Woo-hoo!
Ho! Ho! Ho!
♪ Jingle bells, jingle bells Jingle all the way ♪
♪ Oh, what fun it is to ride In a one-horse open sleigh, hey! ♪
Look, I know it sucks to be working on Christmas Eve.
But, listen, if our delivery system was working, we wouldn't have to.
So, who can tell me what our Christmas market share is?
-Six percent. - Oof.
What's that 17% that says "other"?
We don't know.
Woo-hoo!
Come on! Full throttle, boys. Come on, Comet. Get after it.
Let's go. We gotta be a blur. Hyah!
I need help with the tree! Santa's gonna be here soon.
Santa. Isn't that cute?
All right, everybody. Go be with your families.
I have no--
Now, we are gonna have a look-see at what you've done, but then bed.
Marauders.
Come on, honey.
Come on. Come on.
Some kids at school think Santa's over.
They say he still uses paper mail and only delivers once a year.
Well, honey, the older kids are always gonna say Santa's not real.
I didn't say he's not real. I said he was over.
Wait, is he not real?
Oh, God. Your mother was so much better at this stuff.
I think it's safe to go back out.
Whoa.
Grace, you did this all by yourself?
How'd you get the bow on top of the tree?
Ho! Ho! Ho!
Ooh! How about we buzz the Statue of Liberty, Santa?
Great idea, Noel. But first, cruller me!
Hyah!
Mmm!
Yes!
Delightful!
Yeah, that's good!
Boss is in a playful mood.
It's gonna be one of those nights. I bet you he doesn't finish on time.
I'll take that bet, Crouton.
No shenanigans in the control center.
Sorry, boss, but elves gotta elf.
Yeah, they do!
Very well. Status report, Crouton.
Santa's way slower than usual, but somehow they're ahead of schedule.
How is that possible?
Wait, is this the whole list?
This can't be the whole list. This is getting shorter every year.
What's going on?
Hold on.
What are we doing here? This house isn't on the list.
That's gotta be some sort of mistake.
This is always one of my favorite stops.
I think the milk's a little sour.
It's soy milk.
You said you were lactose intolerant.
I did say that, didn't I?
Thanks for remembering. Go to sleep.
Merry Christmas, Sara.
Merry Christmas, Santa.
You know what?
I'm gonna find out why this house isn't on the list.
So, we're just doing home invasions now?
Come on. It's all good. Listen, it's better than good.
It's santastic.
Never gets old.
This actually tickles a little bit.
Oh! Whoa, whoa, whoa!
You scared me.
Calm down. No, no, no. Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop.
No, no, no. I'm here to see Sara, your daughter.
- She'll vouch for me. - I'm Sara!
Oh, oh. Stop. Stop. What am I thinking?
A blink of an eye and, what, 28 years go by.
At least I look the same.
Who are you?
I'm Santa Claus.
Lactose intolerant. You gave me soy milk.
- Listen to me, you wacko, okay? - Oh.
Santa's not real, and I have run out of things to throw,
so I'm gonna ask you really, really nicely to please leave.
I understand. Adults lose their belief in magic.
It just grows out of them.
But how do you not remember me?
I don't remember much, man.
I'm an adult woman living with my parents.
I mean, my life is one endless, blurry, long day broken up by Judge Judys.
Wow. Of all the kids in the world,
I would never imagine that you'd stop believing.
- Okay... - Hmm.
...let's pretend you are Santa.
I mean, why are you even here?
I get all my presents online,
and to tell you the truth, I forgot tonight was Christmas Eve.
Well, that's too bad 'cause then you're probably not gonna want this.
Oh, my God. I haven't thought of Polly since I was a little girl.
Yeah.
My mom got rid of her 'cause I threw her a pool party in the toilet.
It was a Polly Pocket potty party.
Oh, my God. It is you.
Merry Christmas, Sara.
Merry Christmas, Santa.
I'll-- I'll let you do your thing.
Thank you.
The heck is happening? Come on.
Noel. Noel. Need a little help. Noel!
Kind of jiggle the lock to get it open.
Santa?
Best friend? You there?
Santa? Hello?
All right.
Noel, take a breath. Breathe. Breathe!
All right, look. We gotta go.
Milk and cookies.
Are you okay?
Who said that?
Hey, Mom.
Cal, what did we say about playing these games?
You get all carried away
and can't tell the difference between fantasy and reality.
