This episode has us experiencing the Brady’s first Christmas together as a new family and features probably one of the sweetest television scenes between a child and Santa Claus.

Everyone is excited about Carol Brady’s big solo in the church choir on Christmas morning. That is until Carol discovers she has lost her voice. A further diagnosis is that she has laryngitis, probably from all the rehearsing she has done.

So Mike, being the doting husband and Alice, being the handy-dandy housekeeper, go into action to help out. Alice makes a home remedy concoction for Carol to wear around her neck, one so smelly even Alice herself can’t tolerate it. Mike has the boys get the Christmas tree and takes Cindy to the mall to see Santa.

In a touching moment, Cindy tells Santa all she wants for Christmas is for her Mommy to get her voice back so she can sing for Christmas. Of course, Santa reassures her that her mother will get her voice back, much to Cindy’s delight.

She excitedly tells Mike that “Santa’s going to give Mommy her voice back for Christmas”.

Mike: “Oh, honey, how could he do that? He’s not a doctor.”

Cindy: “He’s better than a doctor. He’s Santa Claus”.

Mike goes to the mall locker room and berates Santa for promising Cindy that her mother would get her voice back.

We jump to Christmas Eve and Greg, Marcia, Jan and Peter can’t sleep. One by one they sneak downstairs and sit on the stairs moping. Alice discovers them and Marcia suggests they postpone Christmas until their mother can talk again. The others agree. Then Alice pipes in:

“Ok, it’s unanimous, we’ll cancel Christmas. Take the tree down, get the presents back to the store, I’ll throw the turkey away. Of course, it might disappoint your mother a little. She’s had one tough break already. She and your Dad were looking forward to us all having a wonderful first Christmas together. Well, why worry about how they feel?”

Of course it’s all Marcia’s fault. Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!

They all agree it’s a bad idea and march off to bed. Of course, when Carol wakes the next morning, she’s humming and realizes—miracles of all miracles—Santa has come through and she has her voice back. Halleluia!

In the final scene we are treated to a beautiful rendition of Carol singing “O Come All Ye Faithful”.

And all was once again right in the Brady household.

The episode opens with Laverne  and Shriley decorating their Christmas tree and singing “The Twelve Days of Christmas” off key and at least for Laverne, with the wrong lyrics. Then Shriley discovers Laverne has eaten the stringed popcorn and nibbled a corner off the gingerbread star that has been in her family for eleven years.

They are visited by Rags, a neighborhood bum who organizes a yearly get together at the Pizza Bowl. He’s looking for Frank DeFazio to discuss the plans but can’t reach him. Because he’s playing Santa down at the mall and hanging out with his sidekicks, Lenny the Fairy and Squiggy the Elf while Laverne and Shirley get mauled by shoppers.

One of the kids waiting for Santa calls Santa out when he arrives, attacking Squggy the Elf and Santa and getting Santa fired. This same kid brags to Shirley that he got Santa fired and then spits in her face. (FUN FACT: the kid dissing Santa is Scott Marshall, show creator Garry Marshall’s son).

Laverne learns that her father has been playing Santa for a few days to raise money for the dinner since the Pizza Bowl has been doing lousy business. But now that Santa’s been fired Frank declares there isn’t going to be any Christmas dinner for the bums.

Carmine, Laverne and Shirley decide to try to raise funds by singing Christmas carols on the street corner. Until they’re approached by a street corner Santa and a Salvation Army band. With the three groups vying for some charitable cash, ruckus ensues, a cop gets involved and it’s discovered that Carmine, Laverne and Shirley don’t have a license to solicit money unlike Santa and Sister Sarah and the Salvations do.

Meanwhile Frank is bummed that the bums won’t be coming to dinner. When all of a sudden, Laverne and Shirley rush in with the bums led by Rags. He states that all they want is to just be there at the Pizza Bowl, dinner or no dinner. Although they did bring a can of spam, a can of corn and a banana.

Frank is still disappointed because he wanted to do something special. But Shirley tells him, “Don’t you understand? They don’t come here for just the dinner.” Laverne adds, “That’s right, Pop. They come here so they can be with all of us. That’s what’s special to ‘em.”.

Lenny and Squiggy save the day when they come in with a turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce. And now they can no longer date the butcher’s daughter.

And remember, Christmas ain’t turkey. It’s PIZZA!

It’s Chrissy’s first Christmas away from home and she’s feeling a bit down about missing her family. A fun fact about this episode is that Chrissy’s full name is revealed: Christmas Snow.

Jack: “Christmas Snow?”

Chrissy: “My father was a big fan of Bing Crosby.”

Anyway, what Chrissy is most upset about is missing the party that her family always has. Jack steps in and tells the girls that they’re going to have a Chrissy Christmas party. And Janet reminds him they won’t bother the Ropers with the noise since they’ve gone away to Mrs. Roper’s brother’s for the holiday.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to their upstairs neighbors, the Ropers come home early. And Jack, Janet and Chrissy are having problems getting anyone to come to their party. Because everyone is going to the Stevens’ party next door. Then Mrs. Roper comes upstairs and invites the kids down to their apartment for a get together. No sooner does she leave Jimmy Stevens calls and invites them to their party. But Chrissy reminds them they just agreed to go to the Ropers. Janet mentions that Mr. Roper will probably be asleep by nine-thirty and then they could leave and go to the Stevens’ party.

