Christmas is Hillary Nash's (Ali) least favorite time of year. As the Senior Financial Analyst at the upscale Hudson Valley Outdoor Mall, she has to be the annual Christmas Grinch and cancel the leases of under-performing stores by the end of the year.

One afternoon, her 8-year-old niece Molly, asks the mall Santa to help find a boyfriend for her beloved aunt. Unbeknownst to Molly, and Hillary, the mall Santa is just a substitute filling in and is actually Ryan McCue (Fehr), a lawyer-turned-artist who is decorating the mall for Christmas and trying to find his way after quitting his job and losing his fiancee.

As Hillary and Ryan begin to fall for each other, they each don't realize the other's true identity: Hillary who is tasked with closing a failing gift wrap shop run by Ryan's Aunt Patty and Ryan who is too ashamed to tell Hillary that he is the acting mall Santa.