What happens
Gildersleeve spends Christmas Eve at home in Summerfield, hiding and wrapping presents while his household bustles around him. His nephew Leroy hopes for one special gift, and his niece Marjorie wants to go out with her friend Marshall rather than stay in for the family's traditional evening. Gildersleeve gently argues that Christmas is a time for generosity, while the children bicker and the house fills with visitors, a cigar gift, and an impromptu singalong. The Great Gildersleeve is a radio comedy series, and this holiday episode aired on NBC on December 23, 1945, starring Harold Peary, with Willard Waterman, Lillian Randolph and Lurene Tuttle also in the cast.
Summerfield, Christmas Eve, the Gildersleeve home
Characters: Gildersleeve, Leroy, Marjorie, Marshall, Bernie, Judge Hooker, Mrs. Peavy, Mrs. Ransome
Listen for: Gildersleeve's attempts to hide presents from Leroy and his fussy, self-satisfied remarks about gift-giving.
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.