I hope you've enjoyed watching these holiday episodes and following along with me here at YesterYear as well!
Just as they did for Halloween, Family Matters went all out during the Christmas season. After only one marginal Thanksgiving episode, the series created SEVEN Christmas episodes over the course of the show's nine-season run.
Like always, I like to throw in something extra as my little Christmas present to you, so here are some quick, fun trivia facts about Family Matters
1. There's quite a connection to The Young and the Restless. Michelle Thomas (Myra), Darius McCrary (Eddie), Bryton James McClure (Little Richie), and Telma Hopkins (Aunt Rachel) have all appeared on the show.
2. The series Family Matters lasted one year longer than its parent series, Perfect Strangers.
3. Michelle Thomas's (Myra) real-life father was a member of Kool & the Gang. Speaking of Myra, Michelle Thomas was in her mid-20s when she joined the show, cast as a girl in her mid-teens. Myra's full name is Myra Boutros Boutros Monkhouse, a tongue-in-cheek reference to Boutros Boutros-Ghali, the Egyptian politician and diplomat.
4. Tammy Townsend (Eddie's girlfriend Greta) would later play Jaleel White's love interest on his post-Family Matters sitcom, the short-lived "Grown Ups."
5. Most know that Steve Urkel was meant to only be a one-off guest character during the first season, but did you know that his name was meant to be a one-time joke in honor of co-creator Michael Warren's good friend Steve Erkel?
6. Steve Urkel crossed over to three other series: Full House, Step by Step, and Meego. He also had a minor cameo in Boy Meets World in Season 8, Episode 17, when Urkel sends Cory Matthews a chain letter.
7. Many of the sets used for interior shots of the home were used in the 1986 sitcom, Valerie (later renamed The Hogan Family). They were also used for another TGIF show, Step by Step.
8. Family Matters became the longest-running American prime-time scripted series when Murphy Brown ended on May 18, 1998. Family Matters held this title until its final episode, which aired on July 17, 1998. It was then succeeded by The Simpsons, which has held the title ever since.
9. Ever wonder why the theme songs to Full House and Family Matters (and even Step by Step) sound so similar? They were all written and performed by Jesse Frederick.
10. And lastly, only one character appeared in every single episode of Family Matters... and it wasn't Steve Urkel. It was Carl Winslow, played by Reginald VelJohnson.
Hopefully, you found some of those trivia bits interesting, and it might be something you can mention around the holiday table this season! Depends on how slow the conversation is, I guess!
One thing I'm happy to notice about these Christmas episodes is the frequent religious "reason for the season" overtones and/or direct mentions. Most sitcoms focus on the commercial aspects of Christmas, such as Santa and gift-giving, and overlook the Christian basis for the holiday.
There's commercialism in Family Matters, too, but each episode directly mentions the birth of Jesus Christ and makes other significant references to God and the holy holiday. I find it refreshing to see, and something you surely wouldn't see on television today.
Now, let's get to the Family Matters Christmas Episodes!
"Have Yourself a Very Winslow Christmas"
December 21, 1990
Season 2, Episode 13
The cold open shows the Winslows sitting around the living room, humming Christmas carols and giving thanks (they should have done more than one Thanksgiving episode!) that they won't be seeing Steve Urkel for a while. Just then, Steve enters with a sprig of mistletoe hanging over his head. Pucker up, Laura!
After the intro song, we're still in the living room. Urkel informs the Winslows that he'll be staying with his Uncle Cecil for Christmas, while his parents are in Hawaii, where they are renewing their vow not to have any more children.
In the kitchen, Mother Winslow is baking Christmas cookies. Aunt Rachel tells Carl how hard it's been trying to find Richie this year's hot new toy, a "Freddy Teddy" bear. Carl promises to find her a bear.
Back in the living room, Laura looks at an ornament given to her by Grandma Baker, which is the first time Harriette's maiden name is mentioned. Urkel starts talking to Little Richie, who tells Steve that he's asking Santa for Freddy Teddy. Urkel asks if he's been a good boy this year, and Richie says that "he had a pretty good August." Laura and Eddie are upset when Urkel tells them that Santa will definitely bring the doll, and we now discover that Urkel "still" believes in Santa. In response, Steve claims the only way to show Eddie and Laura that Santa truly exists is to write a letter. Seems odd.
