Trivia: Not a mistake, but another elf sighting within the movie. In the Parent's Day scene in Charlie's classroom, watch the boy sitting directly behind Charlie in the blue shirt. When Charlie walks back to his desk to retrieve his glass ball to show everyone, you can see the boy's pointed ears. Another note of interest is when Charlie says "my Dad is Santa Claus" and it cuts to a wide shot showing all of the kids, this kid is the only one not laughing.
Trivia: In the scene where Scott and Charlie are flying through a big hole in the clouds, notice the clouds themselves bear a striking resemblance to the clouds from The Neverending Story. Then look to the lower right corner and you'll see the face of the white dragon from The Neverending Story.
Trivia: Not a mistake, just a little fact. Throughout the whole movie, the elves from the North Pole can be spotted in different scenes. For example, when Scott is talking to Charlie about secrets while walking down a sidewalk, there is an elf girl behind them walking in a different direction who looks at Scott, then turns around. Another incident is when the same elf girl is standing behind the bench at the soccer game when the children are lined up to sit in Scott's lap.
Trivia: When Scott gets to the shop in the north pole, he grabs a multi tool belt, that's a reference to Tim Allen's Home Improvement TV show.
Trivia: The actor that played the truck driver Jimmy Labriola was a regular on Home Improvement, Tim Allen's famous sitcom.
Chosen answer: Even though Charlie did not want to stay with his Dad for Christmas Eve, he did want to stay at home with a family member, fragmented as it was. Eating Christmas Eve dinner at a Denny's restaurant was not his idea of a Christmas dinner at home with family.