Santa and Pete

Grandpa Nicholas is seen decorating a Christmas tree as Cassie, James, and Terence arrive. He begins telling Terence the story of Santa and Pete, hinting that the tale will reveal how Pete fits into their family. The scene grounds the narrative in the present and foreshadows the flashback.

Saint Nicholas is imprisoned by the Spanish government who suspect he is a spy and cannot return home. In prison, he meets Pete, a cook who longs to see the world. Pete secretly helps Nick escape, retrieving the Book of Life in the process, though guards catch him during the retrieval and he escapes with Nick.

Pete and Nick escape from prison together, carrying the Book of Life. With their freedom, they commit to following the fate of missing children to the New World. Their partnership forms the core of the origin story that will become Santa and his ally.

Years later, Nick and Pete learn that many children and families have vanished and seem to have traveled to the New World, New Amsterdam. They resolve to follow them across the sea. Henry Rutgers asks them to deliver an engagement ring to Elizabeth Van Olden and to join her as soon as he can.

Arriving in New Amsterdam, they find hostility between settlers and Native Americans. Maria and Janet Dangola invite them to Christmas dinner, offering hospitality. They set out to deliver the engagement ring to Elizabeth but cannot locate her.

With no lodging available, Nick and Pete sleep in a barn where they meet Marlene, a young girl whose parents were kidnapped by Native Americans. They decide to help her and her family and seek a path to peace for the children.

Nick and Pete attend a meeting with the governor and learn there are plans to attack the Native Americans. Nick asks to meet the Native Americans to prevent bloodshed, but the governor retaliates by taking their horses and giving them a single reindeer instead.

On Christmas Eve, Nick, Pete, and Marlene visit the Dangola family with gifts for the children. Pete begins to fall in love with Janet, while their reindeer herd grows, with Vixen attracting three other reindeer.

Nick and Pete travel to the Native American camp, where Nick is identified as the Man with the White Beard who brings peace and prosperity and could fly. He asks the Native Americans to return Marlene's parents for the sake of peace and safety of the children. In gratitude, they gift Nick a bright red coat.

Nick and Pete continue delivering gifts around the settlement. The village tanner has crafted Nick black leather boots as a token of thanks. At the governor's house, lacking wooden stockings, they descend the chimney to leave gifts; the governor's maid is Elizabeth Van Olden, and after presenting the engagement ring, she gifts Nick a bright red hat.

Back at the Dangola house, Native Americans arrive with Marlene's parents just as it starts snowing. Big Manuel replaces the carriage wheels with runners, transforming it into a sleigh drawn by six reindeer.

Santa and Pete depart in the six-reindeer sleigh and lift off into the night, leaving the village in awe as they fly across the sky.

Back in the present, Terence wakes to find the Book of Life in the living room and discovers his own name inside. When he tries to tell Grandpa Nicholas, the book suddenly vanishes and his memory of the page fades.

Grandpa Nicholas closes the tale with a quiet revelation: Pete is one of their family ancestors. The story reframes Santa as a family lineage rather than a myth, linking the magic of Christmas to their own bloodline.