History Main / SavingChristmas

* ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'': Donut tells a story as a distraction, which [[OrphanedPunchline ends with him concluding that he saved Christmas]].

Rather than the typical DoTheyKnowItsChristmasTime sort of ChristmasSpecial or ChristmasEpisode, many series (primarily action cartoons) feature some sort of plot in which the protagonists must "save" Christmas (or [[YouMeanXmas their local equivalent]]) in some manner. Flavors of this plot, which can be mixed and matched with each other, include:

* The "Jewsploitation" film ''Film/TheHebrewHammer'' centers around a plot by Santa's betraying son, played by Andy Dick. He assassinates his father, becomes Santa, and launches a worldwide campaign to eliminate all other December holidays. Only "The Hammer" can save Channukah. See note at DoTheyKnowItsChristmasTime.

* In an issue of ''ComicBook/DCComicsPresents'' from the early 80's, {{Superman}} teamed up with Santa Claus to stop The Toyman from controlling children with his toys on Christmas Eve. It all turned out to be AllJustADream... [[OrWasItADream or was it]]?

* ''Pixi Post & the Gift Bringers'', which is fittingly titled ''Pixi Saves Christmas'' in the English dub, is a Taking Over Christmas plot where the BigBad seeks to remove not only Santa but all of the other mythological figures who fulfill his role in other parts of the world, by using a device to [[BalefulPolymorph turn them into advertisements]] and becoming the one and only holiday genie. The heroine is a snarky IT specialist elf who uncovers his plot while trying to uncover what happened to his first victim.

* ''Merry WesternAnimation/{{Madagascar}}'' begins when Santa and his sleigh crash-land on the island, giving the jolly gentleman a case of amnesia. So it falls to Alex, Marty, Melman and Gloria -- along with the ever-inventive Penguins -- to deliver the presents and save Christmas.

* ''WesternAnimation/XMen'' had a truly bizarre episode: "Have a Very Morlock X-Mas", where ComicBook/{{Storm}}, ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}, and Jubilee encounter some rampaging Morlocks while they're Christmas shopping--and then discover that the Morlocks just wanted medicine because one of them was deathly ill. So Storm and Wolverine rush off to get the medicine, and Jubilee tells the ill Morlock girl that, yes, she believes in Christmas miracles.

* '''Sabotaging Saint Nick''' -- [[TheGrinch Some villain]] tries to sabotage Santa's operation (either by trashing his workshop or by abducting Santa), and it's up to the good guys to fix things. Said villain usually repents by the end, having learned the TrueMeaningOfChristmas.

** '''Santa's in the Slammer!''' -- Because AdultsAreUseless and mistook Santa for a thief (or in some extreme examples they know perfectly well that Santa is Santa but they are such a hard-core example of the InspectorJavert that they will arrest him anyway, or [[TheGrinch hold such a grudge for him/Christmas]] [[DirtyCop that they became cops just so they would have this opportunity]]), they caught Santa and put him in jail! The kids (and perhaps an adult or two willing to believe) have to help free him or clear his name.

* '''Everyone's Naughty''' -- A person gets jealous of other people being Nice and not them, so they trick Santa into thinking everyone's Naughty. The hero must prove to him that those people are nice.

* The first season ''Anime/OjamajoDoremi'' had one of these aired as a Christmas special.

* One ''Franchise/LooneyTunes'' comic had Santa break his leg at Daffy's house, forcing him and a visiting Bugs to take over.

* The third issue of the black-and-white 64-page version of ''ComicBook/HowardTheDuck'' had Howard save Christmas from being taken over by an anthropomorphic lightbulb named Greedy Killerwhatt.

* This is a popular premise for ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'' fanfiction, since in that universe, Finland ''is'' Santa Claus.
* This ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' fanfic is properly named ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3944275/4/ Master Chief Saves Christmas]], where Master Chief, The Arbiter and a Cajun marine named "Candy" [[AnAssKickingChristmas save the Christmas]] [[spoiler:from a Flood possessed Santa Claus and discover the TrueMeaningOfChristmas, delivering gifts for all children in the world.]] It also has a sequel, [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5050348/1/ Master Chief Saves Easter]].

* A Tropers/KenyaStarflight fanfic, ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5593535/1/A-Merry-Autobot-Christmas A Merry Autobot Christmas]]'', has the [[Franchise/{{Transformers}} Autobots]] having to deliver the toys after Megatron and his troops attack the North Pole and injure Santa. (Apparently, it's an annual tradition of his to try to ruin human and Autobot morale by attacking around Christmas.)

