What happens
Jim Anderson, the head of the Anderson family in Springfield, is alarmed by the Christmas bills and insists the household must cut its spending. His children, Bud, Betty, Kathy and Dan, each ask for money for something, and Jim's wife Margaret tries to keep the peace. Later Jim is caught between his own plans for the evening and a poker game that a friend, Hector Smith, needs him to attend. The story follows his efforts to get out of the house while the family's small spending decisions pile up. The episode is from the Father Knows Best series, first broadcast on January 12, 1950.
The Anderson home, a white frame house on Maple Street in Springfield, around Christmas time
Characters: Jim Anderson, Margaret Anderson, Bud Anderson, Betty Anderson, Kathy Anderson, Dan Anderson, Benny, Hector Smith
Listen for: Jim Anderson's lectures on thrift and his efforts to get out of the house for a poker game
Written from the episode itself; it never gives away the ending. Every recording is remastered for the stream: cleaned of rumble, hiss and mains hum (and the old TV whine where we found it), then levelled in two passes to steady broadcast loudness, so one show is never quieter than the next.