He plans to write his wish list on it and send the letter to Laura by registered mail. When they open the letter together on Christmas morning, they'll all see if Steve got what he asked for. Steve goes home to write the letter, but accidentally knocks over the Winslow family Christmas tree, crushing Laura's favorite ornament. Laura screams at Urkel, telling him that not only does she not want him at her place on Christmas, but he should never come over again.
At the store, Carl gets the last Freddy Teddy off the shelf when he's suddenly overcome in a brawl, like it was Tickle Me Elmo at Walmart on Black Friday.
Back at the Winslow house, Laura feels guilty for yelling at Steve and decides to go tell him she's sorry. In Urkel's basement, Steve is sadly singing a Christmas song to himself and decorating a tiny tree all alone. Laura apologizes and invites him back for eggnog and to even spend the night, so he's not alone on Christmas. Where's Uncle Cecil?
The next morning, Urkel wakes everybody up screaming that Santa dropped off their gifts. Everyone got what they wanted, including Little Richie's Freddy Teddy doll. When Laura opens Urkel's letter to Santa, it proves that Santa and his magic are real, because Steve wished to spend Christmas with the Winslow family.
"It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Urkel"
December 11, 1992
Season 4, Episode 10
At the Winslows, Urkel tries out his new invention, which creates fake snow for their Christmas tree. It blows up, of course, in Carl's face. After the intro, we see Laura take a break from handing out gifts to proudly buy an expensive Christmas ornament that she had put on layaway for her mother, Harriette. Urkel shows up in his ridiculous little car to take her home. She asks him to leave and says she has already asked Eddie to come get her.
Steve won't hear any of it and reminds her it's freezing out. He takes her bag, and in the process, breaks the expensive ornament (for the second year in a row!) He quickly apologizes, but Laura is infuriated with him for breaking it. She tells him to get lost and wishes that he would someday find out what it's like to be her, having him hanging around all the time.
A disheartened Steve leaves, and while Laura waits for Eddie to arrive, her guardian angel, Tyrone P. "Ty" Jackson, appears in front of her to begin the It's a Wonderful Life homage. He stops time altogether with his handy-dandy angel remote. According to IMDb, this idea served as the catalyst for the Adam Sandler film "Click." Tyrone grants Laura her wish, and he tells Laura that if he can successfully convince her to change her ways, he'll earn his angel wings. He uses his remote to play a video on the television in the store window.
On the TV, we see the Winslows' home. In Tyrone's alternate universe, Eddie begs his father for extra cash for Christmas, and when Carl refuses, he says Eddie should be more like his younger brother... Steve. Steve comes downstairs as the Winslows' second child (in place of Laura) and tells his father and Eddie that he'll be down at the mall handing out toys to orphans. Carl admires how charming, responsible, handsome, and popular Steve is.
Not realizing that they have effectively switched roles, Laura is angry that Steve is now her brother. Tyrone corrects her that Laura is now Laura Urkel. She shows up trying to impress Steve, who's clearly embarrassed by her. Seeing herself speaking in a mousy voice and dressed like a "nerd," Laura is shocked. Tyrone says that Laura must experience the emotions that Urkel goes through when she yells at him, and clicks his remote to transport her into Laura Urkel's body.
Laura Urkel asks Steve for a kiss and calls him a stud-muffin. He tells her to get lost, but Harriette arrives with a gingerbread house, which Laura Urkel accidentally destroys. She asked, "Did I do that?"
Harriette is upset, and she tries to chase Laura. Steve is angry for wrecking Harriette's hard work on the gingerbread house, and using the exact words Laura used on him earlier in the episode, Steve tells her to get out of his life. He points out that he wishes Laura would spend one day in his shoes, and she dejectedly leaves as he slams the door in her face.
Laura returns to reality at the mall with Tyrone and tells him that she wishes she had been nicer to Steve Urkel and that she never wants to yell at him like that again. Tyrone smiles, having achieved his goal, and gives Laura a second chance. Tyrone rewinds time slightly and, before leaving, tells Laura to watch out for the first lighted star. Soon, Urkel arrives and breaks the ornament; Laura tells him not to worry about it, and the important thing is that they spend Christmas together.