* ''WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas'' plays the Sabotaging Saint Nick plot straight, but with a subversion of the hero's role in the plot. Jack Skellington, the King of Halloween and the protagonist, takes over Christmas by kidnapping Santa Claus, just because he's looking for a change of pace, but botches the big night. He then has to save Santa from his (Jack's) own badly-monitored henchmen.
** And he really had no malicious intent toward Santa Claus, either. He looked at it more like him (forcibly) giving Santa an opportunity to get a chance to take it easy while good old Jack Skellington does all the hard work for him than kidnapping him to get him out of the way while he filled the role. He even told his henchmen to make sure that Santa is comfortable, but unfortunately, said henchmen had their own plans for Santa...
* ''WesternAnimation/OliveTheOtherReindeer''. One of Santa's reindeer is injured and can't make the Christmas run. Santa gets on the television and pleads for "all of the other reindeer" that can fly to come and try to replace him. A dog named Olive [[MondegreenGag mishears him]] and is convinced that she's actually a reindeer, so she strikes out for the North Pole to try and save Christmas.
** Matt Groening executive produced and Michael Stipe shows up for a musical number.
** ''Olive'' is an interesting case, actually, because it has two varieties of the Saving Christmas plot. In addition to the injured reindeer, there's a disgruntled postman trying to "cancel" Christmas because of both the extra work the Christmas season creates for the post office and his own long-standing personal grudge against Santa.
* ''WesternAnimation/RiseOfTheGuardians'' has a rare variant where the gang has to save ''Easter''. Of course, Santa and other folklore spirits have tagged along, and the existence of all of them (including Christmas) is at risk.
-->'''Santa:''' Bunny is right. For once, [[LampshadeHanging Easter IS more important than Christmas.]]
* In "Christmas: Impossible" from ''WesternAnimation/MickeysTwiceUponAChristmas'', Huey, Dewey and Louie decide to go to the North Pole to try and write their names on the nice list, only to accidentally cause a huge mess at Santa's workshop. Deciding to redeem themselves, the trio help the elves put everything back together in record time, ''and'' write Scrooge's name onto the list instead of theirs, saving Christmas and finally leading Santa to place them on the nice list too.
* ''The Bears Who Saved Christmas'' revolves around a family getting stranded into an abandoned cottage during a blizzard while on their way to grandma's for Christmas, and the two children are worried about Santa Claus not being able to find them and bestow Christmas upon them. That very night, the children's teddy bears come to life and try to save Christmas by getting a perfect Christmas tree for the family.

* The premise of ''WesternAnimation/TheStar'' as described in previews: "On November 17, one donkey, three camels, a dancing bird, and one pygmy gerboa are teaming up to save the first Christmas."

* ''Film/SantaClausConquersTheMartians'' is one of the earlier examples of Santa's Been Kidnapped! -- the titular Martians want him to bring happiness to their malaise-stricken kids. How will he and two innocent human kids caught up in the plot get back to Earth in time for Christmas?
* ''Film/ErnestSavesChristmas'' was probably the first film to use the Legacy Character Santa plot; Ernest is helping the current Santa contact his successor, a doubtful children's performer. At one point Santa ends up in jail and Ernest has to break him out; the latter's worried what will happen to Santa locked in a cell with a bunch of hardened criminals. IronicEchoCut to Santa leading the hardened criminals in singing "The Twelve Days of Christmas".
** Also contains one of the most badass lines ever said by Santa:
--->'''Santa Claus:''' The name... is Santa Claus.
* ''Film/SantaBaby'': Creator/JennyMcCarthy (yeah, ''that'' Creator/JennyMcCarthy) is Santa's daughter and has to take over the family business when dad is sick.
* In the last third of ''Film/{{Elf}}'', the engine on Santa's sleigh falls out, and Buddy and his family must make Manhattan believe in Santa -- without a sighting -- in order to re-power the sleigh.
* In ''Film/ACountryChristmas'' two children must help the public believe in Santa Claus again or he'll vanish forever.

* A unique take on Santa's Origin story is the 2007 Finnish film ''Joulutarina'' (''Christmas Story'' -- [[Film/AChristmasStory not that one!]] -- in English), which posits that Santa was once Nikolas, an orphaned boy of Lapland (which, in much European lore, is where Santa lives rather than the North Pole) whose affection for the families of his village who took turns raising him to adolescence is manifested with him leaving hand-carved toys to their kids. As he turns the heart of a grouchy hermit woodcutter and slowly expands his mission to surrounding villages, elements such as helpers and reindeer are slowly brought in. Notably has '''no''' fantasy elements until the '''very''' last scene, when [[spoiler:on what looks to be his very last run due to old age, he Ascends to a Higher Plane of Existence, making his dream of the gift-giving tradition lasting forever a reality]].
* Let's not forget the notorious kids' movie ''[[Film/SantaandtheIceCreamBunny Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny]]'', in which Santa's sleigh gets stuck in the sand on a Florida beach, leaving him alone (the reindeer have scarpered back to the North Pole, hilariously), disconsolate, and [[HeatWave visibly sweaty]] in his Santa suit. He calls a bunch of nearby kids to save him so his presents can be delivered, and, after failing to dislodge the sleigh themselves, they draft a number of local animals to help (including a gorilla). In the end, the kids recruit a malformed creature called the Ice Cream Bunny, who arrives triumphantly in a fire engine to save Christmas after all. (All of this is actually a [[FramingDevice framing device]] for a totally different film -- either an adaptation of "Literature/{{Thumbelina}}" or "Jack and the Beanstalk", depending on the print -- via the excuse of Santa letting the kids rest from their labors on his behalf so he can tell them a story.)