Yes, I'm real!
Okay, okay, okay.
But is that real?
Lewis, I made popcorn.
- Oh. Hey, Mom. - Oh, hey.
Lewis and I were watching a movie about Santa.
We can't believe how much they get wrong.
I'm sure.
You kids should really be in bed.
You know, your dad loves to see you when he gets back from his rounds.
But the best part of Christmas is over by then.
I know, and he wishes he could be here.
But he has to be there--
For all the children of the world.
Right.
Okay, bed. Both of you.
I'm sorry, Lewis.
I guess we'll have to finish movie night another time.
Wow, 28 years.
Twenty-eight years, wow. Twenty-eight--
Why do you keep mumbling, "28 years"?
Twenty-eight years, that's how long I've been doing this, you know?
Where does the time go?
I believe it flies, doesn't it?
And all those kids turned into adults, you know? They stopped believing--
Oh, holy night! The magic reserves are running low.
No, they're not. The gauge is old. It doesn't even work.
It's made out of candy or something. Couldn't get better than tonight!
- This is a good night. We are cruising. - Why are you talking weird like that?
It's not weird when I talk like this. It's only weird when I talk like this.
Wait just a taffy-licking minute.
How did you get back on the roof of that house
when I was looking down the chimney the whole time?
Come on, Noel. A good Santa never gives up his secrets.
Blitzen, get back here.
Okay. All right. Calm down.
Why-- Why do you smell like taffy?
Why do you smell like despair?
Is that an odor? Despair?
What is going on?
Uh...
Listen.
Okay, you can't tell anybody,
but my magic may have failed me tonight. It's no big deal.
- We're 10,000 feet in the air... - Almost eleven-five.
...being pulled by flying livestock...
They hate being called livestock.
...that depend on magic.
- That's, in fact, true. - No big deal?
Whoa! Boys, come on! Pull it up!
Crouton, we have a problem!
Come on, guys!
Whoa!
Boys, come on! Pull it up!
Guys!
What did you do? This has your fingerprints all over it.
Wrong.
My fingers are covered with chocolate. You did something wrong.
I have never done anything wrong, ever. My record is flawless.
Technically, less flaw can still mean some flaw!
Noel? Santa?
Santa, Santa, do you copy?
You better let the missus know.
Sandra, this, uh... ...furry friends thing.
It's, um, getting out of hand.
Well, what choice do I have?
There's no kids my age around here,
and sometimes I just need someone to talk to.
But they don't talk back. Do they?
No, Mom. They're-- They're animals.
I'm not crazy. I'm just lonely sometimes.
I know it isn't easy living in the North Pole.
Yeah. But I'm doing fine.
I mean, you should be the one that's complaining.
Why? I'm fine. I'm-- I'm-- I'm happy.
Of course you are because being cheery is your whole deal.
My whole deal?
I mean, you ever look up past Mrs. Clauses?
It's an old lady who knits and bakes.
I mean, she doesn't even have a first name.
That's not true. I have a first name.
- No, you don't. - I do.
- It's, um... It's Nancy. - No--
- Nanta. - That's not a name.
Shanta.
Is that what you want us to call you?
What's going on, Betty? My husband's sleigh is missing?
Well, not exactly.
His sleigh came back, but Santa doesn't appear to be in it.
How is that possible?
Oh, no! It happened again.
But then, where's the new Santa?
Please let it be Harry Styles. Please, please, please, please.
Fooled ya!
Yes.
Good one, big man!
I wasn't nervous at all--
Somebody get some hay on that.
Listen, I want to congratulate everybody on another great Christmas.
We did it, right?
You know, I don't say this enough, but being Santa has meant the world to me.
Once a year, I get to spread joy and magic to people everywhere,
but I couldn't do it without all of you.
Especially you two, Joy and Magic.
But this Santa is nothing without his elves.
Tell ya that.
Which means you've all earned a huge vacation!
Or we could go down to the shop and start making toys!
Yeah! Yeah!
Let's get this party started!
We wake up to sugar and spice ♪
♪ No place in the world Is as cozy or nice ♪
What happened out there tonight, sir?
It went great. Right, Noel? It went fine. Noel?
Noel? Ugh.
Very good. I guess all the malfunctions were on our side.
- You're darn tootin'. - We'll get it fixed,
and I'll make a note in my report that everyone else was acting weird.
