Catch Me If You Claus
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The premise
On the verge of her big break, aspiring news-anchor Avery Quinn catches a home intruder wearing a red suit claiming to be Santa's son Chris.
How unusual is it?
Very. Santa is real, magic, mistaken identity and Santa himself all turn up in one movie — the strangest 1% of everything we've logged.
A rare specific
Tap to find the other Hallmark movies that share it.
Who’s in it
Alongside them
Behind the camera
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Directed by
Wait, what?
The quirks and curveballs that make this one a little weirder than your average Hallmark. No spoilers, promise.
- The protagonist kidnaps Santa's son and ties him up with Christmas garland
- A community theater troupe that gives out 'Tony's Pizza' awards instead of Tonys
- Santa's son uses a flip phone because it's the 'latest model' for North Pole tech
- The sleigh is described as a vehicle that 'functions outside of linear time and space'
- A corrupt mayor sends a hitman to recover a flash drive from a man in a Santa suit
Every trope, all in one place
Here’s everything this one has going on, from the setting to the way it wraps up. Tap any of the 30 to find more movies that do the same thing.
Setting2
Time & season3
Romance5
Tone & quirks2
Why we’d put this one on
Italia Ricci plays an aspiring news anchor who catches a man in a red suit in her home on Christmas Eve, assumes he is the Santa Crook from the news, and ties him up with garland. Luke Macfarlane plays Chris, who claims to be Santa's son on his first solo mission. Weirdness 10, and the gags are great: a flip phone billed as the latest North Pole tech, and a sleigh that functions outside linear time and space. No rating yet for this 2023 caper, but the chemistry plus a stolen flash drive and a corrupt mayor make it a brisk, fun ride.
How it all plays out
Already seen it, or just can’t wait? Open this up for the whole story, ending included.
Full story (spoilers)
Avery Quinn is a dedicated news researcher at Channel 71 in Dayton, Ohio, struggling to step out of the shadow of her legendary news anchor mother, Sophie Ashburn. After a failed audition for a weekend anchor position, Avery is given a last-minute chance to fill in for the 5:00 AM Christmas morning broadcast when the lead anchor develops laryngitis. On Christmas Eve, Avery discovers a man named Chris in her living room wearing a Santa suit. Convinced he is the 'Santa Crook'—a thief currently terrorizing the city—she performs a citizen's arrest and ties him up with festive wired garland. Chris insists he is actually the son of Santa Claus, attempting his first solo delivery run, but Avery remains skeptical. Their night takes a turn when they are forced to flee from a security guard and realize they are being pursued by Ellis, a henchman for the corrupt former mayor Hewitt Vance. Chris proves his magical identity to Avery by revealing her 'pivotal gift' from childhood—a leather-bound journal—which helps her begin to trust him. They discover that the real 'Santa Crooks' (a criminal couple) accidentally stole a flash drive from Vance's safe that contains evidence of him embezzling funds from his Christmas Care Foundation. After a detour involving a local community theater troupe where Avery must perform a monologue to use a phone, the pair is briefly kidnapped by the real thieves. They manage to escape, recover the flash drive, and confront Mayor Vance at Avery's home. With the help of the real Santa Claus, who arrives in his sleigh, they secure the evidence. Chris uses the sleigh's ability to travel outside of linear time to get Avery to the news station with seconds to spare. Avery successfully breaks the story of Vance's corruption live on air, securing her dream job as an anchor. The film concludes with Chris completing his rounds and taking Avery on a celebratory breakfast trip to Bali via the reindeer-led sleigh.
Beat by beat
Opening
Avery fails her anchor audition but gets a second chance to host the 5:00 AM Christmas morning news.
Inciting Incident
Avery catches Chris in her house and ties him up with garland, believing he is the 'Santa Crook'.
Midpoint
Avery and Chris hide with a theater troupe and realize they are being hunted by the former mayor's security team for a flash drive.
Rising Action
Avery and Chris are kidnapped by the real Santa Crooks but escape and recover the evidence of charity fraud.
Climax
The real Santa Claus arrives to help Avery and Chris confront Mayor Vance before whisking Avery to the news station.
Resolution
Avery breaks the corruption story live on air, gets the anchor job, and flies to Bali with Chris.
Did you know?
A few things that make this one stand out once you stack it up against every other Hallmark movie.
It scores a perfect 10 on our weirdness scale — 1 of just 15 movies in the whole catalog to do that.
It's 1 of only 6 Hallmark movies to combine supernatural elements, an enemies-to-lovers arc, and a Santa sighting.
Top 1% weirdest
Out of every Hallmark movie we've scored, this one lands among the strangest 1%.
Where this one fits
The corners of the catalog Catch Me If You Claus belongs to — handy if you’re after more of the same.
- Weirdest Hallmark MoviesScores 10/10 on our weirdness scale — comfortably in the strange end.
- Craziest Hallmark MoviesWild enough in premise to make the all-time list.
- Best Hallmark Christmas MoviesIt is, of course, a Christmas movie.
- Weirdest Hallmark Christmas MoviesA Christmas movie strange enough to make the weird list.
- Hallmark Supernatural MoviesHas a supernatural element.
- Hallmark Enemies-to-Lovers MoviesStarts with sparks of the wrong kind.
Lines worth quoting
The lines that stuck with us — the ones you’ll be repeating after the credits roll.
“I am not mafia. I'm Santa Claus.”
— ChrisWhen Avery accuses him of being part of a criminal organization. “Why are all the hot ones crazy?”
— AveryAvery's internal monologue after Chris insists he is the real Santa. “It's not enough to just wear the boots. You have to own the boots.”
— ChrisDiscussing the pressure of living up to his father's legacy.
Meet the characters
Who’s who before you press play. Nothing here gives the ending away.
Avery Quinn
LeadNews Researcher / Aspiring Anchor
AmbitiousSkepticalResourcefulNervousChris Vanderschmidt
Love interestSanta's Son / Successor
Captor turned partner
EarnestCharmingMagicalDefensiveHewitt Vance
AntagonistFormer Mayor
Target of her investigation
CorruptGreedyIntimidatingSophie Ashburn
SupportingLegendary News Anchor
Mother
SuccessfulDemandingSupportive
Questions people ask about Catch Me If You Claus
Where can I watch Catch Me If You Claus?
Catch Me If You Claus is available via fuboTV, YouTube TV, and Philo. Streaming options change often, so check current availability before settling in.
How long is Catch Me If You Claus?
Catch Me If You Claus runs about 1 hour and 24 minutes, and was released in 2023.
Is Catch Me If You Claus a Christmas movie?
Yes. Catch Me If You Claus is a Hallmark Christmas movie, set during the holiday season.
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Data and sources
Curated by the Talking Hallmark team.Last updated .