What happens
It is Christmas Eve, and Phil and Alice Harris are finishing their preparations while their children wait eagerly to see Santa Claus. Phil promises them a visit, then plans to dress up as Santa himself. When that falls through, the family tries a series of stand-ins, including Don Wilson and a neighbour, to play the part. Alice and Phil hire help for the tree and try to keep the household's Christmas plans on track. The episode is part of the Phil Harris series, first broadcast on NBC on December 24, 1950, starring Phil Harris and Alice Faye, with Elliott Lewis and Gale Gordon in the supporting cast.
The Harris home in Hollywood on Christmas Eve, with a side trip to a local market.
Characters: Phil Harris, Alice Faye, Curly, Frankie, Willie, Julius, Andy Devine, Don Wilson
Listen for: Phil's promise to the children that they will see Santa Claus, and the series of stand-ins the family tries to play him.
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.