After tricking the twins, Angelica becomes concerned that she'll only get coal for Christmas, and Tommy tries to prove to Chuckie that Santa is nice.
Chuckie kicks things off telling Tommy about how people start acting weird around Christmas, then the worst thing happens: the scariest guy in the world, Santa, comes.
Tommy laughs this off, saying Santa is fat, jolly, and gives presents; Chuckie says this isn't what he heard as Angelica runs up to sit on Santa's lap. As she gives off a long list of presents, Santa interrupts, so she yells at him, and says the main thing she really wants is a special Cynthia deluxe dreamhouse. Santa again brings up how long her list is, and Angelica wonders why he wouldn't know all this already if he was really Santa; she rips off his beard and runs off, yelling that he's a fake. Later at Stu and Didi's house, Angelica looks through a pile of toys while Stu, Drew, and Chas talk about what Angelica must be feeling after such an event. Angelica realizes the box of toys is a bunch of stuff she doesn't like, and becomes angry, while in the kitchen Chas says his own Christmas was always worse than this; the best thing he ever got was a rubber glove and a tongue depressor, and he hopes this doesn't happen to Chuckie. Betty suggests they go up into the woods to a cabin to celebrate Christmas in a fun way, and the others immediately start gushing about what a great idea it is and taking duties. As Angelica complains about the box of toys, she finds some crayons and a Reptar space helmet, and nearby Chuckie again tries to convince Tommy that Santa's a bad guy, though the bald baby says that Santa just brings kids toys. Angelica finds Phil worrying about what to get Lil for Christmas; getting an idea, Angelica suggests he give her crayons for her favorite coloring book, offering the ones she found. She demands his Reptar doll in return, and though it's his favorite toy, he decides his sister is more important and hands it over. Angelica laughs, then realizes she could have more fun with Lil.
Didi tries to find a place for them to go for Christmas, and as Chas and Drew mope about their kids not having a good time, then simultaneously think to have a Santa actually come visit. Though Chas wants to do so himself, Drew decides they need a professional to come in.
Angelica, meanwhile, heads to Lil and pulls the same trick as with Phil, bringing up that his favorite toy is his Reptar doll, and Lil should therefore get him a Reptar space helmet to go along with it. Lil says it's a great idea, and in no time Angelica has convinced her to trade her coloring book. She gloats to Cynthia about how it's such a great trick that each baby will now be giving their sibling a gift they can no longer use. Chuckie continues trying to convince Tommy that Santa is bad; Tommy decides they should set up a trap to catch him and ask if he is or not. Grandpa Lou has the kids gather around and tells them about Santa; he says he saw the man with his own two eyes, and that, although he's old, he's smart, and if they've been bad, they'll get coal. Didi enters with the news that they've got themselves a cabin, and Angelica is left terrified wondering if she'll get the toys she wants. That night, she asks Drew about what Lou told them; he confirms that bad kids get coal and kisses her goodnight. She convinces herself Santa couldn't know about her trick, and goes to sleep. She then has a nightmare, however, in which she wakes up on Christmas morning to a bunch of presents, only to find out that all of them contain coal. Upset, she proclaims that some smelly old guy couldn't possibly know what she did, and Santa appears int he room, saying he does in fact know, and she gets coal as a result. She wakes up screaming, which brings in Drew; when she learns it's not Christmas yet, she asks about Phil and Lil. He says she'll see them when they go into the mountains later, and after he leaves, she tells Cynthia that this means she still has time to right her wrongs.
That day the family heads to the cabin, where Angelica approaches Phil and LIl; she says she wants to do them a favor, but Betty swoops in and takes them away to cut down a Christmas tree.
As Grandpa Lou struggles to decorate outside, Tommy, still wanting to trap Santa, assures Chuckie that the old man is friendly, and they make a list of all possible entrances, marking off the chimney as something no one would use. Charlotte, in her debut appearance, argues with Jonathon like always and allows Angelica to go with the others to get a tree, but the girl ends up too bundled up to talk to the twins. Didi gets picky about their tree, even preventing Betty from chopping down one that's too perfect, and Angelica gets the twins's attention. She rambles about the tradition of giving presents, but before she can get to the point, the sled she's standing on rolls down the hill. Once back at the cabin, Betty and Stu set up a fake tree, with Angelica frustrated as her attempts to talk to the twins are repeatedly foiled as everyone decorates; Tommy and Chuckie meanwhile set up traps at the entrances they previously noted. Everyone sits down to dinner, where Tommy again reassures Chuckie about the traps, and Lou gives Spike some scraps despite the dog having repeatedly gotten in his way before. Charlotte chatters on her phone again, and Angelica asks Didi if a kid would get coal if they tried to fix something bad they did; Didi doesn't understand why she asks about bad kids since she's good. To Angelica's disappointment, yawns from the babies result in bedtime, and though Tommy tries to keep Chuckie awake to watch with him, they all fall asleep. As the parents sing carols, Chas leaves to dress as Santa while Angelica mopes about her misfortune, and Drew calls a Santa organization to confirm that they'll have an actor come in. The night isn't over yet, however, as a few failed phone calls and an appearance from Santa change the way the characters view the holiday.
Rugrats for me is a classic series, and the holiday specials are always a joy to watch, with this a classic example of what kids often do around the holidays.
Much like Angelica, there are plenty of kids who reach this time of year and begin to wonder if their presents are in Jeopardy, immediately worried that they've been too naughty. ​Her brattiness sets up an allusion segment of the plot, and provides comedy as she tries multiple times to give the twins their toys back, only to have something interrupt at the last second. The allusion for this episode is that Angelica puts Phil and Lil in a "Gift of the Magi" situation by giving them each a toy the other wants in return for the toy that matches the other's gift. In the original "Gift of the Magi," the focus is on a couple that is poor, but happy. The wife desperately wants to get her husband a chain for his important pocket watch, but realizes she won't make enough money before Christmas. At the last second, she decides to sell her long, beautiful hair, which both she and her husband love, to buy the chain. Her husband is surprised on Christmas, naturally, then reveals the irony of the tale: he had wanted to buy her a set of combs for her long hair, and the only way he could afford it was to sell his watch. The two both sacrificed to get something the other could use for what they sacrificed, having decided their loved one's happiness was more important, which is how Phil and Lil thought. Along with being a nice parody, this also makes the twins a good counter to Angelica in this episode, as she spends the whole time worried about herself and tricks them for her own joy. Tommy and Chuckie provide an entertaining storyline as they try to capture Santa to see if he's good or bad, a nice twist on the desire of kids to stay awake so they can see the jolly old elf. Most kids simply want to stay up late enough that they can see the magic of a visit from Santa, but Chuckie is always terrified of everything, and Grandpa Lou's story about getting coal definitely didn't help out his anxiety about Santa. Rugrats was always a charming, simple show, and this special is perfect for a wholesome, funny family viewing this Christmas.
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