.
Remember that.
And let's not forget our silent partners.
They're the ones puttin' up all that money.
- I know,
but still, I want you to know how much it means to me.
And I was thinking if you're not too busy,
maybe you wanna celebrate Christmas here with dad and me.
We could have Della and... and Roger and their... and their...
- Holly, you OK?
- Yeah. No, I'm fine.
It's just...
A minute ago, you said, "our silent partners."
- No. Did I?
That's weird. Sorry.
Guess I just got caught up in the moment.
Your silent partners, obviously.
But semantics aside,
I would be honored to join you and your father for Christmas.
- Really? Great.
- Oh. I'm sorry.
Speaking of partners, this is them right now.
Better go give them the good news. You excuse me?
- Yes. Yes. Go. Go.
- 2 minutes.
Don't leave.
Guess what.
I got the signed contract right here in my pocket.
- You did it, Ben. Great.
- I know. I couldn't believe it either.
I thought we were dead in the water, bro.
- Oh, hi. You know, he's still on the...
You know what? Just leave it. I'll go find him.
- Of course it's in there exactly the way you wrote it.
- You're jokin'.
- No. It says in black and white
if Nick Crosby can't repay
the entire amount in arrears by Christmas day,
he forfeits all the property to the investment group.
- They haven't a clue. - I don't know.
I guess it was that fancy legalese you came up with.
Slipped right past 'em.
- You're the best.
- This is working just like it did in Killington, man.
Yeah, right. That and my charm, of course.
- What charm?
Hey, don't forget my finder's fee.
Later.
I'm sorry, dad.
I wanted this so much for you, and I let my guard down.
- You gotta give yourself a break.
You didn't know, honey.
- I should have known.
I should have never trusted him.
- Honey, you can't blame yourself for trusting people.
- He rode in on his big white horse,
and I bought the whole act, no questions asked.
He's a total pro.
He's done it before.
- Holly, it was not your fault.
- Earl, please. - No.
If I had read the contract
like I was supposed to, like you asked...
- Earl, stop.
- I don't know what it is. I just... I can't seem to focus.
- You don't have to explain yourself to anyone.
- I'd read a paragraph.
I couldn't remember where I was, what I'd just read.
I guess when you get old,
you're the last person to know that you've lost your touch.
- Earl, look, it's not your fault.
You got it?
This is not your fault. It's my fault.
It's my name on that contract. I signed it.
OK?
I should have read the fine print.
- It seems to me we should stop worrying about who's to blame here
and start talkin' about what are we gonna do about it?
- Exactly.
Except that I signed the contract,
so what can we do about it?
- Can people just get away with this sort of thing?
Waltz in and take someone's home and business
just because of some stupid piece of paper?
- Sadly, it happens every day.
- Well, it's not right.
- It's not right, and I'm not gonna let him do it.
Dad, I thought I was helping you.
I just made things worse. I am sorry.
- No, you didn't.
- But we haven't lost Santaville yet,
and I will not let it go without a fight.
- Yeah. - That's right.
- What have I done?
- Somebody call for a one-horse open sleigh?
Love the silence.
- It's peaceful.
- What was I thinking?
Someone who opens their presents on Christmas Eve?
- Santa comes on Christmas Eve.
- I know. That's what I said.
- Poor Ben.
- Poor Ben?
- All he has to believe in
is finder's fees and bottom lines.
On a night like this, it's no way to live life.
- You didn't see my father's face.
I'm not feeling very sympathetic towards Ben at the moment.
- Maybe he'll reconsider, tear up the contract.
- Never,
and he's got the only copy.
Fat chance I'll get another look at it.
- How am I gonna get $50,000?
- Just have to bring more visitors to Santaville,
a lot more.
- Christmas is less than 3 weeks away.
We haven't had that many visitors in the past 5 years.
Besides, people came to Santaville
because they wanted to.
It meant something to them.
Della said so.
Even Mr. Corwell called it a family tradition.
They remember what it was like.
- Mmm. It hasn't changed that much.
- No, it hasn't.
Times have changed,
but they still remember.
Everybody remembers.
The whole town remembers.
They remember what Santaville used to be,
because it's the way they want it to be.
- You're right.
- If we could find a way to show them
that it's not all in the past, that Santaville is still here,
that it's still just the way they remember...
- They'd come back.
Yeah.
- Yeah. I don't get this. What's it called again?
- It's a blog, dad.
It's like a journal, but you write it on our website.
We have to get the word out,
not just to the town, but everywhere.
- Yeah, but what do I write about?
- You write about Santa's day,
you know, like... like toys and reindeer and elves.
