Scott left his children on the sleigh to find someone to ask what is going on. He walked up to one of the elves. "Hey, kid, kid. Kid, who's in charge here?"

"You are," the elf chuckled. "And I'm not a kid. I have pointy shoes that are older than you. I'm an elf."

Scott continued asking around until he came to one of the girl elves. She was carrying a plate of radishes."Uh, you guys, or you girls- Who gives the orders? Who's your boss?"

"You are!" The girl elf replied.

"No, no, no. Uh-Who's the head elf?"

"You are!"

"Hey!" An elf who looked like a teenager walked toward them. "Who's causin' all the trouble around here?"

"He is," said the girl elf. Scott said the same thing, but only about the girl elf. "She is."

"Excuse me. Are we on a coffee break?" asked the teenaged elf sarcastically.

"We don't drink coffee," answered the girl elf.

"Then I guess the break is over! Back to work. Thanks."

"Take it easy on her, will ya?" Scott asked the teenaged elf. "Who are you?"

"I'm Bernard. Nice to meet ya, Santa," he said before he walked away.

"I'm not Santa!" Scott insisted as he followed Bernard. "I've had a rough night. There's been dogs barkin', guns goin' off. Look, my back's killin' me. Have you ever tried to shove a sea kayak down a chimney? I'm tired of this small talk."

"Hmm. The other Santa disappeared, right?" Bernard asked with a smile before walking away again.

"Wait a minute," Scott replied. "Hey, I know where this is goin'. It wasn't my fault. The other guy fell. It was an accident. I've got homeowner's insurance and a good attorney. Not as good as my wife's, but let's not open up that wound." Scott then realized that the elf knew what happened to the previous Santa. "Hold it a minute. Wh-Whoa, whoa, whoa. How did you know the other guy was gone?"

"Can I get you a drink?" Bernard asked.

"No, I don't want a drink."

"We're thirsty!" Scott heard a familiar voice. He turned around and saw Charlie and Ella catching up to them.

"And hungry, too," Ella added.

"Charlie, Ella, I thought I told you two to stay in the sleigh," Scott said, exasperatedly.

"Who's this?" Bernard asked, pointing at Charlie.

"This-This is my son, Charlie," Scott answered. "I'm sorry. Charlie, this is Buh, Beh, Beh-"

"Bernard."

"Bernard."

"Hi, Bernard," said Charlie.

"Hiya, Sport!" Bernard replied back as they shook hands. He shifted his eyes toward Ella. "And who are you?"

"I'm Ella," answered the little girl. "I'm Charlie's little sister."

"Hiya, Ella Bella!" Bernard said. Ella and Bernard shook hands.

"Daddy," Ella said. "He called us "Sport" and "Ella Bella" just like you."

"Wonderful," Scott quipped.

"What are you, Bernard?" asked Ella.

"I'm the Head Elf," he answered. "And this is Santa's Workshop. Your dad is the new Santa. Hey, you know what. I got somethin' for you and your brother, Ella. Okay, now hold out your hand, all right?" The children held out their hands. "Now, be very careful. They're very old, just like me." Bernard had two snowglobes in his hands - one for Ella and one for Charlie. "Shake them up, kids."

Charlie and Ella shook their new snowglobes. It was magical. Both Charlie and Ella's snowglobes have Santa flying in his sleigh. "Wow," the kids whispered in amazement.

"Why don't you, uh, hold onto them for me for a while?" Bernard asked the kids. "They might come in handy."

"Thanks. Thanks a lot," Charlie said. "I promise I'll take real good care of it."

"Thank you very, very much!" Ella said, giving Bernard a hug. "I promise to take care of mine, too."

"Make sure you do."

"We will," Charlie and Ella promised.

"Hey, Daddy, look!" Ella said as she and Charlie showed their father their snowglobes.

"Huh. Fabulous," said Scott. "Hey, Barabbas."

"Bernard!" the elf corrected.

"Bernard. Can we take a direct flight back to reality, or do we have to change planes in Denver?"

"Uh, Larry," he called to the elf wearing a green outfit. "Take Charlie and Ella here and get them some chow."

"No, Larry, don't do that. Charlie! Ella!" said Scott.

"They'll be okay," said Bernard. "Follow me. You'll want to get out of those clothes."

"I- Uh- No, look, Barnaby, I just wanna go home." Scott said as he followed him to the Main Toy Workshop.

"Look, I am not Santa Claus!" Scott said forcefully before marveling at the sight of toys. "Ahh!"

"Did you or did you not read the card?" asked Bernard.

"Yeah, I read the card," Scott said after he took off the coat.

"Then you're the new Santa. In putting on the hat and jacket you accepted the contract."

"What contract?"

"The card in the Santa suit. You said you read it, right? So when you put on the suit, you fell subject to the Santa Clause. Here." Bernard handed Scott a cookie.

"The Santa Clause?" Scott asked. "You mean the guy that fell off my roof?"

"No, no, no, not Santa Claus, the person," Bernard explained. "Santa Clause, the clause."

"What?" Scott was confused.

"Look, you're- you're a businessman, right?" asked Bernard.

"Yeah."

"Okay. A clause, as in the last line of a contract," Bernard explained. Scott still looked confused until Bernard asked if he has the card. Scott dug into his pocket and gave the card to Bernard.

