The story of sister and brother, Kate and Teddy Pierce, whose Christmas Eve plan to catch Santa Claus on camera turns into an unexpected journey that most kids could only dream about.
Two siblings in Lowell, Massachusetts, Kate and a blackmailed, skeptical Teddy, lay a trap for Santa Christmas Eve to get him on video camera. How many kids get to ride with Santa on Christmas Eve? They sneak on board the sleigh and hide. As a result, it becomes a bumpy ride - crash landing in Chicago with reindeer, (magic) hat and presents missing. Will half the continent's kids miss out on presents or can Santa, with help from the two kids, get the sleigh running within the next two hours?—Scott Filtenborg
In Lowell, Massachusetts, widow Claire Pierce struggles to keep her family together during their first Christmas without Doug, her late husband and a firefighter who died in the line of duty. Their teenage son, Teddy, has become disillusioned with the holiday, while their younger daughter, Kate, still believes in Santa Claus and tries to keep the Christmas spirit alive. On Christmas Eve, Claire is called into work, leaving Teddy in charge of Kate.
As Kate watches old family Christmas videos, she notices a mysterious arm reaching out of the fireplace, which she believes belongs to Santa. She convinces Teddy to help her prove it, promising to delete a video she secretly recorded of him stealing a car earlier that day. Together, they set up a tripwire and hidden camera before falling asleep in the living room.
Kate wakes up and sees Santa in the house. She and Teddy follow him onto his sleigh, wanting to get a closer look. However, their presence startles Santa and his reindeer, causing him to lose control of the sleigh. It telephotos and crashes in Chicago, Illinois.
After recovering from the crash, Santa introduces himself to the children and explains that they must recover his lost reindeer, his magic hat, and his bag of presents to save Christmas. Without them, the Christmas spirit will continue to decline. Kate and Teddy agree to help, hoping to avoid ending up on Santa's naughty list.
The trio first seeks help at a bar, but the bartender refuses to assist. They take a stolen Dodge Challenger parked outside and use it to track down the reindeer. While locating the reindeer, they encounter police officers pursuing the stolen car. Kate follows the reindeer while Santa and Teddy lead the police on a wild car chase, which ends with Santa being arrested.
Teddy reunites with Kate, and they recover Santa's magical bag of presents. When Kate opens the bag, she is transported to the North Pole, where she meets Santa's elves. The elves recognize her as a "true believer" and agree to help repair the sleigh and provide a spare magic hat for Santa.
Meanwhile, a gang of thugs captures Teddy and the bag. Kate and the elves come to his rescue, retrieving the bag and escaping the hideout. Back at the police station, Santa tries to convince Officer Poveda of his identity, revealing intimate details about the officer's wish to reconcile with his ex-wife, Lisa. Although Poveda initially refuses to believe him, he begins to reconsider after noticing an unusual number of arrests on Christmas Eve-something Santa had warned would happen as Christmas spirit declined. Santa inspires the inmates to perform a lively rendition of "Santa Claus Is Back in Town," which lifts the spirits of everyone except Poveda. Ultimately, a call from Lisa inviting Poveda to coffee sways him, and he agrees to release Santa.
With the sleigh repaired and only one hour left to deliver presents, Santa enlists Kate and Teddy to help. Kate tosses presents to Santa, while Teddy drives the sleigh. Together, they successfully deliver all the gifts just before sunrise, saving Christmas.
Santa drops the kids off at home just before Claire returns. When they ask if they'll ever see him again, Santa jokes that he hopes not but hints he might if they're needed. As a parting gift, Santa gives Teddy his hat, revealing that he never actually needed it to perform his duties.
When Claire arrives home, she finds the living room decorated just as Doug used to do it. The children open their presents: Kate receives the skateboard she wished for, and Teddy gets a magic ornament. When Teddy hangs it on the tree, he sees a reflection of his father, who expresses pride in him.
Back at the North Pole, Santa reunites with Mrs. Claus. She asks what movie they'll watch that evening, and Santa holds up Kate's video of their adventure, smiling knowingly.
