The holiday season is definitely one of my favourite times of the year. Eating good food, relaxing with family, watching Christmas movies... and nitpicking them. Obviously there's a lot of Christmas movies out there and it seems that a good chunk of them have the exact same plot: in a "real" world where people are indifferent towards Santa Claus' existence, one kid discovers that he is very real and must stay true to him/herself in order to continue believing that jolly old St. Nick really exists/proving his existence to the adults.
"So what's the problem with these movies?" you might be thinking. Think about it, man. The parents are convinced that Santa Claus isn't real. Santa leaves presents behind. On Christmas morning children open up gifts that have Santa's name on it. Why don't the parents ever question this?! Do they not notice the mysterious gifts for their kids that just appeared under their tree out of nowhere? Or do they have terrible memories and can't remember what exactly they got for their kids and just assume that they bought it themselves? Or is there an even more sinister conspiracy behind all this? Maybe the parents so blindingly despise Father Christmas so much that they refuse to acknowledge his existence even in the face of tangible evidence: those anti-Santites.
Look, I know that movies continuously do the whole "real world, but with Santa" thing all the time in order to set up a whimsical-yet-somewhat-grounded tone that eases the audience into it. But a recurring flaw this glaring simply cannot be ignored. I discovered this problem when I was about nine years old and I can't be the only one to have figured this out. And once you do learn of this plot hole it breaks so many movies, some of which I like very much: The Santa Clause series (1994-2006), Earnest Saves Christmas (1988), Elf (2003), The Polar Express (2004). The list goes on. Even the beloved classic Miracle on 34th Street (1947) is ravaged by this logical failure.
One explanation I've thought of is that maybe in these movies, Santa only visits the houses of people who believe in him. But even at that, the evidence of presents would surely be seen by non-believers at one point or another. And the parents of the believing kids don't always seem that convinced themselves.
Oh well. I only nitpick because I care. Personally I slightly prefer Christmas movies that do away with old Chris Kringle: movies like A Christmas Carol (1951), Joyeux Noel (2005), A Christmas Story (1983), Christmas Vacation (1988), It's A Wonderful Life (1946), A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965), and, of course, Die Hard (1988). But that's just me. Christmas can mean many things to many people, so watch whatever movies you like. Eat some tasty food. Have fun with your friends and family. And have a very Merry Christmas, my friends.
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