The creators decided to approach the character design with the idea to make them feel British and quirky, not air-brushed or appealing.
There were discussions over what differing time zones meant to the story's "before the sun comes up" deadline imposed in the plot of this movie. The idea of kids being awake in Australia while it's night in the United States was troubling. They ultimately decided that, for kids, Christmas is nighttime all over the world.
Near the beginning of the film, when Santa arrives back at the North Pole and everyone is celebrating, a couple can briefly be seen kissing. This is an homage to the iconic Alfred Eisenstaedt photo of a sailor kissing a nurse (actually a dental assistant) on August 14, 1945 in Times Square. The sailor kissed the woman in celebration of Japan's surrender, signifying that World War II was over.
When Steve Claus (Hugh Laurie) enters Gwen Hines' (Ramona Marquez's) house, he steps on a small toy sheep which makes a distinctive "baaa" sound. This is a "Shaun the Sheep" toy. Shaun le mouton (2007) was a television show produced by Aardman Productions, the same company behind this movie.
In the delivery scene in the beginning of this movie, one of the elves puts down a wrapped railroad track in front of him as he is riding on the train. This is a reference to a scene in The Wrong Trousers (1993), another Aardman production, where Gromit does the same thing in the Penguin chase.