"Okay, look," Bernard began to read. The Santa Clause: "In putting on this suit and entering the sleigh, the wearer waives any and all rights to any previous identity, real or implied, and fully accepts the duties and responsibilities of Santa Claus in perpetuity until such time that wearer becomes unable to do so by either accident or design."

"What does that mean?" Scott demanded.

"It means you put on the suit, you're the big guy," Bernard replied.

"That's ridiculous. I didn't put on the suit just to-"

"Try to understand this!" Bernard shouted.

"Oo-oo-ooh!" said the elves after Bernard's outburst.

"Let me explain something to you, okay?" Bernard continued. "Toys have to be delivered. I'm not gonna do it. It's not my job. I'm just an elf. It's Santa's job, but Santa fell off a roof, your roof. You read the card, you put on the suit. That clearly falls under the Santa Clause. So now you're Santa, okay?"

"A question," Scott asked.

"What?"

"When can I get outta here?" Just then, Charlie and Ella came running towards them. "Dad, you gotta see this place." Charlie exclaimed. "It's amazing!" Ella added.

"You leave tomorrow morning," Bernard continued. "You have 11 months to get your affairs in order, and you're due back here Thanksgiving."

"I'm not comin' back here on Thanksgiving," Scott replied.

"I'll ship the list to your house," interrupted Bernard.

"What list?"

"Come on, now. The list." Scott didn't understand so Bernard began to sing. "He's makin' a list,"

"Checkin' it twice," Charlie and Ella sang.

"Gonna find out who's naughty or nice," the elves continued before going back to work.

"Look," Bernard sighed. "You put a P next to the kids who are nice and a C next to the naughty ones."

"P and C?" Scott asked.

"Yeah. "P" for present, "C" for coal, right, Bernard?" Charlie asked.

"Right!" Bernard agreed.

Scott began to ask Bernard more questions. "Wait a minute. How do I know who's good and bad?"

"You'll know," Bernard called over his shoulder when he started going downstairs. He was getting annoyed at Scott.

"What if I don't want to do this?" Scott insisted.

"Don't even kid about a thing like that!" Bernard said as he ran back up.

"Why not? What if I don't buy into this Santa Clause thing? What if I choose not to believe it?" Scott asked.

Suddenly, the whole workshop grew quiet. All of the elves stopped and looked at Scott in concern.

"Then there would be millions of disappointed children around the world," Bernard explained. "You see, children hold the spirit of Christmas within their hearts. You wouldn't want to be responsible for killing the spirit of Christmas, now, would you, Santa?"

Bernard went downstairs to the Research Department after the silence broke and the elves went back to to work. "Judy will take you to your room. Get out of the suit. It needs to be cleaned."

"And taken in," Scott added.

"Then get some sleep. We've got a lot of work to do and only a year in which to do it." Just then, a toy train rode up next to Scott. A little girl elf in a pointy purple hat and red dress sat in one of the cars.

"Judy?" Scott asked.

"Santa?" Judy replied.

"Scott Calvin."

"Follow me."

"I'll just take the next train." Scott remarked. Charlie and Ella boarded and they called out to their father. "Dad, come on!

"Charlie! Ella!" Scott exclaimed.

"Come on, Daddy!" Ella called.

"Kids, wait up!" Scott called back as he ran after the train. A few minutes later, the Calvin children marveled at Santa's bedroom. "Wow!"

"Can I get you anything?" Judy asked Scott. "The kitchen's always open."

"How about a stiff drink?" Scott suggested.

"You should get some sleep," Judy said to the Calvin children. "Here are your pajamas. I'll be right back." Judy handed Scott red silk pajamas before she went into the kitchen for the drinks. Scott took a look at the pajamas. They had the letters SC on them. After Scott got dressed and looked around his room, a group of elves watched him through the door. Judy shooed them away when she arrived with his drink.

"Santa?" she called.

"Scott Calvin" replied Scott.

Judy walked over to Scott and sat down. "I brought you some cocoa."

"No, thanks," Scott answered.

"My own recipe," Judy persuaded. "Took me 1,200 years to get it right."

"1,200 years?"

"That's right.

"You know, I must say, you look pretty good for your age," said Scott as he took the mug and took a sip of cocoa.

"Thanks, but I'm seeing someone in wrapping," Judy replied.

Scott took a few more sips of cocoa. "This is good. This is really good."

"Not too hot, extra chocolate, shaken, not stirred." Scott walked outside to the balcony. "You look distressed."

"Distressed? I'm way past distressed," Scott replied.

"Why's that?" Judy asked.

"I'm talking to an elf! And I stopped believing in Santa Claus a long time ago."

"That's not surprising. Most grown-ups can't believe in magic," Judy explained. "It just... sort of grows out of them."

"Look, you're a nice little elf."

"Thanks," Judy replied.

"But this is a dream. I mean, this is fabulous. Is that a polar bear directin' traffic down there?" Scott asked as he and Judy laugh. "I- I see it, but I don't believe it."

"You're missing the point," Judy chuckled.

"What is the point?" asked Scott.

"Seeing isn't believing: believing is seeing," Judy explained. "Kids don't have to see this place to know that it's here. They just... know. Well, you should get some rest. Good night, sir." Judy walked out of the room. Scott climbed in the bed next to his sleeping children. Ella opened her eyes for a second to give her dad a kiss on the cheek. Within a minute, Scott immediately fell asleep.