Danny (Jack Brunault), his little sister Jennifer (Lindsey Blanchard), and his friends Matt (Max Harris) and Jake (Jalon Christian) spend their spare time hunting for ghosts and proof that they are real. They are mercilessly picked on by school bullies Roger (Chase Anderson) and Carver (Austin J. Ryan) and considered to be the nerd squad. Danny and Jennifer's father died recently and this is their first Christmas without him, so when Jennifer announces that she doesn't believe in Santa anymore, Danny decides he must prove that Jolly Old St. Nick exists for real, if only for her.
Lucky for them, they have no idea that Santa is alive and well and living in their town of Norepole, Maine busily building toys for all of the children at the Norepole Toy Factory. He goes by Rick (Ed Asner, Elf, Up) and even moonlights as a janitor at the kids' school, but he needs a little help rebranding and modernizing. And so he hires a social media director, a Santa's little helper, if you will.
Sammy (Patrick Muldoon, Starship Troopers, Melrose Place) is new to town, mainly because he just started working at Norepole Toys. He's a little offbeat, as he walks into the local hair salon with a swagger and a tiny dog named Pretzel. He is immediately drawn to lovely widow and hairstylist Elizabeth (Brooke Langton, Melrose Place), who is - you guessed it - Danny and Jennifer's mom. While she's not ready to date, they become friends and he shares the secret about who employs him in the hopes that she can help bring back the Christmas spirit.
Luckily, there's a perfect event going on in their town - The Gingerbread Brawl, a wrestling mega-event that takes place in Norepole every Christmas. Unfortunately, the star wrestler, Max Miracle, has been injured, but maybe a special appearance by another local celeb could be just the Christmas miracle Norepole needs.
The film features the motley gang of kids sneaking about trying to prove Santa is real, while avoiding the local bullies who want to steal the thunder for themselves. Saving Christmas also stars WWE notables Tommy Dreamer, Mike Bennett and Maria Kanellis in small roles and features the town going absolutely nuts for wrestling.
While this might be a fun film for kids as a stocking stuffer, the acting is just okay. As in a lot of these kid-focused films, the acting is really overdone, from the adults on down to the children. While Lindsey Blanchard as Jennifer was very cute, she is laughing in almost every scene she has, but at least her joy is infectious. And, of course, you can't get more over the top than wrestling, so there you have it.
Don't expect any Oscar-winning material here, but the movie is okay. If you can pick it up for a bargain, younger kids will probably enjoy the caper aspect to it. It's a Dove-approved title, but the kids do say "crap" a number of times, so if you do not approve of lightweight cursing, just be aware.
