Santa is an awesome part of Christmas. We loved him as kids and we love the idea of him as adults. I always remember watching Christmas movies as a kid and siding with every child in the movie who kept their belief in Santa Claus strong, no matter what bully or grownup told them otherwise. It always made me angry when those bullies or grownups tried to convince the kid characters that Santa wasn't real. What jerks.
As I've grown older and more analytical when I watch movies, I've noticed a plot hole in just about every Christmas movie where people don't believe in Santa Claus. It makes sense when kid characters don't believe. They think their parents do it. But when presents from Santa are under the tree or in stockings, WHERE DO THE PARENTS BELIEVE THEY CAME FROM? It makes no sense. In The Polar Express the parents are concerned about their kids believing in Santa but on Christmas day there are presents they didn't buy. Santa brought them. It makes not sense and it's a plot hole that's in so many Christmas movies and specials. The only Christmas movies I've seen that avoid this are ones that either establish Santa as fiction, such as Four Christmases; don't feature Santa at all, like It's a Wonderful Life or have Santa be a character that everyone believes in, adults and children, such as The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Does this mean that movies that use this plot hole are bad? No. Of course not. If you like a holiday movie, then watch it. It is interesting, though, how watching old favorites with an analytical eye can change the way you see a movie. It can be writing, special effects, acting, sets, or anything. Even Santa Claus.