You do that.
Oh!
Santa's back and Christmas is done ♪
- You scared me. - I scared you?
Seriously?
Oh, elves just wanna have fun ♪
Oh, toys and candy and fun ♪
Honey, you really did scare me.
Yeah? They told me your sleigh was missing.
Well, you can't believe everything you hear, can ya?
I'm sorry, Santa.
Are you saying that the elves were lying?
Elves don't lie.
What do you take us for? Gnomes?
Can we talk about this later?
- Okay. - I'm gonna take a little nap.
Then we're gonna have our belated Christmas.
You and I will have a nice talk after the kids pass out under the tree.
They're not little kids anymore. They don't pass out under the tree.
So, are you gonna tell me what happened on your rounds?
- It's actually a little embarrassing. - Hey, you know you can tell me anything.
Well, you know, we're sliding into vortexes,
you know, jumping in and out of dimensions.
It was pretty normal, you know?
Actually, it wasn't normal at all. It was different out there.
Okay, what was different?
The world is different, honey. It's people.
You know? It's like they're misfiring. They're disconnected.
It was fine.
It was fine. Then my magic failed.
Oh.
Wow. Okay.
- Well, that happens. - Mm-hmm.
It happens? How many Santas do you know? It never happened to me.
- No, I'm just saying that you're 65... - Yeah.
...and that this is when people your age, they slow down,
they start to enjoy their lives, they retire, they--
Oh! [laughs] Retire?
Okay.
You don't retire in this business.
Apparently, what you do is, you get startled,
you slip off a roof into a snowbank, hand a card to some stranger.
♪ Jingle bells Santa fell ♪
Now he's gone away ♪
Oh, Scott.
Speaking of, do you happen to know if there was a Mrs. Claus before me?
Say that again?
When you scared the last Santa to death,
and you took over his job,
did he, in fact, have a wife?
Hmm.
I-- You know, I don't know.
You never bothered to ask?
He wasn't in a talkative mood.
He'd fallen off the roof into a pile of snow.
No final words? No, "Tell Myrtle I love her"?
Ha. Her name is Myrtle?
No. And do you know why?
Because Mrs. Claus doesn't have a first name.
I don't have a first name.
It's Carol.
At least, you know, that's what I call you.
Wait a minute. Maybe your name isn't Carol
because sometimes I call you and you don't answer me.
Carol was my before name.
Is this going to become a thing?
No, you asking me to marry you and then gaining 200 pounds was a thing.
This is much bigger.
Yes. Tell you what.
Why don't I start us a fire, huh?
- Mm-hmm. - Oh!
Oh.
Not again. Not again.
This is-- Look at this-- It did-- It didn't, um--
Did you just attempt to escape up the chimney to flee this conversation?
No. Yeah, I--
No.
- No? - No, I was doing--
Gonna-- When I-- Well, we could see it that way.
Yeah, yeah. That's what I was doing.
Well, I'm giving you the worst news a Santa Claus can get.
- Oh, no. - You've lost weight.
Oh, no!
I knew it. I knew it. That's why I'm feeling so sluggish.
And my belly's not moving like it used to when I laugh.
It's not a belly full of jelly anymore.
You are down to only three chins.
And sometimes when I bend over, I'm starting to be able to see my feet.
Wait a minute, Doc. Doc.
Am I dying?
No. No, no, no.
- But I am alarmed. - Yeah?
Is there anything else going on that I should know about?
Uh, you know-- Well, no. No. Mm-mmm. I don't think so. No.
Okay, so everything's great with, let's say, uh, your magic?
All right.
Who dropped a dime on me?
Mrs. Claus? Noel?
That was all said in confidence. And, uh-- And none of it was true.
- Okay. - Change of subject.
Hypothetical. Just a hypothetical, 'cause we're both science people.
What would it take to make Santa less than a Santa?
What would have to happen? I mean, just hypothetically.
Uh... Okay. Well, in-- in theory, a loss of magic would be caused
by all the children not believing in or needing Santa anymore.
But it's probably just physical.
And if this continues, then yes, you're gonna look ripped.
That's awfully close to body-shaming.
- Sorry. - I've got to get out of shape.
Instead of "Eye of the Tiger," the "Eye of the Kringle."
Ho ho ho!
Good luck!
Rising up, back on the street ♪
Hey. What you doing?
Working out.
