if we must christmas

Ernest P. Worell, a sweet but silly taxi driver who at times suffers delusions of grandeur, has just chauffeured a rather extraordinary fare: "His Great Red Oneness, the Claus" himself. It seems Santa hasn't got the magic for another Christmas season, and has come to Orlando, Florida for Joe Carruthers, the man he has chosen as his successor. But things quickly begin to unravel, thanks to Joe's meddling agent and Santa's increasingly unreliable memory. Incredibly, dimwitted Ernest soon becomes Santa's only hope! Joining forces with a young runaway named "Harmony Star", Ernest rushes to save the holidays as we know them.

Scott Calvin is disgusted to learn that his ex-wife and her husband have tried - and failed - to break it easy to their 6-year-old son Charlie that Santa isn't real. On Christmas Eve, Scott reads The Night Before Christmas - then receives an unexpected visitor on his roof. When Santa is startled by Scott's calling out and falls, he disappears, leaving only an 8-reindeer sleigh and a suit with instructions to put it on if he's involved in an accident. Scott does, and is transported around the town dropping gifts through chimneys until he's taken to the North Pole and informed by a group, who claim they're elves, that he is now Santa. Charlie is proud of his dad's new job, though Scott's convinced it's a dream. Until his hair turns white, his beard refuses to stay shaved, he gains weight inexplicably, even for his sudden love of junk food - Now he's accepted it, there's just one problem: how to keep it secret from his disbelieving family.

Strange as it may sound, Luther and Nora Krank, the neighbourhood's award-winning couple for their cheerful Christmas spirit, have decided to skip this year's annual festivities when their daughter, Blair, departs for Peru after joining the Peace Corps. Now, instead of spending the staggering amount of $6,000 on the holiday season, just like the previous year, they are determined to invest the money on a sun-drenched, ten-day Caribbean cruise, much to the chagrin of their friends and neighbours. However, this is easier said than done, and before long, Luther and Nora, who have turned their backs on Christmas, will face the consequences. And then, as if that weren't enough, Blair and her new fiancé announce that they are coming home, utterly unaware that the empty family nest is far from ready for the event. Can the Kranks "generate" Christmas out of nothing in less than a few hours?

As an idle, good-natured bachelor, Buck Russell is the last person you would think of to watch his brother Bob's three children. However, during a family crisis, he is suddenly left in charge of them. Unaccustomed to suburban life, he soon charms Miles and Maizy with his hefty cooking and his new way of doing the laundry. His carefree style does not impress everyone though - especially his rebellious teenage niece, Tia, and impatient girlfriend, Chanice. With a little bit of luck and a lot of love, he manages to surprise everyone in this heartwarming family comedy.

Optometrist Steve Finch loves those Christmas traditions he has set up with his family and his town. As such, he has a schedule of activities for his family starting on December 1, and is the unofficial consultant for anything Christmas-related in his town of Cloverdale, Massachusetts. During the Christmas season, the Halls move into the house across the street from the Finches'. The Halls in general are different in outlook and temperament than the Finches. Unlike Steve, Buddy Hall scams his way through life and never follows through with anything he starts. While Kelly Finch and Tia Hall and their children begin friendships based largely on those differences, Steve and Buddy butt heads based on those differences. It begins with Buddy striving to have his house seen from outer space by decorating it as lavishly and brightly as possible. One of the results of Buddy's task is that he becomes the new go-to guy for anything Christmas-related in Cloverdale, usurping Steve's coveted position. As Steve and Buddy's open animosity grows, they may threaten the joy of Christmas for all, most specifically their families who have their own ideas of what they would like to do over the Christmas season.

Scott Calvin has been Santa Claus for the past eight years, and his loyal elves consider him the best Santa ever. But he's got problems, such as a mysterious weight loss, and then he discovers that his son Charlie has landed on this year's "naughty" list. Desperate to help his son, Scott heads back home, putting a substitute Claus in charge of the North Pole. But when the substitute institutes some strange redefinition of naughty and nice that put Christmas at risk, Scott must return with a new bag of magic to save Christmas.

Six-year-old Susan Walker discovers dreams do come true if you really believe. She has doubts about childhood's most enduring miracle, Santa Claus. Her mother, Dorey, told her the "secret" about him a long time ago, so she doesn't expect to receive the most important gifts on her Christmas list. But after meeting a special department store Santa who's convinced he's the real thing, she is given the most precious gift of all, something to believe in.

Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) is back. But this time he's in New York City with enough cash and credit cards to turn the Big Apple into his own playground. But Kevin won't be alone for long. The notorious Wet Bandits, Harry (Joe Pesci) and Marv (Daniel Stern), still smarting from their last encounter with Kevin, are bound for New York City too, plotting a huge holiday heist. Kevin's ready to welcome them with more battery of booby traps the bumbling bandits will never forget.

When two pre-teens named Hallie and Annie meet through their summer camp, their two lives are rattled when they realize that they are identical twins. With parents, British mother aka famous dress designer Elizabeth and American father, a wine maker named Nick, living in two different sides of the universe, the girls decide to make an identity swap in hopes of spending time with their other parent. The girls later choose to inform their guardians of the swap while at a hotel in San Francisco, which later reunites the divorced pair and sends them back into remarriage with each other.

Spencer and his little sister, Katherine, are flying to Pennsylvania for Christmas with their dad. While changing planes, a blizzard moves in and cancels all flights out of Hoover Airport: they must stay in a basement room with the other unaccompanied minors. Spencer and four others - a chubby boy, a non-stop-talker, a surly girl, and a rich kid - go AWOL and get in trouble with Mr. Porter, the Christmas-hating airport supervisor. The five misfits spend the night evading and enduring Porter's punishments, discovering all sorts of things in back rooms, making sure Katherine gets her visit from Santa, and finding among themselves a new kind of family.

Two desperate dads compete in a no-holds-barred battle to be the best father and make this the best Christmas ever. Fun-loving, laid-back dad Larry is having a bear of a time finding the perfect Christmas gift for his eight-year-old daughter, Noel. The season's hottest toy, The Harrison Bear, is all sold out, and Noel's new stepfather wants to keep it that way - so he can be the one to make her holiday wish come true. When Larry learns all Noel wants for Christmas is the bear, he'll stop at nothing to make his little girl happy and get her the toy of her dreams.

In this sequel to "Father of the Bride", George Banks must accept the reality of what his daughter's ascension from daughter to wife, and now, to mother means when placed into perspective against his own stage of life. As the comfortable family unit starts to unravel in his mind, a rapid progression into mid-life crisis is in his future. His journey to regain his youth acts as a catalyst for a kind of "rebirth" of his attitude on life when he and his wife, Nina, find how their lives are about to change as well.

A college student experiences difficulty in getting home for Christmas after being hazed by his friends. While struggling to get home in time for Christmas, he learns quite a bit about himself and the true meaning of the holiday.

Everyone's favorite kid from the comics is back. When his parents have to go out of town, he stays with George (Walter Matthau) and Martha Wilson (Dame Joan Plowright). The little menace is driving Mr. Wilson crazy, but Dennis Mitchell (Mason Gamble) is just trying to be helpful. Even to the thief who's arrived in town.

Wealthy Chicago ad executive Drew Latham has long avoided the family traditions of Christmas, but has dreaded being alone on the actual day. So when his tropical Christmas vacation with girlfriend Missy Vangilder falls through and Missy breaks up with him in the process, a self-therapy session leads Drew to decide to relive his best childhood Christmases. With his loved ones long-gone, he decides to rent a family: the Valcos, the current owners of his childhood home in suburban Chicago. Tom Valco wants nothing to do with Drew until an exorbitant amount of money is involved; they draw up a contract which expires at the end of Christmas night. What Drew doesn't (or refuses to) realize is that the Valcos are having their own problems, which his presence exacerbates. Can the Valcos endure their unexpected guest? If they can, will the money solve their problems? Meanwhile, will Drew come to realize what he wants in life and how to achieve it?

During childhood, Fred Claus suffered his younger brother Nick's saintliness. Jump ahead: Fred is a fast-talking, genial but self-centered guy in Chicago looking for $50,000 to open an off-track-betting shop. When one scam goes awry, he calls Nick at the North Pole for a loan: Nick will give him the money only if Fred comes up to help a few days with the Christmas rush. After his girlfriend dumps him, Fred heads north. Santa's facing an audit from an efficiency expert, and it's not pleasant. Fred's job is to review charts and determine who's naughty and who's nice. Is there any fraternal feeling left, can either learn from the other, and what about Santa getting fired?

Now that Santa/Scott Calvin and Mrs. Claus/Carol Calvin have the North Pole running smoothly, the Counsel of Legendary Figures has called an emergency meeting on Christmas Eve! The evil Jack Frost has been making trouble, looking to take over the holiday! So he launches a plan to sabotage the toy factory and compel Scott to invoke the little-known Escape Clause and wish he'd never become Santa!