Ten-year-old Edward Krieger writes to Santa Claus asking him to not stop by this year “Because there’s too much yelling at my house.” Shocked, Mr. Claus himself writes back: “Ed, you threw Santa Claus for a loop. The last time somebody told me not to come, the guy’s name was Scrooge. I had to send out three of my best people to work him over.” Santa reminds him that he is also bringing presents for the rest of Eddie’s family, so Eddie relents. As the Christmas holiday draws closer, Eddie’s family delights in the usual rituals: dressing the tree, decorating, Christmas concerts, etc. But something is bothering Eddie. He is almost constantly in trouble at school, his latest crime being hitting another child for making fun of the letter from Santa that Eddie brought for Show and Tell. His teacher, Betty Schmall, is mystified and powerless to help the boy. Edward’s father Brian is facing his own troubles at work. While hosting a home-cooked meal with his boss, Mr. Barlow, Brian learns that his position at a model aircraft company may be in jeopardy. Brian’s fifteen-year-old daughter Maureen, already miserable and further dismayed to see that her father is unwilling to fight harder to keep his job, sneaks out and runs away. Eddie writes to Santa Claus asking if anyone at the North Pole has seen his big sister. A fruitless search for Maureen ends as Brian, Edward, and the youngest Krieger, seven-year-old Ingrid, drag themselves home. All are overjoyed to discover that Maureen has returned, but her anger at her father has not subsided. Edward writes again to Santa, informing him that “My sister came back from running away, and she’s still as mean to me as ever. Please disregard the previous message.” Almost nothing can suppress the joy of Christmas for this little family: shopping for presents at a toy store, a pet shop, the mall. Even Maureen musters up a smile, though she maintains “I hate this holiday.” At a Christmas Eve church service Edward and family run into Betty Schmall, and Edward reluctantly introduces his teacher to his father. (Eddie has always assumed that when school got out teachers went back to their planet.) Even Eddie can’t miss the sparks that fly between his father and his teacher. Too weird. Christmas morning dawns as magically as Eddie has ever dreamed. Mr. Claus has brought everything everyone wanted… it seems. In the midst of the present-opening revelry, Brian’s friends and co-workers Tim Grimm and Connie Chappell arrive and invite everyone to a party — which they’re holding at Brian’s house because he needs cheering up. Brian’s protests are easily overruled, and a few hours later the house is filled with laughter. Connie’s teenage son Courtney romances Maureen in one corner while Connie, Tim, and Brian read aloud funny entries in the company’s “Indecent Proposal” contest, in which the person with the most entertaining story about a marriage proposal wins a thousand dollars. Eddie just eats. Surprise guests turn out to be Betty Schmall and Shannon Lunt, a family friend of Betty’s and a classmate of Eddie’s (and his secret crush). More sparks between Brian and Betty, and more weirding out by Edward. In the year that follows, Edward watches his family struggle with anger, sadness, and loss. On a family visit to their mother, Maureen refuses to even get out of the car” Ingrid’s scary devotion to violent video games and her disturbing habit of destroying her toys — usually by hitting them with a big rock — grows. Eddie tells every detail to Santa Claus, who always writes back… until one day he doesn’t. And things start to fall apart. Edward’s school problems escalate to the point where Betty Schmall demands a parent-teacher conference. Santa merely forgets to write, but Eddie doesn’t know that. Eddie finally asks the question that all children ask sooner or later: Is Santa Claus a fake? Santa does his best to reassure the boy, but Eddie decides that only one thing will convince him that Santa is not a fake: a real miracle. That miracle — and how it tests both Santa and Eddie’s faith in everything that Christmas is all about — may prove too big for even Santa to give.