During the ending credits, Carl whines about the star on the tree not lighting up. Steve asks Laura why she wasn't mad at him for breaking the gift, but Laura only says that she's grown up a little. Just as she says this, Richie tells them the star had finally been lit, and, remembering his words, Laura realizes that Tyrone has received his wings.
"Christmas Is Where the Heart Is"
December 10, 1993
Season 5, Episode 11
During the cold open, Little Richie lets it slip that he knows where Carl has hidden Eddie and Laura's presents this year. They each give him money to divulge the information, and he happily collects.
After the intro, we finally find a new dynamic for the show's Christmas offering beyond Steve breaking a delicate ornament of Laura's. Carl comes home from work, and he's in a terrible mood. What else is new? He's lost his Christmas spirit because he was conned out of money by a street thief. He runs into Steve in the kitchen and becomes even more grumpy.
Carl wants to wrap Harriette's present, a delicate music box that appears to be expensive. We've seen this before. Urkel somehow destroys it after volunteering to wrap it nicely, so the two head out shopping. In the background, it's snowing heavily, and Steve suggests they take the train instead of driving. Steve is excited on the train while Carl is just angry.
Steve yells, "Merry Christmas, everybody," only to be shouted down by the entire train full of miserable-looking people. Carl asks him to "put a cork in it" because there are nine cars on the train and they've already been kicked out of eight of them. The two take a seat, and Urkel wishes an elderly woman (seated next to a dirty, drunk Mall Santa) a "Happy Holidays." The woman looks at him and shockingly utters, "Drop dead, four eyes!"
The mood on the train is clearly unfriendly. Just when Carl asks how his night could get any worse, the lights go out on the train, and it grinds to a halt. The conductor announces, "Sorry, folks, we have a power outage. Merry Christmas!" as everyone groans. After the commercial break, the conductor makes another announcement, saying they can expect to begin moving again "in a few hours."
Urkel says the fun is just starting and asks the people of the train car if they want to play a game. They, of course, groan and yell, but Steve is not deterred. Urkel asks the elderly lady to lead everyone in a game of Simon Says, and she tells him to buzz off or get pepper-sprayed. Steve tells her she's already out because she didn't say "Simon Says," but the woman responds, "Simon Says, go suck an egg." This woman is great!
Steve doesn't give up after several other mishaps, including congratulating a woman on being pregnant on Christmas, just like Mary was with Jesus... only to find out she's not pregnant, just large.
Meanwhile, back home, Mother Winslow reads the family the Christmas story straight from the Bible, which was nice to see! Harriette sadly looks out the window, worried about her husband.
Back on the train, one of the riders threatens Carl that he needs to shut Steve up or one of them will. Carl yells at Steve and forces him to sit down. Feeling bad for yelling, Carl asks Steve if he's ok, to which Steve says no. He says that it's Christmas Eve and everyone should be happy, but everyone on the train is sad and angry. Steve then begins asking the passengers on the train about their families and how happy everyone will be when they see their smiling faces on Christmas morning.
Urkel tells people that Christmas isn't a place, it's a feeling, and that they could celebrate Christmas anywhere... with anyone. Steve somehow manages to pull a Christmas tree out of the corner of the train and asks everyone to start decorating it with hats and mittens. Slowly but surely, the people of the train get into the festive spirit. Just as everyone applauds Steve and the tree, the power kicks back on, and the train starts moving again. Everyone is in a much better mood, and Carl leads the entire train car in singing "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing."
During the closing credits, Carl and Steve arrive home well into the middle of the night, and Carl tells them what Steve did. He asks for a big hug from his family... and includes Steve, too.
"Miracle on Elm Street"
December 16, 1994
Season 6, Episode 11
Carl is in the kitchen baking gingerbread men, and begins acting out their voices while he eats them. Urkel walks in and catches him in the act, and Carl gets embarrassed. Steve offers to help bake, but Carl refuses. Steve helps anyway, and inevitably, the flour gets dumped into Carl's face. Urkel makes a Casper the Friendly Ghost reference and invites the Big Guy to dump flour on him, but somehow only adds to the mess on Carl's head.
Rachel, Carl, Harriette, and Eddie are dividing clothes into boxes for donations or trash. Eddie has Laura's box of donations, and Harriette tells him to go through it so they can take the donations down to Goodwill. Richie comes in with his Christmas list, which he proudly kept under 100 items. Rachel tries to remind him that there is more to Christmas than getting toys, and Carl says that Christmas should be about "the ings." Giving, caring, sharing, and loving. Harriette reminds him that they are lucky to have a nice, warm, and comfortable home, and Eddie reminds him that's why they are donating things to Goodwill. As he says that, he pulls a ratty old doll out of the box from Laura's room and tosses it into the trash box.