Meanwhile the Ropers aren’t overly excited about having the kids in for a visit either. The kids reluctantly go, have a little scotch, partake in a lame card trick from Mr. Roper and Jack tickles the ivories while Mr. Roper sings. Janet realizes that Mr. Roper is far from ready for bed when he pulls out his trumpet. The kids use the time as an excuse to leave and head out. And Helen gets angry at Stanley for being so boring. But he reveals that there was a method to his madness. That he had to get rid of the kids because they have been invited to the Stevens’ party.

The final scene shows Jack, Chrissy and Janet helping Mrs. Roper get Mr. Roper back to their apartment because it appears Mr. Roper had a little too much cheer at the Stevens’ party. Or maybe Stanley is just overcome with surprise at having seen the kids at the party as well.

In this second Christmas episode of “The Beverly Hillbillies”, the Clampetts experience their first Christmas at home in Beverly Hills. And discover artificial snow. Or “Beverly Hills” snow as Jed refers to it.

As Ellie May, Jethro and Granny begin to open their gifts, there seems to be a reoccurring theme to them: water. Ellie May receives a hair dryer, which she thinks is a hat with a hose attached to it to “let the water drain off” her hat when she’s walking in the rain. Jethro opens a “new suit” made of rubber, which is a skin diving suit. And Granny gets a new TV, which she thinks is a fancy electric washing machine and the antennas are the clothes drying rack.

The Clampetts give Mrs. Drysdale what she wants most for Christmas: a mink. A LIVE mink. Jed states that Mrs. Drysdale wanted a “full-length mink” and Ellie May replies that “it’s as long as they come”.

But the Clampetts have yet to see the biggest gift of all: a boat parked in their driveway, complete with a chimp for a “skipper”, much to Ellie May’s delight. All the gifts are a ploy from Mr. Drysdale to try to keep the Clampetts in Beverly Hills.

The Drysdales go over to visit the Clampetts and try to clear up all the confusion. Granny gifts Mrs. Drysdale a smorgasbord of hillbilly foods such as “candied catfish and owl burgers”. Ellie May then informs Mrs. Drysdale that she’s lost her gift, greatly upsetting Mrs. Drysdale, who is under the impression that the gift is a diamond. If only she knew.

This touching episode would be the first of several “Little House” Christmas episodes that would air over the nine-year run.

It’s the first Christmas for the Ingalls family in their new home at Plum Creek. Weighing on the young ‘uns minds are what gifts to buy Ma and Pa and how to pay for those gifts. The same goes for Ma and Pa themselves.

During a visit to Oleson’s store, it is discovered what is everyone’s heart’s desire: Caroline admires a stove, to which both Charles and Laura notice, both Mary and Caroline fondle some fabric, both thinking it would make a great shirt for Charles and little Carrie is fascinated with a star.

Everyone sets out in their own ways to earn the money so they can buy what they want. Mr. Oleson mentions to Charles that he has a customer who needs new wheels for his wagon. Charles takes on the task of fixing the wheels to earn some quick cash.

Mary is ecstatic when she gains an opportunity to help the town seamstress out. It gives her the chance to also make the shirt she wants to make for Pa.

Caroline is selling more eggs than usual to Olsen’s Mercantile in the hopes of making the same shirt for Pa.

Laura is left with the dilemma of wanting to buy her mother the same stove Pa is intending to buy with his money from the wheels. She unselfishly barters her pony Bunny, a pony Nellie Oleson has had her eyes on for a while, in exchange for the stove.

Meanwhile Carrie finds a penny and goes with her sisters to Oleson’s and buys the star for the Christmas tree. Although the star normally goes for five cents, good ol’ Mr. Oleson sells it to Carrie for her penny.

Next Charles goes back to Oleson’s to buy the stove for Caroline only to learn that it’s been sold.

The day before Christmas Mr. Oleson delivers a large box to the Ingalls’ home and says it’s for Caroline. Of course Charles thinks that Mr. Oleson came through for him and managed to get another stove.

Christmas morning is filled with surprise. Charles opens his gift from Mary to discover a shirt she has been tirelessly making. Caroline successfully hides her look of shock/disappointment at the very gift she was going to present her husband with. Being the kind of mother she is, she compliments Mary’s handiwork and discreetly hides her gift under the tree skirt.

Laura opens her gift to discover a saddle Charles has spent weeks making for her pony Bunny. The very Bunny she has bartered.

Caroline opens her box and is beside herself to find the stove. Charles looks pleased with himself, until Caroline opens the card to discover the stove is from Laura.

As Mr. Oleson and Nellie arrive to collect Bunny, the rest of the family learn how Laura was able to afford the stove.

As Carrie excitedly opens her gift of the star and Charles helps her place it on top of the tree, the true meaning of Christmas is felt all around.