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"It's like we say in St. Olaf, Christmas without fruitcake is like St. Sigmund's Day without the headless boy." This article is incomplete. You can help the Golden Girls Wiki by expanding it. |
Have Yourself a Very Little Christmas is the twelfth episode of the fifth season of The Golden Girls and the one-hundred and fourteenth episode overall. Directed by Terry Hughes and written by Tom Whedon, it premiered on NBC-TV on December 16th, 1989.
Summary[]
The ladies volunteer at a soup kitchen on Christmas and are shocked when Stan shows up, broke and needing a meal.
Plot[]
After Dorothy returns from Christmas shopping for her grandchildren, her ex-husband Stan arrives at the door informing them of a small get-rich-quick business scheme in which he asks for money from each of the girls. The girls refuse and quickly shove Stan out.
After he leaves, Dorothy tells Sophia and Blanche a new way for the girls to get each other presents since she says it's way too hot and crowded in Miami to go shopping for everyone this year. The new plan is for everyone to choose a name out of a hat and only get a present for the person whose name they choose, however, Blanche, Sophia, and Dorothy are worried about whose name Rose would pick since she notorious for her bad gift-giving. After informing Rose of their plan, she is at first hesitant because she actually enjoys shopping but eventually comes around because she says she will get her Christmas spirit from volunteering with the Church this year. They all agree to do this new way of gift buying this year and begin picking names from a hat. We see that Blanche will gift for Dorothy, Dorothy for Sophia, Sophia for Rose, and finally Rose for Blanche.
Fast forward to Christmas, Rose actually gifts Blanche a beautiful golden blouse. As Rose leaves to get ready to volunteer, the rest of the girls offer to come with. At the church, the girls begin preparing the food for the homeless when they spot a man dressed as Santa in the crowd. Blanche explains that charities will often give poor people a few bucks to dress as Santa and do work for them every holiday. Soon it is revealed that the man in the Santa suit is actually Stan. Shocked, Dorothy goes off to talk to him and asks what happened with his business plan. Stan explains that he was just trying to get some quick money from them, that all of his business plans were failing, and he had been kicked out of the house by his wife, Katherine, for infidelity. Stan begins wallowing in self-pity while Dorothy tries to get him to realize that he isn't alone in his situation and that he should be considerate when the other people at the church are not as fortunate as him. Stan refuses to see the situation as anything but terrible, despite his situation not being the worst of it all.
Back inside, the Pastor is talking to the girls about how Stan's situation is not uncommon and how many people are only a couple of paychecks away from being out on the street. They talk about the unfairness to the government towards the unfortunate and the difficulty there is with picking yourself up financially once you've already been pushed down. Unfortunately, Stan had become a downer in the church and Dorothy takes him out to talk again and cheer him up by saying how he's always been able to get out of financial dumps. They share a memory of one of their past Christmas, but Stan insists that the situation is way different. He again asks Dorothy for money, she gives him $60, and he leaves.
Inside the church, the girls talk about how they wish they could help the families and their children more than just on Christmas day. Suddenly, Stan dressed as Santa bursts into the church with a bag of presents for the children. The girls praise Stan for realizing his privilege as someone that was not as unfortunate as he was allowing himself to believe. Stan begins listing off his new business plans and tells that he's apologized to his wife (with flowers bought with Dorothy's $60) and that he's allowed back home now.
The episode closes off with the girls still wishing that they could help the unfortunate on more days than just Christmas.[1]
Tall Tales[]
Tales from the Old South[]
To be added.
Back in St. Olaf[]
To be added.
Cast[]
Main Cast[]
- Bea Arthur as Dorothy Zbornak
- Rue McClanahan as Blanche Devereaux
- Betty White as Rose Nylund
- Estelle Getty as Sophia Petrillo
Guest Stars[]
- Herb Edelman as Stanley Zbornak
- Matt McCoy as Father Avery
- Cynthia Lea Clark as Homeless Person
Notes[]
- This is the final episode of The Golden Girls to be released in 1989, as well as the final Golden Girls episode to be released in the 1980s.
- According to Sophia, Christmas food in Sicily includes eels and larks.
- Apparently, it is warmer than usual around Christmastime in this episode. In real life, however, record cold temperatures were recorded all over southeast Florida in December 1989.
Production[]
- The church kitchen set was the kitchen set used for the Above the Top Restaurant in the Witt/Thomas/Harris series It's a Living. That series had recently ended its six-season run in May 1989.
Continuity[]
- This is the last time Stan's third wife, Katherine, is mentioned on the show. We never find out when they divorce before Stan and Dorothy date again and almost re-marry in the sixth season.
Goofs[]
- Dorothy sets the present that Stan "gave" her on the coffee table. In the next shot, the present is gone. When the girls go into the kitchen, the present is back on the table.
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References[]
- ↑ The Golden Girls, Season 5, Episode 12, "Have Yourself a Very Little Christmas”. Whedon, Tom (writer) & Hughes, Terry (director) (December 16th, 1989)