Later that day, Laura asks Eddie if he's seen Emily, her favorite rag doll. Eddie fesses up to throwing it in the garbage and apologizes. Laura tells her brother he's ruined her Christmas and runs upstairs in tears. Richie comes home with a homeless man named Ben, and Aunt Rachel, Carl, and Harriette stand shocked. Ben is played by actor Art Evans, who appeared in Die Hard 2 as the chief engineer at Dulles Airport. Reginald VelJohnson (Carl) also appeared (as a cop) in Die Hard 2. Ben asks what's for dinner, and Richie tells the adults that Ben is homeless and that he invited Ben to come live with them.
Carl asks Richie why he would invite a man like Ben to their house, and the little boy says that's what Carl was talking about the day before, about helping the less fortunate. They offer to let him stay for Christmas Eve dinner, but then they have to send him to a shelter. When Ben comes back in from the kitchen, he offers to wax their kitchen floor as a gesture of thanks, and Harriette hastily says he can stay a day or two!
Meanwhile, Steve is at the landfill looking for Laura's doll. While he's spraying the air with Lysol, a lonely dog comes up and begs for food. Steve asks if the dog has seen Laura's doll, and it brings him a shoe.
Back at home, Ben is ironing Carl's boxer shorts, which he thinks are a tablecloth. I get it, a fat joke. Carl says he got him into the halfway house and a line on a job, but first, Carl wants him to stay for a nice Christmas Eve dinner. Ben says he has to go; tonight is his busiest night of the year, and he has a lot of homes to hit. Carl says, "Breaking and entering won't solve your problems." Ben laughs and says he doesn't want to disappoint children, and he needs to get to the North Pole to check on his elves.
Carl realizes something is amiss and asks Ben if he thinks he's Santa. Ben says he really is, and that he is acting homeless, only to find the one family that truly embodies the spirit of Christmas... and he has found the Winslows. Carl opens the door for him and makes the "it's time for you to leave" gesture, causing Ben to ask if Carl thinks he's nuts. Carl says, "No, of course not..." and that he was just discussing the commercialization of Christmas with the Easter Bunny.
Ben shakes his head and says, "You're still mad about the Christmas of 1958, aren't you? I got those 5 letters asking for the Commander Crash space helmet..." and apologizes for running out of them that year. Ben says he's felt bad ever since." Ben leaves, and Carl is speechless, wondering how Ben could know that.
After the break, the Winslows open their presents. Waldo Faldo comes over to give Eddie his present, and it's the same pair of pajamas that Eddie's currently wearing. He wanted to get him something he knew Eddie would like. Just then, a freezing cold Steve Urkel walks in. He's dirty and freezing, but hands Laura a package. It's Emily, her doll. She's shocked that he found it, and he said it only took him 16 hours at the dump, which he did because he loves her. Laura runs and hugs Steve.
Little Richie pulls a giant gift box from behind the tree, and it's for Carl. It's his Commander Crash Space Helmet. He thanks everyone in the room, but everyone denies getting it for him. Carl then finally realizes it was from Santa. He solemnly says, "Thanks, Ben," as our episode ends.
The closing credit scene is the Winslow family singing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" directly to the audience. I wish shows did stuff like that more these days.
"Fa La La La Laagghh!"
December 15, 1995
Season 7, Episode 11
We open as Steve stands out on a snow-covered roof with a box full of Christmas lights. Carl climbs up the ladder just as Steve starts to tangle himself in the Christmas lights. Carl demands that Steve get off his roof, and Steve whines that it's tradition to decorate his own roof, but since he now lives with Carl, he has to decorate the Winslow house. Carl says no and complains it will triple his electric bill, and when Steve plugs the lights in, the electricity in the entire city of Chicago goes out.
Inside, Harriette wants to decorate the tree with Laura, but she's headed out to the mall with Max. Harriette suggests tomorrow, but Laura has plans to go skating with a boy. Laura leaves for the mall and tells a disappointed Harriette to decorate the tree without her.
