A number of holiday stories delve into Santa's North Pole lifestyle. Tolkien possibly began this sub-genre with The Father Christmas Letters. When it comes to romance, Santa and Santa's helpers--from elves to reindeer to toy-makers--form the setting for classic romance plots.
Here are a few:Charlie Cochet's North Pole City Tales: Cochet uses classic Nutcracker motifs, including the evil Mouse King. In addition, the "reindeer" are actually pilots, who maintain a kind of celebrity status throughout the year, not just at Christmas time.
The series' romances usually fall into Darcy-Elizabeth territory, as do the romances of many Christmas novellas. Reconciling supposed enemies is, after all, a Christmas theme.
I review the North Pole City Tales more here.
Wendy Rathborne's The Elves of Christmas presents another tale of friends-to-enemies or, in this case, the maker of old-fashioned classic toys versus the maker of new, tech toys. The relationship of the protagonists to Santa furthers the plot.
Part of the appeal of these tales is variations within the trope: in some stories, Santa is a healer; in some, he is a mayor; in some, he is a king. In many ways, Santa becomes a stand-in for God but far more accessible--which means, he can be portrayed with flaws.
Not all tales deal with Santa-at-home. There are, naturally, all those humans who are temporarily stand-ins for Santa. At least two mystery shows--Bones and Castle--produced episodes where the detectives track down the murderer of the "real" Santa by investigating substitute, working Santas.As for written stories--
In Keira Andrews's Santa Daddy, the protagonists meet when grumpy Nick plays Santa at the local mall. He encounters Hunter, who helps him out--in elf costume, of course.
And one of my favorites by Eli Easton, Desperately Seeking Santa follows the investigation of journalist student Gabe Martin who is trying to discover, Who plays the mystery Santa Clause for the local orphanage every year? Romance naturally follows!
Sexy Santa is an archetype here. Frasier tackles it when Roz falls for hottie Dean Cain, but only when he is in Santa costume.
