Ten films you should never watch if you’re taking a job as a department store Santa

The film Will Ferrell plays Buddy, a human raised by Santa’s helpers, who returns to New York to find his father. He stumbles into a job as a department store elf and causes chaos as he mistakes their fake Santa for actual Santa.

Why it’s a Santa’s nightmare Imagine working for months on your authentic ‘ho ho ho’, only for an untrained elf to come along and steal the spotlight with their childish charm (even if they can make paper snowflakes at super speed).

Breaking point The moment when Buddy pulls off Santa’s beard and shouts ‘You sit on a throne of lies!’ will have you filing a complaint to the Union of Santas.

The film When eight-year-old Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) gets left home alone by his family over Christmas, he has to defend the house from a pair of bungling robbers. He also spots a guy in a Santa suit and, mistaking him for the real deal, asks him for help.

Why it’s a Santa’s nightmare The Santa in ‘Home Alone’ has just got a parking fine and wants to have a cheeky cigarette in his car – but as long as he’s wearing the red suit he has to keep things family friendly.

Breaking point Lacking a candy cane, Santa's forced to give Kevin a handful of green Tic Tacs instead. It's like kids never heard the words 'off duty' before.

The film In this remake of the classic 1947 movie, Richard Attenborough plays Kris Kringle, a department store Santa who’s actually the real Santa. He’s arrested, and a lawyer and a little girl have to prove his authenticity.

Why it’s a Santa’s nightmare Talk about setting the bar high for yourself: Kris Kringle can make children’s dreams come true. All you have is a bag of poundshop toys.

Breaking point When Kris berates the fired Thanksgiving parade Santa for getting drunk. Not all Santas can get through the season on festive cheer alone, mate.

The film Bad-boy millionaire Blake (Hulk Hogan) is hiding from police by pretending to be a mall Santa when he's hit on the head and gets amnesia. He wakes up thinking he's a crime-fighting Santa super-hero and sets out to stop a band of evil scientists.

Why it’s a Santa’s nightmare