SYNOPSIS
We open with an eight-year-old girl placing cookies, a glass of milk, and a hand- written note on a table. She then goes to bed. Santa comes in, reads the note and says sadly, “Oh, Beth, I’m afraid I don’t have that in my bag.” The next morning, young Beth runs into the living room expectantly, then dissolves in tears when she realizes that she didn’t get the one thing she wanted Santa to bring.
Years later, we meet the now-grown-up girl. Her name is Beth Marshall (Crystal Bernard). She’s an advertising executive and harried single mother of a great 10-year-old son named Jake (Dominic Scott Kay). We see her pushing to get to work on time and pushing to get Jake to school with his class project. When she drops Jake off at school, she sees another student with his father and she’s sad that her son doesn’t have a dad.
Beth arrives at work late, only to learn that her boss, Andrew West (Thomas Calabro), an attractive, successful man, wants to see her. She rushes into his office and he tells her that Hennesy Games, Inc. is shopping for a new agency. West wants the account and gives Beth only a couple of days to put together a presentation. If she can pull it off, she’ll get a big promotion. “Sounds like a lot more responsibility and longer hours,” she says. “I have a son, remember.” “The raise will make it all worthwhile,” Andrew assures her. Feeling guilty about not being able to spend more time with Jake, Beth burns the midnight oil working on the account.
Inside his father’s house at the North Pole, Nick (Steve Guttenberg) sorts through a stack of mail – letters from children to Santa. Ernest (Armin Shimerman), Nick’s small but stern taskmaster, walks in. “It’s time to grow up and accept your responsibilities, Nicholas,” he says. “Ready or not, you have to take on the role you’re destined to fulfill.”
Beth and Andrew do a presentation for Mike Hennesy (Sebastian Tillinger), the hard-to-please head of Hennesy Games. They convince him that the most powerful salesman for the product is Santa Claus – and Andrew promises to get revered actor Sir John Marshfield (Clement Von Franckenstein) to play the part. “I know that he’s an icon,” Hennesy says, “but does he mean anything to kids?” “I don’t care about the kids,” Andrew replies. “At Christmas, the parents do the buying.” Hennesy agrees to give the account to West & Associates – but only if they get Sir John to be Santa.
Andrew is thrilled to have landed the account and insists that Beth “eat, breathe and sleep this campaign.” Beth protests that Jake has a basketball game tomorrow. Andrew insists that she work.
Beth arrives at the home of her friend Joanie (Kelley Hazen) and thanks her for taking care of Jake, who is playing a video game with Joanie’s son. Beth gets a poignant expression on her face as she watches Joanie’s husband interact with Jake. Joanie calls Beth a workaholic and tries to fix her up on a date. “Give someone a chance,” she pleads. “There are nice guys out there.” “It doesn’t matter,” Beth replies. “I’m not looking for them.”
Privately, Jake confesses to Beth that he wishes he had a dad. “Just because he’s in heaven doesn’t mean he’s not with us,” Beth explains. Jake tells her he’s going to ask Santa for a father. “Santa can’t bring people back,” Beth says. “And he can’t make people fall in love.”
At the North Pole, Nick has a heart-to-heart with his parents – Santa and Mrs. Claus. Santa is retiring and Nick must take over the reigns at noon on December 25. Nick insists he’s not ready. “You have to be,” his father replies. Ernest informs Nick that he must get married before he becomes Santa. “I couldn’t have done it without your mother,” Santa says. “I may be the head of this enterprise, but she is the heart.” Ernest presents Nick with a list of candidates and he begrudgingly agrees to meet them.
One by one, after he meets them, Nick crosses off the names of the women on his list. But wherever he goes, he has a magical effect on people, bringing out the best in them. Walking down the street, he notices a commercial shoot underway, under Beth and Andrew’s supervision.
In full regalia as Santa, Sir John berates his young co-star when she can’t remember her lines, bringing Holly (Katia Coe) to tears. Sir John gets indignant when Beth tries to reason with him and storms off the set. Observant of everything, Nick rescues Beth from being injured by a falling light. And he volunteers to help Holly with her lines, turning the process into a game.
