Bob Hope stars as Sidney Melbourne (A.K.A. The Lemon Drop Kid named so after his love of the simple candy) a con man who offers a friendly ""sure thing"" horse tip to the girlfriend of mobster Moose Moran at the race track. When the horse loses and Moose's original pick wins Moose gives Sidney until Christmas to pay back the money he lost or his thug Sam-the-Surgeon will ""open"" Sidney after Christmas. To pay back the money he owes Moose Sidney enlists some pals to hit the street corners of New York dressed as Santa Claus accepting donations for a bogus elderly ladies' home. The calamity starts when gangster Oxford Charlie (Lloyd Nolan) tries to move in on Sidney's scam. What follows is vintage Hope shenanigans highlighted by a heart-warming rendition of the Christmas classic ""Silver Bells"" sung by Hope and Marilyn Maxwell (who appeared with Hope in the 1953 film Off Limits). Also starring William Frawley (I Love Lucy) and Tor Johnson (Plan 9 From Outer Space).