- You know, "blog," that... that sounds like a holiday drink.
♪ Jingle bells ♪
♪ jingle bells ♪
♪ jingle all the way ♪
♪ oh, what fun it is to ride ♪ ♪ in a one-horse open sleigh ♪
♪ Jingle bells ♪
♪ jingle bells ♪
♪ jingle all the way ♪
♪ oh, what fun it is to ride ♪ ♪ in a one-horse open sleigh ♪
♪ Dashing through the snow ♪
♪ in a one-horse open sleigh ♪
♪ through the fields we go ♪
♪ laughing all the way ♪
♪ bells on bobtails ring ♪
♪ making spirits bright... ♪
- The whole town is talking about your remember campaign.
I mean, the signs, the carving... It was brilliant.
- Oh, thanks, Ginny.
- Yeah, it was brilliant, honey.
♪ Jingle bells, ♪ ♪ jingle bells ♪
♪ Jingle all the way ♪
♪ oh, what fun it is to ride ♪ ♪ in a one-horse open sleigh... ♪
- It was great, honey, but we still gotta get the word out, folks.
We gotta make people remember this.
- Uh, how are we gonna do that?
- Well, since it's 21st century, I think I'll be bloggin'.
Plus I'm gonna call every guest that's passed through the inn
and let them know that for the first time in too many years,
the annual Santaville tree-lighting ceremony is gonna happen!
- Whoo! - That's right.
We're back, baby! We're back!
♪ A day or two ago ♪
♪ a story I must tell ♪
♪ I went out on the snow ♪
♪ and on my back I fell... ♪
- So, kids, for the first time in years,
this Friday, we're having the big Santaville
tree-lighting ceremony.
Ceremony? Cerimony?
Ceremony. Cer...
Ah. I got it right.
Please come to Santaville...
♪ Now the ground is white ♪
♪ go it while you're young ♪
♪ take the world tonight ♪
♪ and sing this sleighing song ♪
♪ just get a bobtail, boy... ♪
- I know. Thank you.
Thank you. 2, right?
Here you go. See ya.
Good cheer.
♪ Take the lead... ♪
- So how many do you guys want?
♪ Jingle bells, ♪ ♪ jingle bells ♪
♪ Jingle all the way ♪
♪ oh, what fun it is... ♪
- Hello, Willy?
It's Santa.
Claus.
Santa Claus.
Yeah. Yeah.
- I keep getting calls from people
who've seen the TV interview I did this morning.
Word is spreading.
- I wish your mother was here.
She'd be as proud of you as I am.
I've got...
- Yeah.
She'd be proud of both of us.
And she is here, in the moonlight and...
Hey, we forgot to hang the mistletoe.
- Well, we've had a few things on our mind, honey.
I think your mom would understand.
- You're right.
She'd also understand about Ginny.
- I haven't done anything, though.
- Uh, I understand, too.
She's terrific.
Go for it.
- Thanks, honey.
Welcome, everybody, welcome,
to Santaville's Christmas tree lighting ceremony.
- Mom, are they really gonna light the Christmas tree?
- Yes. You'll see.
- Hey, look.
- OK, love the fur.
Hey, Willy! Where's Willy?
- Here I am.
- There you go, Willy.
- Seriously?
- Yes. Like I said, Christmas is a magical time
where wonderful things can happen, so...
Light 'em up, Willy!
- What's up there?
- Santa, I love Christmas.
- I know you do.
- High-five.
Yeah!
- It's beautiful.
- I'm tellin' you, there is nothin' to worry about.
Because 50 grand is a lot of money to these people.
There's no way they're gonna raise it
sellin' reindeer rides and fruitcake.
I will.
I'll keep you posted.
- There he is.
- Come on, guys. Santa's right up here.
You can go see him.
Watch the train right here.
Santa's right... right up there. Keep going.
Keep going. Santa's there.
Hi!
- Hey, tried calling.
Come on, Holly.
It was just business.
- Just business?
Swindling my father out of his home?
Out of his life savings? That's just business?
- Come on. You're a smart girl.
You're not like the rest of these locals.
Hey, you understand the way things work in the real world.
- No, not this way, not for me.
- What do you want me to say?
"I'm sorry"?
Fine. Sorry.
Sorry doesn't feed the cat.
And come Christmas Eve,
you're still not gonna have enough money to save this place.
- You were here last night.
You saw the crowds. They're comin' back.
- OK, look,
there's no reason you and your father
have to walk away from this empty-handed, OK?
- Are you... Are you trying to bribe me?
- No. That's not what I meant.
- We must have you really nervous, Ben.
What's the matter?