Now you made me move. I got to start all over again.
Ha. You wanna go for a hike?
Do you not want me to be Santa?
Jaden Grimes, Lakeland, Florida.
Football.
Spot on, Santa.
- Next. - That's what he asked for.
♪ Don't lose your grip On the dreams of the past ♪
Isn't this great?
Yep. It'd be a better workout if I had some stuffing.
- Otto Broghammer. Düsseldorf, Germany. - Oh.
- Otto wanted a snake. - Toy snake. Aces, Santa.
He wrote down "toy," but you know what he wanted?
A real one. Just wouldn't tell his parents.
Yeah, boys love those live snakes.
I-- Boy. Oh, boy. Hey, get up. It's all right. It's okay. Open up.
Well?
Well, you've lost ten more pounds.
I knew it. You know what I got now?
I've got abs. It's terrifying the elves. Abs!
You know, I've got the body of an MMA fighter, not an M&M eater.
And how does this even happen?
I haven't done anything for ten months.
I haven't even been building toys.
Well, that should be a delightful surprise for all the children.
The elves are still building toys.
It's just me not there. I usually like to get my hands dirty.
And how's the Christmas spirit?
Fine. Except saying, "Merry Christmas to all" has suddenly become problematic.
Okay, how about we check your magic?
- All right. - Let's go ahead and stick your hands out,
- and then touch your nose. - All right.
Is that good? How is that?
Yep. All right.
All right. You're cleared to fly.
Just let me know if there are any more issues.
Okay.
Are we forgetting something?
Best part of the checkup.
Yes.
The only reason to go to the doctor.
That's a good sign.
- Can I have another? - Yes. Absolutely.
Mmm.
And here we have Patti Donovan,
accused of stomping, yelling, throwing brussels sprouts.
Naughty or nice?
I always knew there was something behind that smile of hers. Naughty.
Mmm.
What is it, Edie?
Well, I know it's not my place, but some might say labeling her as naughty
just for temper tantrums is brat-shaming.
Some might say.
Okay, fine. Change it to nice. Let's go nice.
Tyler Wilson, disruptive in the classroom.
- Naughty. - Mmm.
Sorry, Santa, but that's classic ADHD.
You're killing me here, Edie.
And actually, sir, we're not supposed to say naughty anymore.
It's the misunderstood list, and they also get gifts.
What's the point of this anymore?
Sir, you love these confabs.
I used to love it.
Is there some way I can delegate this to somebody else?
Ooh. That's exciting.
How about all girls are nice and all boys are naughty?
Just like how all cats are girls and all dogs are boys.
Literally a couple of seconds ago,
you said we weren't allowed to say naughty or nice.
Well, that was before I felt the power.
See, sir? This is why we can't delegate.
We are days away from Christmas.
Sorry, sorry, sorry.
So, you're probably closer to Santa than anyone else.
Could you say that one more time but slower, louder and into my tape recorder?
No.
I've been thinking about Santa, and do you think he's still got it?
That's the golly-darndest question anyone's ever asked.
He's Santa!
Yes, and we all love him.
But we've seen what happens when Santas lose their zest for the job.
They get crankier.
Crankiness is part of his charm.
- They stop caring. - I don't care for this conversation.
- And accidents happen. - Na, na, na, na, na, na, na.
Look.
- There's something in the air. - Like bubbles?
I love bubbles.
Letters to Santa are down.
Children hold the spirit of Christmas in their hearts.
If kids don't believe as much anymore, the magic fades.
I think Santa's feeling it,
and if it affects his job, it could be the end of Christmas.
No!
And what do you think happens to us? To elves?
What? What?
Christmas is our purpose.
If it goes away, I don't know, maybe we go away.
Na, na, na, na, na, na, na!
I need you to report any signs of Santa faltering.
But, Honeybuns...
No.
At home, I'm Honeybuns.
At work, I'm your boss.
Okay, here you go. Gloves and all that. Yeah. Thanks.
- Dad. - Yeah?
I wanted to give you your present before you left, but it hasn't come yet, so...
You ordered me something online?
In case you haven't noticed, we have a workshop right here at the North Pole.
He may not have noticed.
No, the workshop here is just too loud,
and you know the elves make lousy tech 'cause they just get nutmeg in everything.
But your gift is gonna blow you away, if it comes.
- You know how you love roller coasters? - No.
Now you can ride them without ever leaving your couch.
