Willie T. Stokes is a washed-up, wise-cracking Department Store Santa who can't help but be more naughty than nice. Underneath his ill-fitting red suit, Willie is actually a safecracker who makes one big score every year--on Christmas Eve. As shoppers head home from the mall, this Santa and his ingenious Elf--Willie's midget partner-in-crime Marcus--crack the store safe and make off with their own holiday stash. But then comes Phoenix. Here Santa and his Elf find their annual heist endangered by a pesky store manager, a savvy mall detective, a sexy Santa fan and an innocent but beleaguered 8-year-old misfit who decides to believe that Willie--as intoxicated, acid-tongued and felonious as he seems to be--is the real Santa he's been seeking.