Afraid you're gonna lose your finder's fee?
- Heh. Was just tryin' to do you a favor.
- Yeah, I've had enough of your favors.
This place is my home.
Your heartless soul isn't welcome here anymore.
Get out.
- You can't win this, Holly.
You know that.
- I was out there with my grandkids,
and we had a wonderful time.
They just loved it. It was so magical.
- That's great, Mr. Corwell,
because we're kind of in a crunch here.
- Mr. Richards came by to introduce himself to me a few days ago.
Then I don't need to tell you what's at stake.
If you could use the money we've made so far
as a kind of good-faith payment
to secure the rest of what we need...
- You've deposited nearly $28,000,
and that's very impressive,
but it still leaves you with a substantial debt load.
- People are coming from all over.
We still have 4 days before Christmas.
- And then there's January, which as you know,
is the slowest month for any holiday business.
- This property has been the lifeblood of my family.
My father cannot lose this. I won't let it happen.
- I'm sorry, Holly.
- I am, too.
- I forgot how great it was
to have all those little smilin' faces runnin' around.
- Yeah. It really brought the old place back to life.
- Turns out people do remember
with a little help from your awesome plan.
- Oh. Well, we... we wouldn't have gotten anywhere without Peter.
- Yeah. You and Peter make a good team.
- I read your blog.
Today was really sweet, the way the encouraged the kids
to give a toy to a needy child.
- Yeah. Yeah, it was sweet and...
Took a long time.
You know, that reminds me,
uh, all the kids are back now,
a-and they've all got long lists for Santa,
and Santa's busy, and he was wondering
if maybe his daughter could take over the blog and...
For a little while.
- Don't you mean Santa's number-one elf?
- No. Santa has a daughter,
and it's time the world got to know her.
- I'd love to. - Thank you.
- OK, dad, why don't you go to bed.
I'll... I can finish up here.
- Well...
OK.
- OK. - Night, honey.
- Good night.
This doesn't even come close to what we owe.
I have a little bit of savings, some equity in my condo.
I could take out a second mortgage, but...
It's not enough.
- Talk to Nick about that?
- Yeah, you know what he'd say.
- And he'd be right.
- Excuse me?
It is my money. I can do what I want with it,
and I am not gonna let these people take my home.
- Heh.
- What are you smiling at?
- Nothin'.
It's just that you said, "my home,"
not "his," "my."
- You know what I mean.
- I know up until a couple weeks ago,
you couldn't wait to take the first train out of here.
- Let's not make a big deal about this, OK?
I am still going home.
I'm just tired and worried about my dad,
and I misspoke.
- Of course.
- Why do you keep making those?
Don't you have enough already?
- I like it.
It's what I do,
who I am.
Take this piece of wood.
Who would ever guess that somewhere hidden in here
is the charming prince
who will save Clara from the evil mouse king?
- Yeah, I know the story.
- And all you have to do is find him and let him out.
- You make it sound so easy.
- It is.
Eh, see how rough it is?
Sand it down, always going with the grain.
And once you've made it completely smooth...
You decide on a face.
- How do you decide?
- You just know.
It's a face you wanna look at for the rest of your life.
- That would be a nice face.
- A very nice face.
- Peter! Are you in there?!
Ah, there you are.
Hi, Holly.
Peter, I'm so sorry.
I just stepped out for a minute. I didn't know.
- Know what? Wh-what's wrong?
- Well, there was a customer in the bar,
and he just fell in love with your nutcracker,
and he told Chuck he totally had to have it,
so Chuck named a price that he thought was gonna be way too crazy for anybody,
and the guy just bought it.
Sorry.
- For how much?
- $500?!
- Let me get this straight.
This guy actually paid all that money
for one of these little toys?
- They're not toys, Earl.
They're handcrafted works of art made by a master craftsman.
- We're still talkin' about Peter, right?
No offense.
- None taken.
- It's his craftsmanship that makes them unique.
Each one is different.
- $500 different.
- No, it's like snowflakes.
- Exactly.
We're selling snowflakes,
and people wanna buy these snowflakes
so they can make their own family tradition...
You know, bring them out every year,
pass them on to their children.
- Yeah, but these all belong to Peter,
and we can't ask him to do that.
- I wanna do it for you, Nick.
- Thank you, Peter.
But that makes Ginny in charge
of my mystery gift under the tree Christmas morning.
- Uh, if you're a good boy.
- How many more of those nutcrackers
do you have at the workshop?
- I don't know. 40. Maybe more.
- Well, I can set up a booth where everybody can see.
- And I'm gonna sell 'em on the website.
Dad's getting hundreds of hits on his blog now.