* ''Literature/HowTheGrinchStoleChristmas'' is an extremely iconic example. [[HowTheCharacterStoleChristmas To the point where it codified an entire subtrope]].

* Another children's book, ''Literature/CopsAndRobbers'' by Janet and Allan Ahlberg, has the robbers stealing presents from homes on Christmas Eve. Luckily the good old cops are onto them.
* In ''How Murray Saved Christmas'' by Mike Reiss & David Catrow, deli owner Murray reluctantly fills in when a [[ExtendoBoxingGlove Jack-in-the-Boxer]] knocks Santa out cold.
* [[DeconstructedTrope Deconstructed]] in Creator/GKChesterton's short story "[[http://www.online-literature.com/chesterton/tremendous-trifles/37/ The Shop Of Ghosts]]." The narrator encounters Father Christmas in an old toy shop and sees that he appears to be very sickly and dying. Suddenly the narrator is joined by the ghosts of Creator/CharlesDickens, then Sir Richard Steele, then progressively more ancient figures, all of whom observe that Father Christmas always seemed to be dying in their times as well. Dickens finally figures out the truth: Father Christmas has always been dying but will never die.

* Very few series that are a so-called {{Julekalender}} do not feature this type of plot to some degree. Some are more subtle than others, though. In some series, the characters will directly state that they have to save Christmas from day one, while others may only feature "saving an aspect of Christmas" as a side-plot. The exception, however, is most "Voksenjulekalendere" ("Grown-Up's Christmas Calendars") that take place at Christmas and has several Christmas elements, but essentially are episodic comedy series that often parody something entirely non-Christmas-related.

* Even the ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' got into the act in a direct-to-video episode.

* Combined with the alleged [[StrawmanPolitical Strawman Liberal]] "War on Christmas" [[http://dir.salon.com/story/comics/tomo/2004/12/20/tomo/ here]].
* The TV movie ''The Night They Saved Christmas'' combines a visit to the Pole with the sabotage plot. The sabotage is unintentional on the part of oil prospectors who are dynamiting the nearby area and don't know/believe Santa and the gang exist, so the family of a company employee is brought to "North Pole City" so they can understand the problem and prevent the city from being destroyed.
* The ChristmasEpisode of ''Series/AllThat'' included a sketch in which Superdude rescues Santa from Milkman.
* The fourth episode of ''Series/TheLibrarians2014'', "[[EpisodeFinishesTheTitle ...And Santa's Midnight Run]]" has the Serpent Brotherhood kidnap Santa and the Librarians have to rescue him. And then ensure he's at the North Pole in time to convert all the goodwill he's collected over the year into hope ("The Gift").
* ''Series/AmazingStories'' did the Santa's in the Slammer! plot with [[TheEighties "Santa '85"]]. Actor Douglas Seale went on to play Santa again in ''Film/ErnestSavesChristmas'' (see Films -- Live-Action above), which also has a Santa-in-jail stretch.
* ''Series/DangerForce'': "Down Goes Santa" deals with Chapa accidenatally downing Santa's sleigh, allowing for Santa's evil brother Krampus to try to kill the Christmas spirit by making sure no one cares about the holiday anymore.
* In Creator/JimHenson's ''Film/TheGreatSantaClausSwitch'', the evil magician Cosmo Scam decides to kidnap Santa, take his place, and use his annual Christmas sleigh ride as a way to burglarize every home in the world. It's up to one of Santa's elves named Fred to stop him.

* Music/RelientK's song "Santa Claus Is Thumbing to Town" subverts this by setting up a scenario where Christmas clearly needs saving, desperately... and then it just ends.

* ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'' [[https://www.gocomics.com/garfield/1998/12/10 parodies this regularly]] with specials Garfield is watching.

* In the last weekday strip of ''SteveRoperAndMikeNomad'', Mike saves an old bearded guy from a mugging. The victim isn't identified, but this was printed around December 24, 2004...

* The basic premise of the roleplaying game ''Santa's Soldiers.''
* The ''TabletopGame/SpiritOfTheCentury'' spin-off ''Spirit of the Season'' also makes this its central theme, with an entire RoguesGallery of baddies to threaten it.
* Subverted in an exceedingly horrible way in the ''TabletopGame/{{Risus}}'' adventure ''A Kringle In Time,'' in which the only way to save Christmas is to [[spoiler:kill Santa. Seven times.]]
** ...and that's not even mentioning [[spoiler:the Cranulon Replacement Baby Jesus, or the one that's actually a cleverly-disguised time bomb.]]

