The Ride with Santa—Full Synopsis

        Who will win the “Ride with Santa on Christmas Eve Contest”? 

Santa and Mrs. Santa have a hard time deciding as Rudolph and the

elves bring in more letters written by children, telling how they’ve

helped somebody. (Song: How Do We Choose?) When one letter sticks to Rudolph’s nose, they

decide that’s the winner, no matter what.  Unfortunately, the winner is Eddy, a selfish boy who really hasn’t helped anyone. Reluctantly, Santa agrees to take him.

After Eddy arrives at the North Pole on Christmas Eve, he’s anxious to get going on his trip with Santa, but poor Blitzen has a splinter in her hoof, and won’t let anyone touch her. In desperation, Eddy sings Blitzen to sleep, (Song:  Goodnight, Sweet Dreams). Mrs. Santa gets the splinter out and Eddy and Santa take off in the sleigh for Boston, where Donder’s mom is sick.  Eddy hands out presents to some schoolchildren, (Song: We Love to Study), when a homeless boy steals one of the gifts.  Eddy chases him, but stops short when he sees that the boy lives under a bench.  Santa gives Rudolph and Eddy the task of taking a gift to the homeless boy, but Eddy doesn’t think the boy deserves it.

Next the sleigh stops in Ireland, and Santa and Eddy enjoy watching some Irish dancing in the town square, (Song:  Irish Stepdance).  Santa pulls a muscle as he tries to dance along, and one of the dancers falls down, crying.  Eddy gives a present to the best dancer, of course, and then reluctantly gives a gift to the crying girl, who says she can’t dance. He tries to cheer her up, but stomps off when she asks if he’s an elf. Santa then reveals to Eddy the magic of the sleigh, how it keeps refilling with presents,and that there are three gifts in the sleigh just for Eddy, but he cannot open them yet.

   Onto Japan, where Santa enjoys a break at the hot-springs.  Santa and Eddy see children dancing, (Song:  In Japan). One dancer appears to be blind.  Santa hints at Eddy to play

with the blind boy a little, to no avail, (Song: If You Were Only Here). Finally, Eddy does give the boy a gift, and gets a hug in return. Santa wonders if Eddy will ever learn about giving.

    Act Two opens in Australia, where the sleigh is pulled by little white kangaroo called boomers, (song: The Boomer’s Here).  The boomers run amok, but Rudolph rounds them up. The sleigh breaks down and will not reload more gifts. Santa calls Mrs. Santa for some fix-it advice.  Meanwhile, Eddy realizes that one little girl did not get her gift.  Santa can’t do anything to solve the situation as he tries to fix the sleigh, so finally Eddy grudgingly gives the girl one of his three gifts.

    The next stop is Chile.  Santa and Eddy go to the town square full of dancers, when Santa goes to get burritos,(Song:  Oh Santa, Dear Santa).  Eddy meets a poor orphaned girl, Antonella, who is trying to make money to feed her siblings by selling carved figurines. She doesn’t believe in Santa, or certainly that he’s right there buying burritos.  When Santa returns, she realizes he’s real, and that he’s been bringing her gifts every year and leaving them by her sleeping place.  Eddy feels something tug at his heart, and he gives his second present to Antonella.  It turns out to be a guitar, which Eddy secretly really wanted.  Antonella is happy that she met Santa and made a new friend, (Song: Antonella’s Song).

    The last stop is back to Boston, since Donder forgot something at his mom’s house. Santa parks

the sleigh in the same park, and gives Eddy his third and last gift, a brand-new bike.  Eddy, overjoyed, rides it around the park until he sees the homeless boy.  Eddy shows off his new bike, and talks to the boy, learning that the boy’s mother is dead, and that he has an aunt somewhere in Kentucky who doesn’t know he’s alive.  Eddy says he has to get back to Santa, and starts to ride off, (Song reprise: How Do We Choose?).  Eddy then has a change of heart, and returns to the homeless boy, asking the boy to watch his bike for a while, but Eddy intends for the boy to keep the bike and to use it to look for his aunt. Eddy returns to the sleigh without the bike, and Santa nods and smiles as Eddy realizes outloud that everyone is the whole world is special, (Finale song:  Everyone is Special).