- Yep. - But we have to move fast,
so we can get these to people for Christmas.
- So you really think this is gonna work, honey?
- I really do, dad,
with a little bit of Christmas magic.
- So how we doin'?
- I haven't finished adding up all the sales.
- So we're still not out of the woods.
- Not yet,
but we're close.
- You still have it.
- I looked for it last night.
I found it buried in my old jewelry box.
I thought it might bring us luck.
- Maybe a little Christmas magic?
- I can't imagine my life without Santaville.
Or you.
It's a face I could look at for the rest of my life.
- What happens if we lose?
- Holly? - I've been trying to reach you.
- I just got off the slopes. - You have to hear this idea.
- I told you to take some time off this Christmas.
- I know, Mr. Jennings, but this is really important.
- OK. What's up?
- I found these one-of-a-kind nutcrackers.
- Nutcrackers?
- Yeah. They're unique.
- Really?
- Come and get it! It's one of a kind.
- Thank you. - Oh, thank you.
Straight from Santa's workshop!
- Nutcrackers made by one of Santa's elves.
- One of a kind! - Signed at the bottom.
- Straight from Santa's workshop!
- I cannot believe this, Ginny. - What?
- Just in time, we're gonna make it.
- Oh, honey.
- There are orders coming in from all over the country,
even some from Europe.
- Everybody needs Santa, no matter where they live.
♪ Deck the halls ♪ ♪ with boughs of Holly ♪
♪ Fa la la, la la, ♪ ♪ la la, la la ♪
♪ 'Tis the season to be jolly ♪
♪ fa la la, la la, ♪ ♪ la la, la la ♪
♪ Don we now our gay apparel ♪
♪ fa la la, la la la, ♪ ♪ la la la ♪
♪ Toll the ancient ♪ ♪ yuletide Carol ♪
♪ Fa la la, la la, ♪ ♪ la la, la la ♪
♪ Fa la la, ♪ ♪ la la, la la, la la ♪
- Merry Christmas, everyone!
- Merry Christmas!
- Well, everybody,
it's almost midnight Christmas Eve,
so Santa can't talk long,
'cause I got a previous engagement.
You know, you should really be in bed, too.
- Uh, before Santa leaves,
there's something I wanna say to you.
I grew up here, and every memory I have
is connected to this place and all of the people in it.
I went away for a while,
a long while,
because I was convinced that all the love
and kindness and generosity that I remembered from this place
was a thing of the past.
And I know now how wrong I was,
thanks to you...
And all of you.
There still is a place where people care in this world,
where they wanna help.
And that's why you're all here,
because you remember, too,
and you wanted to keep this one magical place
open for the next generation.
- Yeah.
- Right.
- But we didn't reach our goal,
so this'll be the last Christmas for Santaville.
- It was going so well.
- Honey, it's OK. We tried.
We tried really hard, but we came up a little short.
It's over now.
I love you.
- Holly! Holly, wait!
- Mr. Jennings?
- Brenda showed me the Santaville website.
The woodcarvings are...
- We think they're just wonderful.
- And so do our customers.
- I wanna make global handcrafts the exclusive distributor, Holly.
With you running things up here,
we could sell 'em all over the world.
- But they're... they're not mine.
Um, Mr. Jennings, this is Peter Lowdell.
He's the artist. He made all of these.
- Love your work, Peter. What do you say? You interested?
- Well, you know I carve these by hand.
They don't come from a factory.
- Wouldn't want it any other way.
- And my shop would have to stay here.
You could sell them online,
but I wanna make sure everyone knows that Santaville
is the only place you can buy them in person.
- Wouldn't have it any other way.
- Peter, are you sure?
- I never would've made them if it wasn't for this place.
If it's what you want, it's what I want.
- Mr. Jennings, you can tell our customers
that I'll be looking after things up here
personally.
- Young man,
I think you're going to be very busy for quite a while.
In the meantime, how many do you have left?
- Um, none. - We're... we sold out.
- Well, you could commission one...
For say, $8,000.
- Yeah. Is that legal?
- You bet it is...
For another 4 minutes.
- Done.
- Yes!
- Right!
- Wait.
- Merry Christmas after all.
- Merry Christmas.
- OK.
- Christmas was always different for me.
It was always better. I just forgot that for a while.
Dad and Ginny run Santaville together now.
Peter and I were married there,
complete with moonlight and mistletoe.
And by the next Christmas,
Santa will have a new little elf to train.
So don't forget to come and visit all of us at Santaville,
where every day truly is Christmas.
From Santa's loving daughter, Holly.
♪ ...and a happy new year ♪