* ''VideoGame/KingdomOfLoathing'' has done this, to varying extents of actually saving the holiday, with its special Crimbo events. Since 2005 Crimbo has needed saving from a workers' strike, a takeover by the Queen of Halloween, assimilation by the Crimborg, radiation-induced mutations, the Penguin Mafia, bland and inoffensive corporate culture, a candy trade embargo, a HumongousMecha, heavily-armed bears, rebellious robots, a turf war between commie reindeer and hippie elves, Uncle Crimbo's inner demons, joy-sucking [[EnemyMime evil mimes]], and more.

* Frostval in the world of Lore is in constant need of saving by the various heroes of ''VideoGame/AdventureQuest'', ''VideoGame/DragonFable'', ''VideoGame/AdventureQuestWorlds'' and others.

* ''Snail Bob 6: Winter Story'' has Bob on a quest to rescue Snail Santa from an evil rabbit.

* ''VideoGame/PlagueInc'' has the Christmas scenario "Santa's Little Helper", where the world has become sad and miserable since fun and happiness is outlawed and it's up to the Neurax Worm (with the default name of XMA-3) to bring happiness back to the world the only way it knows: by [[PuppeteerParasite infecting everyone on earth and brainwashing them into being happy]]. If you invest in the right abilities, you can bring Santa and Rudolph out of retirement so they can start delivering presents again, causing happiness levels to skyrocket.

* Unusual examples in ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'', with Santa being infected by alien spores and his elves having to prevent ''him'' from ruining Christmas by adding same spores to all the presents.

* This Trope has become a tradition on ''Webcomic/TheLifeOfNobTMouse'' when [[http://www.nobmouse.net/2007/12/23/the-trouble-with-a-quantum-santa/ Santa operated on wave-particle duality to arrive at every house at the same time]]; and [[http://www.nobmouse.net/2008/12/08/the-missing-presents-that-ruined-christmas/ something was stealing all the presents]].

* One strip of ''Webcomic/TheNonAdventuresOfWonderella'' involved Santa getting knocked out, so ''Jesus'' saved Christmas.

* The original webcomic version of ''Webcomic/AxeCop'' features a different saving Christmas story than the television show. This time a race of grinch {{expies}} steal all the presents in the universe. Axe Cop has to recover all the presents before Christmas is ruined, only to find out the monsters only stole the presents because Santa never visited their planet and they wanted to have Christmas for once. Axe Cop returns the stolen presents, but also gives each of the Xmas monsters their own present, [[spoiler:[[MoodWhiplash each of which]] [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill is a bomb]]. [[DisproportionateRetribution Enough in total to blow up their entire planet]].]]
* ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'': In the 2020 Christmas side-story the Heterodyne gets called out of town at the last minute and the Revelsmeister has to find someone to sub for her in the local mid-winter festival the Jagerstomp as the kids and tourists are all quite excited for the first Jagerstomp in decades to be done properly with a Heterodyne leading the festivities.

* ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'': Donut tells a story as a distraction, which [[OrphanedPunchline ends with him concluding that he saved Christmas]].
-->'''Caboose:''' I did not even know the North Pole was in San Fransisco! This changes everything...\\
'''Tucker:''' [[TransparentCloset Yeah, and I don't think Santa's outfit is a biker's uniform and a codpiece, Donut.]]

* Somewhat subverted in ''VideoGame/AmateurSurgeon: Christmas Edition'' when moronic surgeon Alan Probe ''causes'' the destruction of Xmas when he collides his private jet with Santa's Sleigh, further crashing into the North Pole. Alan goes to save the holiday by fixing his mistakes with, you guessed is, {{back alley|Doctor}} [[MeatGrinderSurgery surgery]].
* Back when the M&Ms official website featured skits starring the M&M characters, one story had Red and Yellow briefly assuming control of Santa's sleigh during his fainting spell (as seen in the TV commercial the story was a follow-up to).

* The author of ''Website/{{Springhole}}'' seems to [[PetPeeveTrope really hate this trope]] as they listed it on [[http://www.springhole.net/writing/christmasspecialtropes.htm a list]] of ChristmasTropes that "need to die".
-->"Seriously, people, this one's so overdone and quite frankly... it's just absurd. Especially when "saving Christmas" involves getting Santa back in his sleigh and delivering presents. Think about it - what would happen if Santa disappeared from the face of the planet? ''It would be exactly like the real world''. Really, that's not much to get worked up over. There are other and better ways to generate holiday drama. I suggest you look for them."
* ''WebVideo/CriticalRole'': "The Night Before Critmas" one-shot involves a group of Santa's elves going on a mission to save him after he is kidnapped on Christmas Eve (in a scenario [[WholePlotReference not dissimilar]] to ''WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas'').

* ''WesternAnimation/RudolphTheRedNosedReindeer'' has done this since 1964.
** In 2001's ''The Island of Misfit Toys'' he must stop the Toy Taker.

