The Santa Summit (2023)

Single thirty-somethings Jordin, Ava, and Stella are best friends and an art, math and English teacher respectively at Garden City Collegiate. It's just before the Christmas break, and Jordin believes they have lost their mojo each for a different reason, they not having done anything exciting as friends in years. Jordin is still recovering from a break-up in the summer to her long term boyfriend Nico, and while upon reflection she isn't sure if she ever loved him, she is hurt that he has moved on in already having another girlfriend, Portia. For five years, shy Ava has pined over their fellow teacher colleague Ben without being able to tell him that she has feelings for him. And Stella still laments being transferred from the Music Department to English in she not being passionate about assigning books to her students she doesn't much like herself. To get out of their funk and spend time as friends, Jordin is able to convince them, albeit reluctantly, to do something out of their comfort zone, namely attend the Santa Summit, a big party where attendees, upwards of one thousand, dress up as Santa and party it up at different events and venues across the city. Ava is somewhat of an easy convince as she knows Ben always attends the Summit, and she hopes to run into him outside of work. Convincing Stella was already difficult enough in she having lost the spirit of Christmas, with the Summit made all the more challenging in they constantly running into a leather jacket clad Santa named Freddie, who further takes her out of her comfort zone. And Jordin has a chance meeting with a fellow Santa, Liam, they, in their connection in their few minute conversation with each other behind their Santa costumes including full beard and mustache, only knowing sparse pieces of information about the other. In accidentally losing contact with each other, each goes on a mission to locate the other in a sea of several hundred Santas not knowing the other's name or what he/she looks like behind the costume in each, without knowing how the other truly feels, believing they made a real human connection.—Huggo