Beth is forlorn when Sir John quits. But then the director of the commercial, Amy (Wendy Braun), shows her some footage that was taken of Nick helping Holly. “This guy’s a natural,” Amy raves. “The camera loves him. And so does the kid.” Beth shows the footage to Andrew and tries to sell Nick as a fresh, new image to sell the product. Andrew threatens to fire Beth if Hennesy doesn’t agree.
Beth tracks Nick down and implores him to do the commercial – or she’ll lose her job. Nick agrees, only because he’s attracted to Beth, but insists he won’t wear the Santa suit. When the shoot wraps, Nick gets to share a pizza with Beth and takes the pportunity to get to know her. He finds out that she doesn’t like cold weather. But when she was a kid she used to dream about traveling the world and having adventures. “Then you grow up and reality hits you.”
Ernest unexpectedly arrives. “Your parents thought you could use some help.” Nick explains that no one on Ernest’s list compares to Beth. When Nick leaves, Ernest places a call on his cell phone. “Sir? Do you remember a girl named Beth Marshall? Oh. I see. Yes, that is too bad.” He looks worried. Hennesy loves the commercial and thinks Nick is “real.” Now Beth has to secure him for more commercials. She offers him money. “Everyone cares about what money can buy,” he replies. “What I want doesn’t have a price tag.” Beth assures Nick that the commercials will reflect the real Christmas spirit – and promises that he’ll be done before Christmas Eve. He agrees – but only if Beth agrees to do something with him. At a playground, the two of them go down a slide together. Self-conscious at first, Beth soon finds Nick’s childlike enthusiasm contagious.
Nick confronts Ernest, who has been following him and Beth. “I checked her out with your father,” Ernest tells Nick. “He remembers her well. She can’t be a candidate.” “Why not?,” Nick asks. “She doesn’t believe,” Ernest replies. “And you know that’s absolutely essential. Number one on the list of requirements for your wife.” Nick vows to win Beth over.
Nick asks for a few changes in the commercial script. “This is a time when miracles happen.” “No, they don’t,” Beth says. “They do if you just believe,” Nick says. “Twice in my life I let myself hope for a miracle. And you know what, Nick? Twice my heart was broken.”
Beth confides to Joanie that she’s attracted to Nick. Joanie is encouraging. “You lit up when you were talking about this guy. I haven’t seen that in a long time. It’s nice to see a little of the old Beth again.”
When Jake’s sitter gets sick, Beth has to bring him to the commercial shoot, where he meets Nick. Nick recognizes Jake’s name and asks, “You didn’t write your letter to Santa yet, did you?” Jake is stunned! How did he know that? But Beth tells Nick that “Jake’s a big boy. He knows that Santa isn’t real.”
Nick and Jake go to the studio café together and have a conversation about Santa. Nick assures Jake that magic can make anything happen. “So Santa could be real,” Jake surmises. “If you believe,” Nick assures him, “he could.” When Beth finds out about their conversation, she is not pleased.
Nick shows Beth the game he’s supposed to be promoting. “It’s about lying, cheating, scheming. It’s totally inappropriate for children.” Beth is worried. Nick assures her that he’ll get Andrew and Hennesy to do the right thing. But both of the men are furious when he explains his ethical dilemma. Nick tells Beth that he intends to appeal to Hennesy’s Christmas spirit. And then, in private, he places a call on his cell. “Dad? I need some information and I need it fast. Do you remember a boy named Mike Hennesy?” In no time, Nick salvages the situation to everyone’s liking.
Nick coaches Jake in basketball. By using music, he gets the boy to develop a rhythm – and self-confidence. Beth invites Nick to accompany her and Jake Christmas shopping. At the mall, Nick makes a few minor miracles happen. “Did you notice how Nick kind of makes everybody happy?,” Jake asks his mother. “Don’t get any ideas about Nick and me,” Beth
warns. “But he’s great,” Jake protests. “The other guys you went out with just pretended to like me. Nick really does!”
Just before his team’s basketball game begins, Jake points Jocelyn out to Nick and confides that he wants to get her an expensive Christmas gift. Nick encourages him to give her something that will touch her heart. Nick watches Jocelyn practice and compliments her skills. She gives all the credit to her wheelchair-bound brother Christian (Cody Arens). “He makes a lot more baskets than I do.” The game is tied. At the free-throw line, Jake is in a position to win for his team. He calls time out and approaches the coach. “I’d like Christian to sub for me, if he wants to.” Christian’s face lights up. He wheels onto the court, stares at the basket, shoots – and makes it! After their victory, Jocelyn thanks Jake and kisses him on the cheek.
