You can see in the movie that some scenes are filmed in front of the Galeries Lafayette. However, the movie crew didn't have permission to film there, so they still decided to do it, but were hiding in vans. They would come out of the vans when the way would be clear but at one point, the guards caught them, and brought Gérard Jugnot to the police station, where he was charged for "illegal port of Santa Claus' uniform."
The original play began in 1979 at the small café Le Splendid. Because of it success, the production was moved to the bigger theater Gaité-Montparnasse in another Paris arrondissement. The producer of this taped version Yves Rousset-Rouard is the same as the 1982 movie and this version came out after the success of the movie. The endings of the movie and the play are different.