* Really, just about any series will have a "Saves Christmas" special these days, where is the name of characters in that series. Case in point, [[WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy "Billy and Mandy Save Christmas"]].
-->'''Von Ghoulish:''' I've always wanted to save Christmas, ever since I was a boy!\\
'''Grim:''' I always wanted to save Christmas with a vampire sidekick, ever since I was a little boy!\\
''[cue intentionally cheesy musical number]''

** In "A Tale of Two Santas", when the aforementioned Robot Santa is actually incapacitated, the human leads see a chance to do it right and, on the grounds delivering billions of gifts is humanly impossible, convince Bender to be a ''good'' Santa. Being a robot dressed as Santa but not as unstoppable, he is eventually stopped and sentenced to death in a case of mistaken identity, ''but'' is rescued by Robot Santa, who needs him to "save Xmas" and "join my slaying tonight". (When Fry calls out, "Don't do it! He's evil!", Robot Santa insists "I know he is, but I have no choice!"; they do so and the crew conclude that -- they're cut off midway through by an explosion -- the "magic of Xmas" is being brought together by fear.)

* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants''
** The episode "Christmas Who?" has [=SpongeBob=] getting everyone hyped up into believing they'll get presents from Santa Claus on Christmas Day, except for Squidward who angrily does not want to get into the holiday cheer. But then Santa's a no-show, and everyone is mad that Santa never delivered them the presents that [=SpongeBob=] promised them. Squidward is at first quick to rub salt on [=SpongeBob=]'s wounds, before the heartbroken sponge gives him a present that turns out to be a wooden clarinet that can play miniature versions of Squidward, Squidward has a change of heart and the present is enough to make Squidward dress up as Santa Claus and fulfill the promised presents (albeit by stripping down his house to do so).
** The special ''WesternAnimation/ItsASpongeBobChristmas'' has Plankton getting [=SpongeBob=] to distribute fruitcake laced with jerktonium, an element that causes people to become highly irritable, so that everyone else in Bikini Bottom ends up on the naughty list while he looks nice by comparison and gets the Krabby Patty formula from Santa. It works until he's exposed for building a robot [=SpongeBob=] to make the real one look bad.
* In ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'', EvilSorcerer Daolon Wong assaults the North Pole workshop and the Chan Clan has to intervene before Wong can bust in and murder Santa. Wong seeks to fatally drain Santa of his magic to increase his power. While the good guys make a rescue attempt, Tohru goes SubbingForSanta.
* ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'' did this in "Operation: [=NAUGHTY=]", when the Delightful Children from Down the Lane stole Santa's toy-making equipment and framed the [=KND=] for it. Then the whole thing degenerates into a parody/homage of Creator/MarvelComics' [[ComicBook/TheDarkPhoenixSaga Dark Phoenix Saga]], with superpowered elves that parody the ComicBook/XMen, as well as Santa using a Cerebro-like computer that teleports presents (or coal) towards Christmas trees (and which, if used greedily, turns the user into Grinch-like creatures).

* Both {{Christmas Episode}}s of the ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' cartoons did this. In [[WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosSuperShow the first one]], "Koopa Klaus", Bowser attempts to ruin Christmas with a plan that involves kidnapping and impersonating Santa. ([=DiC=] [[RecycledScript recycled this plot]] for Christmas specials spun off from ''WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget'' and ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog''.) In [[WesternAnimation/SuperMarioWorld the later one]], "The Night Before Cave Christmas", Mario inspires the Christmas spirit to the cave-people in order to get them to be nicer to each other, and then has to save Christmas for them when Bowser decides to [[HowTheCharacterStoleChristmas steal all the toys]].
* A Christmas episode of ''WesternAnimation/Ben10'' (yes, it takes place during summer vacation) has a variant: the Tennysons must make and deliver Christmas presents or be trapped in a bizarre time-defying Christmas dimension forever. Grandpa Max dons the beard and drives the sleigh, complete with a suspiciously stinky flying "reindeer".
* After eighty years, WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse has finally gotten around to saving Santa...in a direct-to-video episode of a preschool show. ''WesternAnimation/MickeyMouseClubhouse: [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOntheTin Mickey Saves Santa]]''.