You know me so well, Cal.
Nice.
Well, Dad, I got you a present you can open now.
Oh. Well, isn't that nice?
What do we got here?
So it's a list of Christmas tree lots that put deer in cages
that they try to pass off as reindeer.
I put bolt cutters in your sleigh so you can set them free.
We can't set deer free in big cities.
Hipsters just put fedoras on them, honey, but thank you so much.
Well, maybe you can bring them back to me.
Well, the Christmas rounds are all about giving, not receiving, sweetheart.
Can I come with you?
Okay, you know what?
Let's talk about this next year, Sandra. Let's give your old dad a break.
Is the word "old" really necessary?
Okay, let's give your not-so-old dad a big hug, yeah?
- I love you guys. - Yeah. Love you back.
I really do wish I could spend this time with you guys.
It's okay, Dad. We understand.
Yeah.
Hey, be careful.
I have a bad feeling about tonight.
You have a bad feeling? Wow.
Maybe Mrs. Claus's first name is Bummer.
You're right. Drive fast, be careless.
- Love you. - I love you.
Okay, everybody.
Okay, babes.
And to all, a good night.
What do you say we air this thing out? To the Holly Jolly Highway!
Hyah!
New York.
London.
Paris.
Munich.
Everybody talk about pop muzik ♪
- Hyah! - Okay.
For our first stop, it's...
Wait. No. Not this year.
Hmm.
All right. That just gives us more time to--
Huh.
He's not on here either.
Whoa! Blitzen, come on. We're good.
We're fi-- We're fine. We're fine.
Ah. Here we go. Myrin Fischer.
All right.
Get down there. Let's go.
Oh, man.
No! [whistles] Comet, uh-uh!
- Do you want me to go with you? - No, you just want a snickerdoodle.
And no, I don't need you to go with me. I got this. Watch.
See?
It's all good.
Tonight, we welcome Simon Choksi, the CEO of EverythingNow!
- Oh, soot! -You know, here at 42 News,
-we like to cut right to the chase. - I need a cookie.
I need a cookie. I need a cookie. Where are the cookies?
Simon, your EN-3000 was supposed to be the Christmas gift of the year...
They're right here usually. Cookie.
...but you have failed to deliver, quite literally. True?
Still up?
We said that the EN-3000 would arrive by Christmas.
We just didn't say which Christmas.
I told you a joke was a bad idea, Hassan.
Look, I crushed it in the toy and video game business, right?
But yes, when we expanded to e-commerce, we had a few--
- Catastrophes. - Hiccups. Come on.
Well, some say you tried to grow too big too fast.
Well, like Molière said, you know, "Don't hate the player, hate the game."
Darn it, Hassan! That didn't work either.
Look, bottom line, I'll be honest with you.
EverythingNow! will deliver everything now!
Or in four to six weeks, all right?
So, what do you say to all your customers whose stockings will be empty tomorrow?
Do something, do something.
Come on. We can't all be Santa Claus.
Hey, thanks for bailing me out, man.
That was a stress nightmare come to life.
Did you say something, sir?
I can't hear anything over the loud buzz.
Hassan, are you seeing this?
I only see giant black dots.
It's rather unsettling.
Where'd he go?
Who, me? Am I invisible now?
I mean, I've always felt not seen.
There's no way that was real.
But if it is, why can't we do the same?
It's a beautiful night.
Yeah, I guess so.
Hey, let me ask you a question.
Do you think folks are having less children or are kids just, um...
Are kids just what?
Ah, never mind, never mind. Huh.
Hey, Santa! You wanna loop the loop the St. Louis Arch?
Nah, we got a lot of work to do. Let's just get this over with.
Get it over with?
Whoa, whoa, whoa. Whoa!
All right.
Are you okay, Santa?
The truth is, I've been letting the world affect my Christmas spirit.
I know I haven't been as fun as I used to be.
Are you kidding? Any time with you is the best time, Santa.
Right back at you, Noel.
You know what? I'm not gonna let this affect me.
Almost, almost, almost, almost.
Oh, no. Something's happening again.
Why? What--
Santa?
- Best friend? Are you okay? - I can't even touch my nose.
- What's happening? - Oh, no.
- Santa! - Whoa, whoa!
- Your sack. What's going on? - Whoa. Whoa.
- I-- - Santa!
Whoa, whoa, whoa!