That night, playing poker with the boys, Carl hears each one of them discuss their Christmas roof display. The guys say that nothing holds a candle to Steve Urkel's display, but now that he lives with Carl, they're glad he's out of the contest. Carl asks what contest, and the guys tell him that Channel 6 is holding a decorating contest, and the winner wins $5,000. The cheapskate Carl perks up at the idea and plans to get Steve to help him win the money.
The next day, Urkel walks in to find Carl singing Christmas carols to himself as he thinks about winning the money. Steve asks what changed his mood, and Carl "offers" to let him decorate his roof. Steve is elated and starts making plans, while Carl starts counting his winnings.
Eddie is decked out in a very fancy suit, and Mother Winslow asks where he's headed. He claims his fraternity is holding a party for underprivileged young women, and when she asks what makes them underprivileged, he answers: "They haven't met me, yet." As he leaves, Harriette asks him when he wants to decorate the tree, and he apologizes and heads out to the party. Eddie says he's too old for that stuff, and Harriette sits down, upset. She tells Mother Winslow that she knows they are growing up, but there are certain traditions she still enjoys doing with her children. She holds these holiday family traditions in high regard and wishes her children would feel the same.
Up on the roof, Urkel finishes his rooftop display. Soon, his animatronic elf and Santa start smoking and shaking violently before their heads shoot off. In what looked like a genuine ad-libbed moment, both Urkel and Carl reach out to try to catch the elf-head. Urkel cradles the head while Carl complains that the display is ruined. Steve says it still looks nice, but Carl loses his cool and says that nice won't cut it when it comes to being the best. Carl rushes off to the store to find a new Santa, but Urkel points out it's 6:15 on Christmas Eve.
Inside, Eddie and Laura find Mother Winslow sneaking a few peeks at the Christmas gifts. They asked why she didn't make any of her gingerbread cookies this year, and she said she didn't feel like it. They claim it's a tradition and that she HAS to make them. Mother Winslow slyly smiles and says she thinks they were both too old for silly traditions like gingerbread cookies, just like they told their mother about decorating the tree.
Back on the roof, Urkel and Carl arrive dressed as an elf and Santa Claus. Carl lets it slip that it's almost 8 o'clock (when the judges said they'd arrive) and that they need to be in position. They hurry to the sled and pretend to be animatronics, waving back and forth in unison. Urkel starts to get suspicious when he sees the judging committee at the neighbor's house. He can't understand why people would do it for monetary gain and not just the joy of the holidays, and Carl plays dumb.
When Steve realizes that Carl entered them into the contest, he gets up to leave. The roof starts making a sickly, groaning, creaking sound, and he warns Carl that the roof may not be able to hold the weight of the snow, the display, and an "overstuffed" Santa Carl. They immediately fall through the roof, onto Carl's bed, and through the floor into the kitchen.
Later, Steve sits sadly in the kitchen as snow continues to fall through the hole in the roof. Carl returns to the kitchen and says that he and Eddie finally got the bed back upstairs to the bedroom. Steve is mad that Carl's motive was greed, and that he lied about caring about Christmas and making children happy, when in reality, he only wanted money.
Carl apologizes, and the two hug. During the closing credits, Carl mentions that he heard Eddie and Laura had undecorated the tree the previous night. Steve asks why they would do something crazy like that, and the kids say they wanted to decorate it with Mom, just like they do every year. Awww.
"It Came Upon a Midnight Clear"
December 13, 1996
Season 8, Episode 13
Harriette is decorating the house for Christmas, and Carl comes through the front door to thunderous applause. Carl says he has great news, and that a friend from work has land in Wisconsin and told Carl to go cut down any evergreen tree he wants. Harriette tells him to just go down to the corner and get a tree like every other year, but Carl says, "Those trees aren't FREE." Eddie begs off helping, but Steve volunteers, and it looks like Steve and Carl will be stuck together again for Christmas.
After the intro, we're out in the woods. Carl carries an axe, and Steve is being picky about his tree choice. Carl wants to cut down any old tree and go home, but Steve says it must be perfect. Carl grows annoyed, and reminds him that they are alone for miles and he has an axe...
