The film was the culmination of an eight-year journey from page to screen. Writer-director Emmett Loverde wanted to figure out a way to give Christmas presents to everyone on his list without going broke and he didn't want to resort to a Christmas Letter. His solution was his annual Christmas Story. Self-written, self-designed, self-published, and self-bound, Emmett's Christmas Story had been an annual event since 1992. It was a major Christmas ritual for Emmett (weeks of work) and a minor one for the 200+ friends on his Christmas list. The 1993 Christmas Story was called "Santa's Letters". A question popped into Emmett's head: What if someone wrote to Santa Claus asking him NOT to come? A story composed entirely of letters back and forth sprang to life in a matter of days and a stage play and screenplay followed within several years.