* ''Merry WesternAnimation/{{Madagascar}}'' begins when Santa and his sleigh crash-land on the island, giving the jolly gentleman a case of amnesia. So it falls to Alex, Marty, Melman and Gloria -- along with the ever-inventive Penguins -- to deliver the presents and save Christmas.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/BrandyAndMrWhiskers'' episode "On Whiskers, on Lola, on Cheryl, on Meryl" Brandy and Whiskers have to take over the gift run after causing Santa's sleigh to crash.
* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' had Doofensmirtz use a device to make it so everyone in Danville was deemed naughty on Santa's list. Not only do the kids go out to prove everyone wrong and eventually fill in for him, but it turns out the whole thing was [[ThePlan planned by Santa so everyone's wishes came true]]. In a hilarious subversion, Doofensmirtz is completely ambivalent to Christmas ("I have an intense, ''burning indifference!''") In fact, he probably would have left it alone [[LampshadeHanging (going against all tradition)]] if he hadn't gotten a perfectly good plan as a gift (from Santa) and a bunch of carolers hadn't barged into his house and refused to leave until they got figgy pudding. (For those who are wondering, Doofensmirtz also got his wish, which was to hate Christmas.)
** Heck, at the end, Santa explains that the main reason he caused it all to happen was that Phineas said his greatest wish was to be like him, so Santa gave him that very chance.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheLittleDrummerBoy'' is probably the best known of the "Visiting The Nativity" variations.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius'': In the Christmas episode, Jimmy accidentally puts Santa out of commission and has to fill in for him by delivering the presents from his rocket. The warp drive conks out just before he can finish the deliveries, but Santa shows up at the last minute to finish the job.
* The ''WesternAnimation/EarthwormJim'' ChristmasEpisode used the "Santa's been kidnapped" variation. As listed on the quote page, Peter Puppy at one point lampshades the overuse of this trope.
* The ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' episode "Red Sleigh Down" had the boys and Jesus rescuing Santa after he had been shot down over Iraq.
* ''WesternAnimation/SonicChristmasBlast'', the last episode of ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog'', had Sonic and Tails racing to save Santa and Christmas from Dr. Robotnik, who had kidnapped the jolly old elf and had convinced Mobius to give HIM presents.
* Literature/CharlieAndLola do this in the ChristmasEpisode of their animated series.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs'' episode "Baby's First Christmas" involved the Smurfs working to save Christmas after their Santa Expy Mr. Nicholas had his heart poisoned by hate when Chlorhydris the evil witch kissed him under mistletoe that was used with an evil spell.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
** The pilot, "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire," concerns Homer's attempts to earn enough money for Christmas presents after his Christmas bonus is cut from the budget and Marge's savings are spent removing a tattoo from Bart.
** In "Grift of the Magi", Homer reviews his Christmas record in a series of {{Noodle Incident}}s:
--->'''Homer:''' Let's see, that's three Christmases I've saved, versus eight I ruined... two were kind of a draw.
** In "Bobby, It's Cold Outside", everyone is having their Christmas package deliveries stolen off of their front porches, so Bart [[EnemyMine teams up with]] Sideshow Bob to find the culprit (after initially suspecting him of being the culprit).
* ''WesternAnimation/TheLooneyTunesShow'': In "A Christmas Carol", Lola attempts to restore the town's Christmas spirit by staging a production of ''A Christmas Carol'', while Foghorn Leghorn attempts to save Christmas by installing a giant fan at the North Pole (ItMakesSenseInContext).
* ''WesternAnimation/TheMooFamilyHolidayHoedown'' focused on the eponymous cow family helping Santa Cow's top sleigh pilot [[TheAce Chuck Steaker]] repair Santa's turbo sleigh in order to save Christmas.
* ''WesternAnimation/RegularShow'' has a good one in which Mordecai, Rigby and the others must destroy a gift able to grant anyone their hearts desire. However, it was created with black magic and brought out the worst in people. All while having a badass Santa give it to them when he was wounded and [[spoiler:saving them from the elf who made said gift.]]
* The ''WesternAnimation/StrokerAndHoop'' Christmas episode combined the first two variations on this type with a subverted YetAnotherChristmasCarol set-up. Talking car Carr was the Santa substitute, and Stroker saved Santa's life by exploiting the TimeTravel powers of the three spirits.
* ''WesternAnimation/AxeCop'' features an incredibly bizarre take on the "BadSanta" variant of the story. Bad Santa, Good Santa's EvilTwin, plans to [[InsaneTrollLogic kill God in order to become Jesus]]. Good Santa gives Axe Cop "The Power of Christmas" (which is an actual transformation magic power-up) to stop Bad Santa.
** Even stranger, ''it's not a Christmas episode.'' The episode aired in August and it appears to be set in the summer. Axe Cop only wants to fight Bad Santa because Bad Santa accidentally killed Axe Cop's parents (he was trying to kill Axe Cop, since as Bad Santa, it's his job to kill kids who are on the nice list).
* The ''WesternAnimation/EvilConCarne'' episode "Christmas Con Carne" had an animate snowman enlist the help of a green-nosed reindeer named Rupert to stop Hector Con Carne's plan of ruining Christmas by taking control of Santa's body and putting mind control devices in all the toys Santa was going to deliver.
* ''[[ComicStrip/TheFamilyCircus A Family Circus Christmas]]'' uses the Personal Santa variant in an unusual way. Little Jeffy wants Santa Claus to bring back his Granddad -- who passed away years ago -- down from Heaven for Christmas, and having had a Visit the North Pole dream in which he's assured this will happen, has faith he can do it even as his parents try to explain that isn't possible. While everyone else is asleep on Christmas Eve, however, Jeffy is visited by both Santa ''and'' Granddad (both of whom are presented as silent, see-through spirits, as per the comic's conventions), the latter of whom guides him to the location of the beautiful Christmas tree topper he fashioned. As the apparent disappearance of it had been an emotional blow to Jeffy's parents because of its personal significance, this recovery effectively saves the holiday for them.
* ''WesternAnimation/MenInBlackTheSeries'': A gang of aliens kidnaps Santa and his elves. It turns out that the elves are aliens, and Santa... well, some entities are outside even [=MiB's=] jurisdiction. Zed regards the jolly old elf as highly as a king.
* The ''WesternAnimation/EekTheCat'' episode "It's A Very Merry Eek's-Mas" had Eek and Sharky seek out Santa's help reuniting the latter with his family. As it happens, Elmo tells them that Santa has problems of his own: the reindeer are on strike, the elves are intimidated into not crossing the picket line, Mrs. Claus walks out on him, and he breaks his leg in a banana peel accident. Santa becomes depressed, invoking the sorry state of the world and questioning if anyone even cares about Christmas anymore, but Eek says they can't let the children of the world down. Eek, Sharky, and Elmo finish the toys and set about delivering them (by attaching a giant rocket to the sleigh). HilarityEnsues, but they actually do manage to save the holiday.
* The ''WesternAnimation/IceAge'' TV special "A Mammoth Christmas" has Sid, Peaches, Crash, and Eddie heading off to the North Pole to try to get Sid off of Santa's then non-existent naughty list, followed by Manny, Ellie, and Diego to find them. They all end up ruining Santa's work with an avalanche, which gets them on his first ever naughty list, but Manny rallies everyone to fix the mess. Their result turns out to be the origins of Santa's little helpers (mini-sloths rather than elves), his reindeer (one of whom, Prancer, accompanied Sid, Peaches, Crash, and Eddie in their trip), and why he delivers gifts around the world.
* ''WesternAnimation/Ducktales2017'': [[Recap/DuckTales2017S3E18HowSantaStoleChristmas "How Santa Stole Christmas!"]] has a DoubleSubversion as its main plot. Scrooge finds himself being recruited by his old rival Santa to save Christmas when he asks him to take over the delivery of gifts while he's injured. [[spoiler:However, Santa ''isn't'' injured and was trying to get Scrooge to enjoy Christmas for what it is: the giving and joy of seeing others enjoy it. However, Scrooge being Scrooge, decides to hijack it by trying to turn it into a business by giving everyone a lump of coal with an invoice, not realizing that coal today is meant to be a gag gift for naughty children. Scrooge has a HeelRealization after he encounters a young girl in a rundown house and is once Santa and Scrooge realize each other's feelings, the two recruit the rest of the Duck-[=McDuck=] clan to fix Scrooge's mistake.]]
* "A Trash Truck Christmas" from ''WesternAnimation/TrashTruck'' is about the main character Hank volunteering for Trash Truck to fill in after Santa's sleigh crashes due to being too overloaded with toys.
* The evident plot of the ''WesternAnimation/BunsenIsABeast'' ChristmasEpisode "Bunsen Saves Christmas", where Bunsen and Mikey have to stop Amanda Killman from ruining the holiday after she takes over the North Pole.