Laura and Eddie are wrapping presents at home when Curtis, Laura's boyfriend, arrives with a gift. Eddie interrupts a kiss and tries to get Curtis to keep his hands to himself. After Eddie leaves, the two open their presents but start kissing, just as Harriette walks in. She asks Laura for a moment and tells her that Steve's cooler alter ego, Stefan, is in the kitchen. Laura quickly gets rid of Curtis as Stefan comes in, and the two start kissing.
Back in the woods, Carl is fed up and demands that the tree next to them is the one they are taking. Steve relents and begs to be the one to use the axe. Typical Urkel hijinks ensue, and Carl has to take over, cutting the tree down. Steve points out that the snow is getting heavier, and their tracks are getting covered. Carl doesn't understand, and Steve says that without being able to see their tracks, they won't be able to find their way back to the car. With the thought of being trapped with Steve, Carl drops the axe and literally rips the tree from the ground with his bare hands and takes off through the woods.
Later, the two wander through the dark, looking for the car. They find Steve's scarf hanging on a tree, and discover they are right back where they ripped the tree from the ground.
Harriette has a talk with Laura about dating two men at the same time, and tells her she needs to make a decision. Harriette tells her daughter that when she met Carl, she was dating someone else. She never broke it off with the first guy, and one night when Carl was kissing her goodnight, her first beau saw them. He never said anything, but just looked so hurt and walked away for good, and she's always felt bad about it.
Back in the woods, Steve and Carl try to build a fire. Thankfully, Steve has his utility belt that includes a box of matches. There are only 3 matches left, and Urkel sneezes out the first one. The fire gets lit, and the two sigh in relief at some warmth.
Back at the house, Stefan arrives as Curtis is storming out. Laura broke it off with Curtis, who threatened Stefan before stomping off.
In the woods, the fire has burned out. Steve tells Carl that there is nobody he respects more than Carl and says he's the finest man he has ever known. While the two bond, Steve notices that the clouds have lifted. Carl's confused, but Steve uses the stars to figure out where the car is, and Carl is thankful to God. "Amen to that."
Back at home, Carl lights the tree that he and Steve carted out of the woods. Everyone "ooohs" and "aaahs" over the decorations. You could tell this is one of the later episodes, as the only people in the room were Carl, Harriette, Laura, Eddie, and Urkel.
No Mother Winslow, no Aunt Rachel, nor Little Richie.
Steve sets out a plate of cookies for Santa, and they all break out into "O Christmas Tree." As everyone heads up to bed, Carl helps himself to a cookie before a graphic appears on the screen, wishing the audience a Happy Holiday.
"Deck the Malls"
December 19, 1997
Season 9, Episode 11
This episode was probably not seen by many. The show had been downsized and canceled by ABC, and was picked up for the ninth and final season by CBS. Jo Marie Payton (Harriette) would leave the series immediately following this episode, and was replaced by Judyann Elder for the remaining appearances of Harriette Winslow before the series came to an end a few months later.
Laura is icing a gingerbread house as Steve comes in from the snowy outdoors. He tells her he got a job wrapping presents down at the mall. Laura makes a callback to every Christmas episode of Family Matters when she brings up Steve's inability to hold breakable Christmas presents and assumes that Myra hired him. Steve sees the gingerbread house and starts nitpicking minor mistakes that Laura made. Laura knows where this is headed and asks Steve to leave, but he somehow bumps her into the house. She falls on top of it, flattening it and getting icing all over. Oh, Steve...
Carl and another police officer bring in a tree, and Carl thanks him for letting him cut down the tree on his property. I'm assuming this is the same coworker with the land in Wisconsin from last year, although I don't think they mentioned his name in that episode. This police officer is only listed in the credits as "Willie," played by Marlon Young. Willie teases Carl that his Christmas gift from Commissioner Geiss is bigger, despite Carl being a Captain. Carl wants to save his for Christmas, but Willie rips his open and discovers it's only a piece of fudge.
Harriette walks in and tells Carl she managed to do her Christmas shopping all in one day. Carl smiles widely and mentions that she fit everything into the one little bag she's holding. She says, "Oh, no, these are the receipts!" and pulls out a handful of receipts of various lengths. "The truck is dropping the gifts off later," she adds. She just had trouble finding a gift for Steve. Carl says he's easy, just give him a piece of cheese or something, and he'll be happy as a clam.
