A mean and spoiled 13-year-old girl is turned into a "monster" by Santa. She must get a real present from a real friend by Christmas or she'll stay a monster.
Meet 13-year-old Rubie. Shes rich. Shes beautiful. And she knows it. She rules her school and she isnt afraid to use her power. She regularly makes some of the other kids and even her nerdy new little stepbrother, Elliot, cry. In other words, shes a classic bully. Every bully has their "favorite" victim and Rubies is Olivia, who isnt nearly as rich or as pretty as her. And Rubie goes out of her way to make her life miserable.
Rubies father takes Rubie to meet the mall Santa (who happens to be African American) where she pulls out a long list of all the things she wants for Christmas. When the mall Santa tells Rubie that she doesnt know the spirit of Christmas, Rubie glares at him and tells him that she knows hes not the REAL Santa. Moreover, because her father owns the mall, she can have him fired if he doesnt do exactly what she wants him to do.
On Christmas Eve, Rubie hears a noise in the house. She climbs out of bed and discovers Santa coming down the chimney. But its not storybook Santa, its the same Santa from the mall. The mall Santa tells Rubie that she is ugly on the inside and that hell make her as ugly on the outside as she is on the inside. Rubie thinks shes just dreaming, but on Christmas morning, Rubie wakes up and finds that she is indeed ugly: Frizzy hair, pimples, hair everywhere, unibrow, scars on her face, bad teeth, etc. Ironically, Elliot (Rubies stepbrother) goes through the opposite transformation. He suddenly no longer needs to wear thick eyeglasses and with a haircut and a new wardrobe, he becomes a totally new boy.
Rubies father and stepmother (Patricia) are obviously concerned about the drastic changes in Rubies appearance. They go to the doctor and other than a new pair of eyeglasses; Rubie is a perfectly healthy little girl. Patricia arranges for Rubie to get a full makeover at a high-end salon but it is no use Rubie always returns to her monster self.
That night Rubie is visited by Santa who tells her that she needs to get a real gift from a real friend by the next Christmas or shell stay ugly for the rest of her life. Rubie doesnt think this sounds that hard. Rubie attempts to get gifts from the people in her life but soon realizes that she has no real friends. It slowly dawns on her that maybe its not going to be as easy as she thought it was.
Christmas vacation ends and Rubie has to return to school. Of course, shes dreading it. She knows that once the other kids see her, they are going to make fun of her. At first, shes able to go unnoticed (she wears a full head scarf) but eventually the truth of Rubies new monster look is revealed and it doesnt take long for her to go from bully to bullied. At the same time, Elliots new look rockets him into the ranks of the popular kids and it begins to affect him. He starts to think and act like the old Rubie.
Patricia (the stepmother) is worried about both her kids. Shes concerned that her son has let his new look get to his head. She also sees the pain her stepdaughter is in. She decides to teach both of them an important lesson that its the inside (not the outside) thats most important in a person.
Both Rubie and Elliot take this lesson to heart. Elliot stops treating his stepsister as though she had a disease and the two become friends. Rubie also befriends the one person who is still willing to see past her "monster" self, the person she had picked on most, Olivia. The two quickly become best friends and find out that they have a shared love of astronomy even going to space camp together over summer vacation.
The next Christmas comes and unlike the previous year Rubie doesnt want anything for herself. Instead, on Christmas Eve, she gives Olivia a very expensive necklace to replace the ratty one that she always wears. But when she gives it to her, Olivia is hurt and leaves. Olivias father reveals to Rubie that the "ratty" necklace was Olivias dead mothers and that Olivias feelings were just hurt.
That night, Rubie is depressed. First, that she has lost her best friend (Olivia) and also the chance that shell be pretty again. Santa visits Rubie and tells the little girl that he likes the new her better than the old her and wishes that she wouldnt give up so easily. After all, she still has all of Christmas day to get a real present from a real friend.
Rubie wants to make it up to Olivia, but how? What can she buy her that make her less mad at her? Santa tells her that the best presents arent necessarily expensive. Sometimes the best presents are the things you give from the heart. Rubie knows right away what shes going to give her: A scrapbook of their friendship.
On Christmas morning, Rubie wakes her parents up and gets her father to drive her to Olivias apartment. Rubie apologizes to Olivia and gives her the scrapbook. Olivia LOVES the present and gives Rubie a gift. A scrapbook, just like the one Rubie had given her. This is Rubies first real gift and she truly cherishes it. She falls asleep with it in her arms and when she wakes up in the morning, both Rubie and Elliot have returned to their normal selves (Rubie beautiful and Elliot nerdy).
When Rubie returns to school, everyone wants to be her friend again. Olivia sees her and doesnt talk to her figuring shed no longer want to be seen with her. But in front of the whole class, Rubie shuns her old friends and hangs out with Olivia and her brother, her only real friends.