** And it goes UpToEleven in 2001's ''The Island of Misfit Toys'' where he must stop the Toy Taker.

* ''WesternAnimation/OliveTheOtherReindeer''. One of Santa's reindeer is injured and can't make the Christmas run. Santa gets on the television and pleads for "all of the other reindeer" that can fly to come and try to replace him. A dog named Olive [[{{Mondegreen}} mishears him]] and is convinced that she's actually a reindeer, so she strikes out for the North Pole to try and save Christmas.

* '''Personal Santa''' -- The most mundane version, common in {{Sitcom}}s, involves financial problems or a minor disaster ruining the holiday celebrations on a personal or local level. Luckily, if the characters show the TrueSpiritOfChristmas, Santa (or a plausibly deniable representative thereof, see SecretTestOfCharacter) will give everyone a special gift. Maybe not what they wanted, but what they need or deserve.

* '''Personal Santa''' -- The most mundane version, common in {{Sitcom}}s, involves financial problems or a minor disaster ruining the holiday celebrations on a personal or local level. Luckily, if the characters show the True Spirit Of Christmas, Santa (or a plausibly deniable representative thereof, see SecretTestOfCharacter) will give everyone a special gift. Maybe not what they wanted, but what they need or deserve.

* '''Santa Needs Children's Faith''' -- The unobtanium fueling Santa/his sleigh/the North Pole in general runs on children's faith in him, and it's running dangerously low! Santa has to bring the spirit of Christmas into the hearts of children.

* '''Visit the North Pole''' -- The kids don't believe in Santa, or want to make sure he gets their letter. They travel through an (thankfully) [[AlienGeometries imaginary]] and short distance to the North Pole. They may even get to ride the sleigh!

** '''The Sleigh is Broke''' -- A variant has his sleigh become damaged after an incident. The heroes have to help fix it.

