A few days before the Christmas holiday, a large family decides to put on a home-made play as part of their holiday together. The mother writes the play, and the children practice it. When they are ready, they enact first a prologue and then the play.
Two employees at a gift shop can barely stand one another, without realising that they are falling in love through the post as each other's anonymous pen pal.
Kris Kringle, seemingly the embodiment of Santa Claus, is asked to portray the jolly old fellow at Macy's following his performance in the Thanksgiving Day parade. His portrayal is so complete that many begin to question if he truly is Santa Claus, while others question his sanity.
Just before Christmas, department store clerk Steve Mason meets big spending customer Connie Ennis, who's actually a comparison shopper sent by another store. Steve lets her go, which gets him fired. They spend the afternoon together, which doesn't sit well with Connie's steady suitor, Carl, when he finds out, but delights her young son Timmy, who quickly takes to Steve.
The story of unfortunate lovers from contemporary Belgrade, a young woman married for money, and a student whom she loved before marriage. Juvenile love romance gets extinguished by social intolerance, calculated and upstarted.
A musical adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic ghost tale starring Albert Finney.
In this NBC Christmas Special from 1984, Mr. T plays a street Santa Claus who meets a young boy, played by Emmanuel Lewis of TV's Webster, who doesn't share the spirit of Christmas. Mr. T sets out to change Billy's mind, taking him around the city to FAO Schwartz, where he gets a magic lesson from David Copperfield, and then to Radio City Music Hall, where he listens to Christmas songs sung by Maureen McGovern, imagines himself as one of the toy soldiers in the Rockettes' Christmas Show, meets Willie Tyler and his dummy Lester, and finally is moved to realize the true meaning of Christmas, before being reunited with his parents.
37-year-old Italian-American widow Loretta Castorini believes she is unlucky in love, and so accepts a marriage proposal from her boyfriend Johnny, even though she doesn't love him. When she meets his estranged younger brother Ronny, an emotional and passionate man, she finds herself drawn to him. She tries to resist, but Ronny, who blames his brother for the loss of his hand, has no scruples about aggressively pursuing her while Johnny is out of the country. As Loretta falls for Ronny, she learns that she's not the only one in her family with a secret romance.
Heartless Mrs. Mavilda runs an orphanage where kids live in miserable conditions because she keeps all of the donation money for herself. She hires a new assistant who, along with Santa, helps children finally have a merry Christmas.
When Mandie Shaw is thrust into Miss Heathwood’s School for Girls, she struggles to grasp the school’s new rules and the finer points of high society. As Mandie tries to stay out of hot water with Miss Heathwood and discover what the headmistress seems to have against Christmas, she stumbles upon a mystery in the school’s forbidden attic. Will Mandie ignore the warning to flee or try to get to the bottom of the strange noises beyond the boarded-up doors? Uncovering the truth may lead to telling a lie, but it might also unlock the memories of a long-forgotten Christmas.
MARTHA EVANS has been abandoned by her ne'er-do-well husband, who took all their cash and left her homeless and virtually destitute with her two daughters and stepson. Martha leaves town in hopes of finding a job and a place to stay, she finally finds a job at a sleepy rural diner, formerly famous for its home-made root beer. But with her car broken down and the bills piling up, it looks like it's going to be a bleak Christmas for the Evans family. However, there are warm hearts working behind the scenes that ultimately make this the happiest holiday of Martha's life -- a real answer to her prayers
Saint Street is a classic American Christmas tale for the entire family. The story follows Percy who is a good man, but has found himself caught up in the riches of the world and is neglecting his most prized possession – his family. Christmas Eve has arrived and Percy is still hard at work late into the night, once again breaking his promises to his wife and kids that he would leave early so that they could drive to their traditional family Christmas party. After being warned time and again to change his ways from a heavenly being from beyond, Percy is about to experience some grave consequences for his actions. In a series of tragic events, Percy faces humble circumstances after losing everything in a car accident – his family, job and home. Paralyzed from the waist down and confined to a wheelchair, he is forced to be homeless and live in the gritty world of misfits on Saint Street.
Jack is a children's author turned crime novelist whose detailed research into the lives of Victorian serial killers has turned him into a paranoid wreck, persecuted by the irrational fear of being murdered. When Jack is thrown a life-line by his long-suffering agent and a mysterious Hollywood executive takes a sudden and inexplicable interest in his script, what should be his big break rapidly turns into his big breakdown, as Jack is forced to confront his worst demons; among them his love life, his laundry and the origin of all fear.
Although she loves Christmas, Santa’s elf Christine (Summer Glau) wonders if there could be more to life than making toys in the North Pole. When Santa receives an emergency wish from a little boy in Los Angeles, he puts Christine on a special assignment, sending her to L.A. to give the VanCamp family—mom Sara (Eva La Rue), dad Scott (Dan Gauthier), and their two kids Ally (Izabela Vidovic) and Will (Mason Cook)—a holiday wake-up call. Will Christine fail her assignment and be sent back to the North Pole for good, or will the VanCamps come to their senses about the meaning of Christmas?
Eighteen-year old Ashley's life is headed in the wrong direction. She's been hanging out with a bad crowd and seeking an escape from the drama at home. Everything begins to change when a handyman working on the family's house encourages her to volunteer for a Christmas play with underprivileged children. Ashley finds purpose by helping people in need and uses that to help heal her troubled family. Together, they discover the impact one person can make through the gift of giving.
When successful New York marketing executive Katherine discovers her workaholic ways are taking a toll on her eight-year-old son, Zac, she decides to spend Christmas with him and her mother, Lilly in her home town on the bayou. When Caleb tries to rekindle a childhood romance and convince her to move back home, Katherine is torn between the bright lights of the big city and the quiet, gentler rhythms of her Southern roots. Only a Christmas miracle orchestrated by Papa Noel can steer her heart to her true home.
This documentary visits cities and towns and captures stunning landscapes along Europe's majestic Danube at Christmastime. Locations covered include Passau, Germany; Salzburg, Oberndorf, the Wachau Valley, and Vienna in Austria; Bratislava, Slovakia; and Budapest, Hungary. Along the way the viewer learns relevant history.
It's Christmas break at the McDonald house, but silent nights--and days--are nowhere to be found. With the children's constant bickering, pretty packages and a sweet-smelling tree don't come close to filling the McDonald home with the true spirit of the first Christmas. Then Mom remembers an old tradition of building a soft bed for Baby Jesus one straw at a time. Each time someone secretly does something nice for another family member, he or she gets to add a single straw to the manager. Soon the children's quarreling and negative feelings subside and the homemade crib fills with straw. But for one family member, a required act of kindness becomes more than he can take. Inspired by a true story with both heart and humor. The Last Straw may forever change the way your family celebrates Christmas.
When four generations of the Cooper clan come together for their annual Christmas Eve celebration, a series of unexpected visitors and unlikely events turn the night upside down, leading them all toward a surprising rediscovery of family bonds and the spirit of the holiday.