Preteen brothers from a broken marriage live with their mother, Denise, in a rural town. Ryan, the cheeky elder boy, wants to go live with their father, Matt, in Chicago. This confuses shy Charlie, the youngest, who is also the butt of bigger school kids' often mean pranks. Then he finds two reindeer on his way home from school which he believes to be Santa's called Prancer and his son and heir, also called Prancer, which he tries to hide at home. Ryan's help bonds the brothers again. Alas when Prancer gets out, evil vice-principal James Klock is bitten and wants the 'public danger' put down. Charlie runs away with his protégé. Denise is useless, but her ex-boyfriend, handyman Tom Sullivan, comes to the youngster's rescue.