Arnold is Mr. Hyunh's secret Santa this year, and there's only one thing that will make the man happy for Christmas.
Helga and Phoebe are walking through town discussing what Christmas is about when the latter comes across what she wants: Nancy Spumoni snow boots.
When Rhonda says only a few people will even get the snow boots that year, Helga retorts that she's been dropping hints for weeks, so her parents had better get them. Meanwhile, Arnold is confused to learn that Gerald has gotten each of his relatives a tie for Christmas, even his little sister. He tells his friend that he needs to get people things that they'll actually care about, so he leaves to get both his sister and Arnold new presents. Noticing Arnold leave, Helga goes into one of her emotional rants describing her love for him, and decides she needs to get him something great this year. Over at Arnold's apartment, everyone draws secret Santa slips, only to realize that Oscar put his name on each one. As Grandma begins playing the piano, Arnold draws My. Hyunh's name; Gerald later suggests he just get a tie, but Arnold doesn't want to get such a common gift. Noting that Mr. Hyunh always seems sad at Christmas, he decides to get something special, and Gerald suggests he talk to the man. Arnold does so, asking about candy when Hyunh wishes he could offer some, but the man says candy is bad for his stomach. Pointing out how cold it is, Arnold asks if Hyunh would like a sweater, and he replies that he has plenty, showing his collection and offering one to Arnold. Arnold brings up Christmas, and Hyunh explains that this time of year always reminds him of his past, which Arnold asks him to tell him about. When Hyunh was a young man in Vietnam, he had a daughter named Mai, and though he dreamed of them having a great future, the war made life hard. He became more worried as the war drew closer, then at the Fall of Saigon, he was one of many to try to escape South Vietnam by helicopter. The pilot claimed there was only room for one more person, so Hyunh handed Mai over, and though the soldier called out this city's name, Hyunh hasn't seen her since. Explaining it then took 20 years to get out of the country, Hyunh says he would give anything to see Mai again.
Gerald says Arnold is crazy for trying to find Mai, pointing out that there's millions of people in the city, and it's the day before Christmas.
Arnold counters that this makes it the perfect time for a miracle, while elsewhere Helga struggles to choose a present for Arnold. Having spent the morning calling government agencies, Arnold leads Gerald to the federal office of information, which he's sure will have info on Mai. Inside, most of the workers are having a party, while the department supervisor, Mr. Bailey, is still in his office. Surprised to see the two, Bailey tells them to leave and keeps working, so Arnold tells them how they're looking for Mai in an effort to help Mr. Hyunh. Bailey says the story is touching, but it could take hours or days to find Mai, and with how busy he is, he wants them to just go to the party. His wife calls asking if he's done the Christmas shopping, and he becomes frustrated that he still needs to do it; Arnold offers to get it done in exchange for finding Mai. Bailey gives in, telling Arnold to get back by closing time with everything on the list, and the boys leave, hopeful that they can get Mr. Hyunh is present. Helga finds a skateboard she decides to give Arnold, only for Stinky to come up and say Arnold already has one just like it. Arnold and Gerald get everything except the last gift, Nancy Spumoni boots, and Helga decides to get Arnold a video game, going on another romantic rant about how Arnold will now fall in love with her. When the duo arrives, Helga is further frustrated when Gerald explains her video game is a flashy gift that wouldn't express anything to the recipient. As they leave, Helga picks up the list after Arnold drops it, finding they need the boots, and when he approaches a salesman, he and two others laugh at him, saying they've been out for weeks and wouldn't be able to get him one until July. The remainder of the episode focuses on Arnold and Gerald's desperate attempt to find the snow boots, and some last-minute help for the holidays.
I saved this one for last for Nickelodeon because it is a rather emotional story and a nice idea for a Christmas episode.
Getting into Mr. Hyunh's background is a great way of further fleshing out his character as well as providing us with the sad basis for the episode. Though he doesn't get into specifics about where he's from or the war that separated him from Mai, it's not a made up situation but rather the actual Vietnam War. This grounds the episode and makes it more relatable to viewers, as it's something someone they know might have gone through. We get to see more of how Arnold is a rather generous person, as his desire to get Mr. Hyunh a great Christmas present results in him spending a lot of time working hard to find Mai within a day. It also shows the emotional side of Mr. Hyunh, as he can often be a goofy character, but the one thing he truly wants is to be reunited with his daughter. We do get a typical aspect of this episode that I've looked at before, where Helga wants Nancy Spumoni snow boots, but finds out Bailey's daughter does, as well. At the same time, it's a rather unique idea for the base of the episode, since it's focused on trying to reunite Hyun with his long lost daughter. We get some typical Hey Arnold humor in this episode of course, mainly with Helga creepily obsessing over Arnold. It's also pretty funny that Gerald is trying to get each of his family members a tie, as like he says himself later, it's a gift to get someone when you don't know what to do. Then there's Oscar, who tries to make himself the only person who anyone got for Secret Santa, a rather jerk-ish but funny move. Bailey causes problems for the main characters in that he won't immediately help find Mai, but it's reasonable that he doesn't. Aside from being an apparently overworked guy working on Christmas Eve, he still needs to go around and get Christmas presents. This makes things a lot more complicated when it comes to finding the time to find a single person among so many in the city. While they always put it in terms of going out and buying something, a big point of the episode is also that when it comes to Christmas, it's important that whatever you get someone be important to them. Anyone can buy something as simple as a tie, but doing something for a person that they will truly care about is what will mean the most to them. The episode has fun cartoon comedy as well as some very heartfelt moment, and it's one I watch to get a tug on the heartstrings every year.
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AuthorI love the entertainment side of things. Video games, tv shows, superheroes and movies are my passion and I'd love to get the news out for things I enjoy. My contact page has links to my social media, so if you enjoy what I have to say, likes, shares, comments, and follows are always greatly appreciated! Archives
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