Just then, Little Richie and 3J walk in. 3J immediately starts scamming the Winslows into a better present, but Carl told him to take a hike. Harriette tells Richie that his mother, Aunt Rachel, called and said Aunt Helen is feeling better, and Rachel will be there for Christmas. As Richie walks off happy, Laura comes downstairs carrying several boxes of Christmas lights. As she comes off the bottom step, she drops all the boxes and says that Dr. Flemming is getting a heart transplant and Harriette will have to find a new Santa at the mall. Carl stands up and stretches, sticking out his big belly (like a bowl full of jelly), and asks his wife where she could think up a new Santa on such short notice.
Cut to an unhappy Carl dressed as Santa down at the mall. The kids are upset because Carl is acting like a sad sack, not the jolly old Santa they expect. Laura is upset that she has to dress like an elf when her friends from school are around, and meanwhile, Steve is being yelled at by an angry customer at the gift-wrapping station.
The angry woman looked and sounded familiar, so I looked her up for you. The actress's name was Sonya Eddy, who has a laundry list of small parts on hundreds of sitcoms and TV shows over the years. Look her up, you'll recognize her.
While Carl is getting inundated with children, Myra is growing unhappy with Steve because he's giving each customer too much attention and trying to make their packages into works of art.
Back home, Mother Winslow makes a rare Season Nine appearance as Harriette has to break the news to Richie that Aunt Rachel won't be making it in time for Christmas because the Detroit Airport is snowed in. Mother Winslow consoles Richie by saying his mother would do anything to get there for Christmas, and either way, they are going to give him the best Christmas ever.
Meanwhile, Carl meets a little boy who only wants one thing for Christmas: a job for his Dad. Santa Carl gives the little boy Carl's business card and tells him to have his Dad give him a call. Laura asks if he can get him a job at the police station, and Carl laughs and says no, but he has a lot of pull down at the Donut Shop.
On the other side of the mall, the line for Steve's presents has grown long, and everyone is growing agitated. A fight breaks out among the customers, and Steve ends up on the counter, yelling at everyone to pipe down. He reminds them it's Christmas and the season to spread love and the generosity of the human spirit. As he's going on about holiday cheer, a hand reaches up from the crowd and drags him into the brawl.
After the commercial, Steve is on the counter hogtied and wrapped up in Christmas paper, complete with ribbons and bows. Myra tells Steve she feels awful that they tied him up, and I actually laughed out loud when he asked her why she helped them. Steve apologizes for letting her down, and Myra apologizes for pushing him too hard. They then get into an argument over who should get to apologize before falling into a make-out session on the floor.
The next morning, Steve is the first one downstairs, shouting, "Santa was here!" Mother Winslow brings her cookies out of the kitchen as everyone, except Richie, is excited to open presents. Laura asks where Eddie is, and Mother Winslow said he left a note that he had to go pick up a present. Carl wonders where he went on Christmas morning, noting that the only place open is 7-11. Laura hangs her head, saying she's going to get another Slurpee this year from Eddie.
Steve gets Carl and Harriette their gift, and it's a lovely portrait of Eddie and Laura. Carl says the only thing wrong with this picture is that Steve isn't in it. Steve starts to get emotional when Carl reminds him that he never bought Steve anything. Sneakily, he suddenly remembers Commissioner Geiss' gift of fudge, still wrapped and being saved for later.
Carl hands over the gift from his boss to Steve, who opens it to find a Sterling Silver pen, which Steve exclaims is worth "must be over $200" for those who don't know what something like that costs. Carl is beside himself, knowing he gave away an item of decent value.
We come back from the commercial break as Eddie comes through the door, brushing snow off his jacket. Harriette asks him where he's been, and he said he was picking up a present... as Aunt Rachel walks in the door. Eddie drove through the night up to Detroit just to get her for Richie, who is thrilled.
During the credit scene, Aunt Rachel sings "O Holy Night," as the family sits around the fireplace. You can tell the actors knew this was their last Christmas episode, as they appeared to genuinely share gifts, hugs, and emotion as they cherished this special moment.
Carl and Harriette kiss, and a graphic that says "Happy Holidays from Our Family to Yours" appears as the episode comes to a close.
Knowing that this was Jo Marie Payton's last episode as Harriette makes it even more special, as if the two actors were saying farewell.
Well, thank you for sticking with me this long as we covered another Classic Sitcom Holiday Season. We'll continue this series next year! Merry Christmas!
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