Heartwarming / The Santa Clause

• Shortly after he acquires Santa's suit and sleigh, Charlie begs Scott to take Santa's place and start delivering presents to other houses, the way he's supposed to. Scott flat out refuses because of the trouble they might get into doing that, and because he thinks the whole idea is stupid. He changes his tune however when Charlie sadly expresses how wounded he feels about that rejection, having grown tired of his father dismissing his thoughts all night. Scott feels bad about the impact of his words for a few moments, until he decides to bite the bullet and go through with the delivery to appease his son, to Charlie's delight.
• Scott spends a lot of his first run delivering presents grousing and complaining about what he's been roped into, but there are moments when he starts to enjoy himself, like when he notices Charlie playing with a puppy in the back of Santa's sleigh, as the puppy is due to be given to a loving family who wants to adopt him. It's clear that this magical night is the first time in a long time that Scott and Charlie have really connected again as a father and son, and if nothing else, he savors the time they spend together flying around the world.
• Bernard's moments with Charlie. He treats him like a little brother by giving him a special snow globe and giving him a room to stay in. Since he is Santa's head elf, it only makes sense that he's a Friend to All Children.
• Scott and Charlie share another tender moment later in Santa's workshop, when they both smile at each other before they go to bed. Scott still has plenty of doubts and reservations about what he's just learned and what he's going to have to deal with in the near future, but for this moment at least, both of them feel content about the crazy night they just had that brought them closer together.
• Scott attempts to tell Charlie there is no Santa Claus, but opts not to as he clearly cannot bring himself to say something that he knows would crush his son's heart. Instead, he gently requests they simply not discuss it in front of Neal and Laura, who by that point were convinced that Scott had dishonest intent. Although things take a bizarre turn soon after, Charlie agrees to his Dad's request.
• Despite being the subject of multiple rude comments, once Scott's appearance starts drastically changing, Neal doesn't hesitate to give him his card and ask Scott to call him. He sees something is wrong and wants to help.
• The judge who suspends Scott's visitation rights is actually quite sympathetic towards him. He says he really hates to tear a child and parent apart, especially during the holiday season of Thanksgiving, but does feel it is Charlie's best interest. What's more, he says the hearing to determine whether Scott is fit to have said rights reinstated will be after the first of the year. Seeing how it was Thanksgiving time, the judge was only legally suspending said rights for a little over a month, clearly having confidence that it will not take long for Scott to come to his senses.
• For a lot of the movie, Scott just won't believe what's happening to him. It's very heartwarming when he finally accepts it and tells Charlie that:
  "I love you, Santa Claus."
• Scott and Comet were at loggerheads in the first act, but by the end, when Scott has accepted becoming Santa, he tells Comet that he really appreciates Comet's gift of a rope to prevent his death by rooftop fall.
• During his first run delivering presents, Scott has a brief encounter with a little girl where he's a comedic curmudgeon the whole time. When he sees her again the following year however, the conversation they have is a lot more heartwarming, since he's now accepted that he's Santa Claus.
  Scott: I think the milk's a little sour.
  Sarah: It's Soy milk.
  Scott: Huh?
  Sarah: You said you were lactose intolerant.
  Scott: I did say that, didn't I? Thanks for remembering. (warmly) Go back to sleep.
• Charlie coming home after going missing and Neal running to embrace him even before Laura. He may not be his kid by birth, but he loves him.
• During the climax, Scott points out that while he may have inherited Santa's magic powers from his predecessor, Charlie is really the one who should get the credit for making him Santa Claus in spirit. His son encouraged him to be more selfless and generous, he always supported him, and he taught him to believe in magic by getting in touch with his inner child again. If Scott and Charlie were a team throughout the movie, then Charlie was the heart of the duo.
• At the start of the film, Charlie dreads the idea of spending time with Scott, because one, he's well aware that his dad is a jerk who can be difficult to deal with, and two, Scott and Laura have been divorced for quite some time, and by this point, Charlie is just tired of their divorce drama. It's a testament to how much Scott and Charlie have both grown as people and grown closer as a father and son that Charlie is heartbroken by the thought that he might never see his dad again at the end of the movie, when Scott permanently takes up the mantle of Santa.
• During Scott and Charlie's tearful heart-to-heart talk, Scott's ex-wife finally realizes that he is Santa Claus and decides to burn their son's custody papers, allowing Scott to remain a part of their son's life.
• During the custody hearing, Laura and Neal share how they stopped believing in Santa because they never received a gift they really wanted: the board game Mystery Date for Laura and an Oscar Meyer weenie whistle for Neal. At the end of the film, Scott drops parachutes with both of these gifts. You can see a glint of childlike wonder in Neal's eye when he blows on his whistle. Especially given the animosity between Scott and Neal the whole movie, it really feels like a hatchet being buried there.
  • In the scene prior to that Scott is very adamant at including Neal when telling Charlie that they are all a family, and they deserve to spend Christmas with him too.
• At the end of the film, Charlie is worried that he might never see Scott again when he goes to work full-time as Santa Claus, leaving his old life behind him, but Bernard quells his fears and reassures him that he can see his dad again whenever he likes, by summoning him with his magic snowglobe. The very last scene in the movie is Charlie summoning Scott back home, to make sure the snowglobe actually works, and Scott taking him on another sleigh ride around the world before bedtime. They make sure it's okay with Laura first, however, since she doesn't want Charlie disappearing again. Her only request is don't let Charlie drive and let him come home before bed.
• The elf in Charlie's class as he's the only one who's attentive and doesn't once say anything bad.