Beth and Jake watch Nick read “Twas the Night Before Christmas” at a local bookstore. Jake realizes that the kids of different nationalities are hearing the story in their own language. Afterwards, Nick buys Beth and Jake a tree. As Beth puts Jake to bed, Nick works a bit of Christmas magic and beautifully decorates it. Just when it seems like he and Beth are about to share a romantic moment, Beth pulls away. “I’m sorry, Nick. This is just moving too fast.” He hides his sense of urgency. “Take as much time as you need.”
Ernest gets Nick to admit that he’s in love with Beth. Surprisingly, he then vows to bring them together. “My job was to make certain that you find a wife by Christmas. And while none of my candidates seemed to work, you seemed to have found one. And I will help you get her!” Prodded by Ernest, Nick arrives at Beth’s office with flowers and candy, and asks her out to dinner. Before she can say yes, Andrew bursts in and insists that she dine with Hennesy to discuss the new campaign. Disappointed, Nick volunteers to babysit Jake. When Beth arrives home, she and Nick have a heart-to-heart. Beth tells Nick that when she was eight years old, she asked Santa to bring her father back. “I stopped believing then,” she admits. “I knew that miracles were not a reality.” Suddenly, a mistletoe appears. Nick calls it Christmas magic. Beth says, “I don’t believe in magic.” “Are you sure?” “Suddenly, I’m not sure of anything.”
Ernest reminds Nick that he only has 69 hours to make a believer out of Beth. On a moonlit night, in front of her outdoor fireplace, they kiss – a magical kiss that they both know, somehow, has changed them forever.
Andrew shows up in a huff. He’s been trying to get through to Beth for hours. The first time he called, Jake told him it was a wrong number. Then he disconnected the phone. Nick leaves as Beth prepares to work – again.
Jake overhears Andrew offering his mother a “proposal.” Beth promises to give him an answer the next day. Jake immediately calls Nick. “I think she’s going to marry him!” At the office, Andrew asks if Beth’s campaign will be completed by tomorrow. “Tomorrow is Christmas Eve,” Beth replies. “I am not coming to work.” Nick bursts in. “You don’t want to marry him!”
“What are you talking about?” “Didn’t he propose to you?,” Nick asks, confused. “He offered me a promotion,” Beth replies. “I turned him down.” Alone together, Beth admits that Nick makes her happy. “We’re meant to be happy.” They kiss under a star-filled sky. Nick reveals to Beth that he’s Santa. Jake is thrilled. Beth is furious. She doesn’t believe him. “I’m not allowed to prove it to you,” Nick explains. “You have to have faith in me.” Beth tells him to leave and never come back.
“You know what I don’t understand, Mom?,” Jake asks Beth. “If you don’t believe in Nick, you get nothing. But if you do believe in him, you’ve got nothing to lose.” Out of the mouths of babes! Beth smiles. She and Jake rush over to Nick’s hotel. To their dismay, he has checked out, leaving no forwarding address.
At the North Pole, Nick sits with his parents in Santa’s study. “There’s never been a Santa without a Mrs. Claus, not in 1700 years!,” his mother declares. “Nick will manage,” Santa replies. And then he prepares to leave on his last sleigh ride before Nick takes the reins.
Beth puts the last couple of parcels around the tree, then goes to a desk, sits down, and begins writing a note. Later, Santa arrives at her house and, beside the glass of milk and cookies, notices the letter. He reads it and grins. “Now that I can give you.”
Beth wakes Jake up early the next morning. He sluggishly walks out, certain that he didn’t get what he wished for. Reaching the tree, Beth and Jake discover Nick waiting for them. He doesn’t have a beard or belly yet, but he’s in his Santa clothes. “Merry Christmas,” he says. “My Christmas wish was granted,” Beth says, hugging and kissing Nick. “Mine, too,” he replies.
The three of them hug joyfully.
- HALLMARK CHANNEL -
