History Film / MrsSantaClaus

** Or AWizardDidIt. We do see her shopping at least once - it's possible that she employs some form of North Pole magic to provide herself with money. Of course, that does then beg the question of why she needs a job at Tavish Toys.

* VillainSong: In spades. Not only does Tavish get his own hammy toy-making song, it is an eerie echo of Mrs. Claus's opening song, as noted under DarkReprise.
* WidowWoman: Mrs. Lowenstein

* LastNameBasis: We never do find out what Mrs. Claus's first name is. The only person who might use it, Nicholas, usually calls her "dear."

Determined to make the most of it, Mrs. Claus (using the name "Mrs. North") rents a room from a widowed Jewish woman, Mrs. Lowenstein, and gets involved in minor subplots regarding her neighbors. Mrs. Lowenstein left her home country due to civil unrest, and cannot let herself fully unpack in her new home in case she has to escape in a hurry again. Her daughter Sadie is a crusader for women's rights, much to the distress of her mother, who is convinced that she's going to get arrested. Sadie is the object of the affections of a fellow immigrant, Marcello, who is pretty much the only person who will even listen to her street preaching. Another neighbor is young Nora, who keeps skipping school to work so she can help her father pay for her mother and baby brother to come to America from Ireland. She's the one who helps "Mrs. North" get a job at Tavish Toys, where the owner deliberately makes toys guaranteed to fall apart on the children who play with them. Meanwhile, back in the North Pole, Arvo is starting to panic because not only is Santa growing depressed, but since Mrs. Claus took the sleigh, Christmas itself is endangered.

It's December 1910, and MrsClaus (Creator/AngelaLansbury) is having marital woes. Her husband Nicholas (Creator/CharlesDurning) is so invested in his work, he pays her no attention. She has an idea for a new route he should try during his annual toy delivery, but when she can't convince him to even give her a hearing, she takes the sleigh and one of the reindeer to go try it out for herself, with only the head elf Arvo knowing where she's gone. When she gets blown off course, she ends up on the Lower East Side of [[BigApplesauce Manhattan]] and finds herself stranded there for the time being.

* AllOfTheOtherReindeer: Literally. Mrs. North speaks the name of each reindeer in the same succession as they're listed in [[WesternAnimation/RudolphTheRedNosedReindeer a certain song]].

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* TheCoconutEffect: A street Santa collecting money for charity wears a red suit, something that wouldn't figure into the public image of Santa Claus until Coca-Cola used it in one of their ads in 1930. But the red suit is so ingrained in our concept of the character that they ''had'' to use one or it wouldn't be obvious who the man was supposed to be.
* BlitheSpirit: On Avenue A, Mrs. Claus improves the lives of everyone she meets, [[spoiler:even Mr. Tavish in the end.]] Not knowing that she's the genuine article, Sadie declares that she's been, "the Mrs. Santa Claus of Avenue A."

* ADayInHerApron: Not Santa, but Arvo, who in Mrs. Claus's absence has to do several of her usual tasks. Among these is making cocoa for the jolly guy, who finally realizes something is very wrong when he tastes the cocoa.
* TheEdwardianEra: Set in 1910. According to [=IMDb=] trivia, the time period was chosen on the basis that the costumes of that era would flatter Angela Lansbury. Apparently, it was earlier suggested that the film should take place in TheRoaringTwenties, but they didn't think the flapper look would work for her.
* EveryoneIsChristianAtChristmas: Mrs. Lowenstein gives Mrs. North a brief lesson of Hanukkah, but mentions that she enjoys Christmas more than she should.

* FinalLoveDuet: "The Best Christmas of All", sung by Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus

* IAmSong: The title character has two: "Mrs. Santa Claus" (which doubles as an IWantSong) and "Almost Young"

* MeaningfulRename: Mrs. Claus realizes, upon introducing herself, that she can't use her real name. She says instead that she's "from the north" and decides to adopt the name "Mrs. North" while she's in New York. Later, Augustus reveals that he's figured out Mrs. North's [[IKnowYourTrueName true identity]].

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: This is Santa's basic reaction to being told that his wife has been gone for two entire days and he didn't even notice.

* UptightLovesWild: Sadie is strait-laced while Marcello is much more easygoing. Ironic, considering Sadie is the one with the radical (for the time) politics.

* WidowWoman: Mrs. Lowenstein
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It's December 1910, and Mrs. SantaClaus (Creator/AngelaLansbury) is having marital woes. Her husband Nicholas (Creator/CharlesDurning) is so invested in his work, he pays her no attention. She has an idea for a new route he should try during his annual toy delivery, but when she can't convince him to even give her a hearing, she takes the sleigh and one of the reindeer to go try it out for herself, with only the head elf Arvo knowing where she's gone. When she gets blown off course, she ends up on the Lower East Side of [[BigApplesauce Manhattan]] and finds herself stranded there for the time being.

* TriumphantReprise: "Suffragette March" is a triumphant number, sung to the same tune as the longing IWantSong "Mrs. Santa Claus" and with similar lyrics.

* UnlimitedWardrobe: Despite having no money, Mrs. North is able to acquire a seemingly endless supply of fancy Edwardian dresses. There's a throwaway line explaining that she bought it all secondhand on credit. Sure.