A boy (Jr.) seeks a replacement for his father, who disappeared shortly after his birth, and bonds with his uncle Charlie and the patrons at a bar in Long Island. Uncle Charlie works as a bartender there and knows all of the staff and regular patrons. He is a charismatic individual and all of his friends are eager to initiate Jr. into their rituals. Jr. listens closely to the stories of these men and relies on these stories for guidance on how to live.

In a suburban fantasy world, two teenage elf brothers, Ian and Barley Lightfoot, go on a journey to discover if there is still a little magic left out there in order to spend one last day with their father, who died when they were too young to remember him. Like any good quest, their journey is filled with magic spells, cryptic maps, impossible obstacles and unimaginable discoveries. When the boys' fearless mom, Laurel, realizes that her sons are missing, she teams up with the legendary winged-lion-scorpion former warrior -- The Manticore -- and heads off to find them. Perilous curses aside, this one magical day could mean more than any of them ever dreamed.

Events spin wildly out of control when three lifelong friends agree to do a favor on behalf of the brash young woman they all adore.

On his way to a luxury resort for the Christmas holiday, banker Charles Benson's car breaks down, so his family gets stuck in Nowhere, Colorado, a sleepy town which seems to be dying since its mine closed. Son Nolan befriends the grumpy old former toy shopkeeper, and pushes the charmed grump to become the naturally perfect Santa in the Christmas pageant his mother helped organize despite the disheartened mayor. Charles gets stuck in the mine with the mechanic, whom he befriends, and ends up as the real Christmas benefactor.