''[cue (intentionally) cheesy musical number]''

* ''Film/SantaClausTheMovie'' (1985) was made by the producers of the original run of live-action ''Superman'' films and critics noted its similar structure: it first presents Santa's {{Backstory}}, then moves on to what was then ThePresentDay as a CorruptCorporateExecutive solely interested in making money off of the holiday draws upon the talents of a well-meaning but naive elf who ran away from the North Pole to prove himself. While Santa does get upstaged for one Christmas, the story ends with things put to rights for the future. Thus it counts as Santa's Origin Story and Taking Over Christmas, is probably the first use of How TheAntiGrinch Spoiled Christmas, and for bonus points works The Sleigh Is Broke! into the climax (which takes place a few weeks ''after'' Christmas; two reindeer have come down with the flu, making Santa's race to rescue the elf and a homeless boy harder).

* ''Film/ErnestSavesChristmas'' was probably the first film to use the Legacy Character Santa plot; Ernest is helping the current Santa contact his successor. At one point Santa ends up in jail and Ernest has to break him out; the latter's worried what will happen to Santa locked in a cell with a bunch of hardened criminals. IronicEchoCut to Santa leading the hardened criminals in singing "The Twelve Days of Christmas".

* In the last third of ''Film/{{Elf}}'', the engine on Santa's sleigh falls out, and Buddy and his family must make Manhattan believe in Santa (without a sighting) in order to re-power the sleigh.

* Let's not forget the notorious kids' movie ''[[Film/SantaandtheIceCreamBunny Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny]]'', in which Santa's sleigh gets stuck in the sand on a Florida beach, leaving him alone (the reindeer have scarpered back to the North Pole, hilariously), disconsolate, and [[HeatWave visibly sweaty]] in his Santa suit. He calls a bunch of nearby kids to save him so his presents can be delivered, and, after failing to dislodge the sleigh themselves, they draft a number of local animals to help (including a gorilla). In the end, the kids recruit a malformed creature called the Ice Cream Bunny, who arrives triumphantly in a fire engine to save Christmas after all. (To pad out the film, all of this is turned in to a [[FramingDevice framing device]] for a totally different film about Literature/{{Thumbelina}}, via the excuse of Santa letting the kids rest from their labors on his behalf so he can tell them a story.)

** This is how Joe became a wheelchair user. . [[spoiler:Yes, it had [[Literature/HowTheGrinchStoleChristmas a certain Dr. Seuss character]] cameo.]]

* '''Everyone's Naughty''' -- A person gets jealous of other people being Nice and not him/her, so he/she tricks Santa into thinking everyone's Naughty. The hero must prove to him that those people are nice.

[[folder:Recordings]]
* One of Creator/StanFreberg's ''Franchise/{{Dragnet}}'' parodies involved Joe Friday taking a Scrooge-esque character named Grudge to the North Pole, to demonstrate to Grudge that Santa is real (despite there [[AintNoRule being no law]] that says one must believe in Santa). Once Grudge believes, he gets all the presents that were piling up for him during his time of non-belief.
[[/folder]]

* ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'' [[http://garfield.nfshost.com/?s=%22saved+christmas%22 parodies this regularly]] with specials Garfield is watching.

[[quoteright:350:[[Webcomic/EvilInc https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/evilinc_saves_xmas.jpg]]]]

* This is a popular premise for ''Webcomic/AxisPowersHetalia'' fanfiction, since in that universe, Finland ''is'' Santa Claus.
* This Franchise/{{Halo}} is properly named ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3944275/4/ Master Chief Saves Christmas]], where Master Chief, The Arbiter and a Cajun marine named "Candy" [[AnAssKickingChristmas save the Christmas]] [[spoiler:from a Flood possessed Santa Claus and discover the TrueMeaningOfChristmas, delivering gifts for all children in the world.]] It also has a sequel, [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5050348/1/ Master Chief Saves Easter]].

* [[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/237978/how-trixie-somehow-saved-hearths-warming How Trixie (Somehow) Saved Hearth's Warming Eve]] has [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin the Great and Powerful Trixie having to save the Equestrian version of Christmas]] from an enemy named [[BigBad Leidr]] who buried the North Pole in snow with a blizzard when she ends up saving Vixen and [[MistakenForBadass accidentally convinces her she's as badflank as her bragging implies she is.]]
* [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12290360/1/Star-trek-Frontier-URE-2-Christmas-Special Star trek Frontier URE 2: Christmas Special]] has a pair of elves recruit Ron Pinkerton, Takeshi Yamato, Jaden Takeo, and the crews of their respective ships to prevent Sela from ruining Christmas. Also overlaps with AnAssKickingChristmas.

%% Caption selected per above IP thread. Please do not replace or remove without discussion here: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1404492079030138900

* In ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'', evil sorcerer Dalong Wong assaults the North Pole workshop and the Chan Clan has to intervene before Wong can bust in and murder Santa. Wong seeks to fatally drain Santa of his magic to increase his power. While the good guys make a rescue attempt, Tohru goes SubbingForSanta.