Left in charge of her home and infant sibling when her parents are called away at Christmastime, Bettina disregards a family custom about leaving out rice pudding for the nisse, who make their magic known when the baby disappears.

When Ms. Frogbottom's class takes a trip to Iceland, they run into sneaky elves and trolls who play tricks on them. Then the magic map disappears--or was it stolen? Can the class find the map or will they be stuck in Iceland forever?

A little girl wakes up on Christmas Eve and hears different sounds while she walks through the house.

Thirteen-year-old Anya sets out to find her missing father but instead travels to Kiev, where she meets the tsar, dines with a rabbi, and rescues two brothers from a dangerous monster lurking beneath the city.

Ollie has always been happy just being an elf and inventing new games for Christmas with his best friend Celia--but then the current Santa (descendent of the original) decides to retire and announces that there will be an open competition for the position of next Santa (his son Klaus is not pleased) and suddenly Ollie and the other elves are vying with the Santa children for the Big Red Suit.

As the battles continue, Sophie must uncover the truth about the Lost Cities' past.

"Sophie Foster wants answers. But after a lifetime of lies, sometimes the truth is the most dangerous discovery. Even the smallest secret comes with terrifying new responsibilities. And Sophie's not the only one with blank spots in her past, or mysteries surrounding her family. She and her friends are part of something much bigger than they imagined and their roles have already been chosen for them. Every clue drags them deeper into the conspiracy....

"At Castle Kringle, the elves are excitedly arranging their first ever Thanksgiving day feast. April's husband, Nick--the real Santa--as some misgivings, since it's tough to get ready for Christmas when everyone is obsessed with helium balloons and pie recipes. Chaos erupts when Gobbles, the live turkey imported for the castle feast, is bird-napped. That crime is quickly overshadowed at a pre-Thanksgiving potluck when Nick's cousin, Elspeth, face-plants...

Frustrated by Santa's slowness at Christmastime, Muckle the elf creates a mechanical replacement called the Deliverator and proposes a series of contests to prove that it can do Santa's job better than he can.

When Nell's drawing of an elf comes to life, the previously rainy, boring day suddenly becomes much more interesting.