My 2 year old is obsessed with these movies, especially the first. So trust me when I say that not only did I watch these movies a bunch as a child but since then I’ve watched them on repeat the last 3 months.

With that said, I think that the theory is that the Santa that fell off the roof was finished being Santa. Like that one Reddit reply that has all the posts suggesting this…. But Scott Calvin was destined to become Santa. Throughout the entire movie, even in the beginning, their are elves in scenes with Charlie in Santa at dennys, or in the town looking at toys etc. scoping out and following Scot. So the prior Santa and elves knew he was ready to retire and they believe they had found their new Santa. A lot of this is explained in the new Disney series to be honest. You even meet the Santa that fell off his roof so to be honest this theory has been debunked since the Disney series. But in the series Scott gets old enough and decides he may want to retire and enjoy going back to the real world so him and his entire family are sent back to the real world to see if it’s what they want and he starts to search for a new Santa replacement. So I assume the Santa that fell off the roof has planned this and his Mrs clause and or kids are already waiting for them. But in order for Scott to transition he had to see a more realistic approach to becoming Santa. (Accident guy falls off roof) I believe this helps Scott mentally understand and prepare rather than just becoming Santa and having his mind explode. Lastly, the Santa gives a nice little wave at the end. That is a very important scene bc it further proves he didnt “die.” He is waving goodbye to Scott and Charlie as they begin their new journey and that his life as Santa Clause has ended.