With the holiday season at hand, single mom Nicky Talbot is unemployed and struggling to afford a nice Christmas with her 8-year-old daughter. Hearing that Cartwright’s Department Store is hiring temporary holiday help, Nicky rushes in to apply, but is rejected by Senior VP Fiona Aldrich, who considers Nicky a threat to the relationship she hopes to have with Bill, a charming and handsome store manager. In a whimsical turn of events, Harry Osbourne, claiming to be a consultant from corporate headquarters, encourages Nicky to dress up and begin working as Cartwright’s store Santa Claus. With the magical help of Harry, Nicky keeps the job, but nobody knows Cartwright’s Santa Claus is a woman. Will she be able to keep her job if her secret gets out?
Cheryl Jenkins (Mowry-Housley) is an astrophysicist who works for the National Science Foundation reviewing grant applications for projects, although she’d prefer to be working on a project of her own. Cheryl heads home to spend the holidays with her family and first on the agenda is a visit to the annual Christmas carnival with her sister Trish (Zarrin Darnell-Martin, “Burden of Truth”). While there, Cheryl sees a carousel in the distance and ventures over to take a ride. But when the revolutions wind down and she returns to the carnival to find her sister, Cheryl discovers that — somehow — it’s five years earlier. Dissatisfied with where she is in life, Cheryl sees this as a chance to change her path by making different choices. As Cheryl navigates her way through her visit back in time, she’s able to connect with her beloved science teacher Ms. Nelson (Ralph), who was an inspiration to her both in and out of the classroom and had passed away several years previously. The time Cheryl spends with Ms. Nelson as well as with her “frenemy” George (Xavier) helps her find a new appreciation for what she’s doing in life and starts to see George in a new light. But when the carousel returns Cheryl to present-day Christmas with lessons learned, will the love she found be waiting for her? Stars Tamera Mowry-Housley, Michael Xavier and Sheryl Lee Ralph.
