
Father Knows Best - Christmas Program
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Kathy Anderson
Mother, are post 40% bran flakes really the best tasting cereal of them all?
Margaret Anderson
Well, your father says so. And father knows best.
Narrator
Yes, it's Father Knows Best transcribed in Hollywood starring Robert Young, his father. A half hour visit with your neighbors, the Andersons, brought to you by Instant Sanka, the delicious coffee that lets you sleep, and post 40 brand flakes. Mother, next time you're choosing a cereal, remember new Post Brand Flakes. Give your family all the important Keep regular benefits of bran in a cereal with a delicious new magic oven flavor. Insist on Post Brand Flakes, the cereal preferred and eaten by far more people than any other brand Flakes. They're wonderful for breakfast, lunch, or in between meals. So get Post Brand Flakes this weekend. They're good and so good for you. Well, the town of Springfield is lovely to behold this Christmas Eve. About noon today, the first snowflakes began to fall. And soon the air was filled with the whirling crystals came down heavily all afternoon. Now every lawn and park is white, every roof and chimney top. And out on Maple street this frosty Christmas Eve, every house seems to have its windows brightly aglow. Every house, that is, except the Andersons. They're not home, you see.
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There.
Narrator
Well, let's go back to 10 o' clock this morning. Margaret was wrapping packages on the dining
Jim Anderson
room table and Jim was helping her like this.
Margaret Anderson
Hold your finger on this, will you, dear?
Tom Terrell
Mm.
Margaret Anderson
There we are. That knot should hold, don't you think, honey?
Jim Anderson
Are you planning to send me along with the package?
Bud Anderson
What?
Margaret Anderson
What's the matter?
Jim Anderson
You tied my thumb in there.
Margaret Anderson
Oh, I'm sorry. There, there. I wonder if there's anyone I've forgotten.
Jim Anderson
Well, from the number of packages scattered around here, you couldn't have forgotten anyone. Not in Springfield, anyway.
Margaret Anderson
Oh, they're not so many there. It just looks like a lot.
Jim Anderson
I can't figure it out.
Bud Anderson
Hmm.
Jim Anderson
We don't know that many people.
Margaret Anderson
All right, now look. This one goes to the Kirbys. You remember last year, they gave us that lovely salad bowl and we only sent them a Card.
Jim Anderson
Mm.
Margaret Anderson
This one is for the Morrises. I feel we certainly owe them a gift.
Jim Anderson
But, honey.
Betty Anderson
Now, wait.
Margaret Anderson
You asked a question and I'm answering you. This package goes to the Rodneys. I didn't send them a thing last year. And the year before that, they gave us that huge box of pears. I know, but the big box is for the Carters. And then there's the Blakes and the Rogers and the Milbanks and the Duplanes and the Newmans and the Lewis's. They all gave us something last Christmas. You see, I keep a record of these things, dear. I have it all written down.
Jim Anderson
Well, that's fine. I'm not objecting to the idea of remembering our friends at Christmas.
Margaret Anderson
Well, you wondered why all the packages.
Jim Anderson
Well, it just seems that suddenly Christmas has lost something. It used to be so much simpler. The spirit of Christmas had a different meaning.
Margaret Anderson
I know, dear. But when people have given to us, that's it, honey.
Jim Anderson
It's become a matter of bookkeeping. Christmas used to be a quiet and beautifully religious holiday time for the children. A time for bringing happiness to others. What has it become? A mad scramble to buy a lot of things you can't afford to give to people who don't need them. Now, dear, why can't we have Christmas the way it used to be? Quiet and simple, with the real Christmas spirit? When you gathered your family and friends around the fire and the children hung up their stockings and the church bells on Christmas Eve and the carolers singing. That's the way Christmas should be.
Margaret Anderson
I know, dear. But, Mother, I'm in the dining room, Betty.
Betty Anderson
I'm going to wash my hair now, Mother. So if Janie calls, will you take the message?
Margaret Anderson
What message?
Betty Anderson
Well, it's very important. You see, Janie knows simply dozens of girls who work at Burton's Department Store. And they're going to call her the second Ralph comes in the store. And then Janie's gonna call me.
Jim Anderson
Princess. If you'll forgive my unseemly curiosity, what is the purpose of this elaborate spy system?
Betty Anderson
Why, to find out what Ralph's going to give me for Christmas, naturally.
Jim Anderson
Oh, naturally.
Margaret Anderson
But, dear, a Christmas present is supposed to be a surprise.
Betty Anderson
Of course, Mother. But how can I be surprised if I don't know what kind of gold locket that's heart shaped with my initials on it he's going to buy me.
Jim Anderson
Wait a minute. How was that again?
Betty Anderson
I'll be upstairs, Mother. If Janie calls, you needn't call me to the phone unless the locket is a wristwatch.
Narrator
Now, if that doesn't.
Margaret Anderson
Now, now, don't let it upset you. She's just a normal teenage girl.
Jim Anderson
But, honey, the whole idea of Christmas is to.
Margaret Anderson
Dear, we're in the dining room.
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Bud.
Bud Anderson
Hey. Tonight's Christmas Eve. Can you believe it? Christmas Eve.
Margaret Anderson
And you'd better go down in the basement and bring up the decorations for the tree.
Bud Anderson
We haven't got a tree yet. Besides, I. I haven't got time right now. Joe and I gotta get some stuff together. We're going out with Christmas carols.
Margaret Anderson
Christmas carols?
Kathy Anderson
You.
Jim Anderson
Now, don't question him, Margaret. Thank heaven there's one person in this family who has the true Christmas spirit. Allow me to congratulate you. Son, you have the right idea. There's nothing finer on Christmas Eve than to go around singing carols.
Bud Anderson
Oh, we're not gonna sing them, dad.
Jim Anderson
Oh, what are you gonna do with them?
Bud Anderson
We gotta deal with Gus down at the used car lot. He has a soundtrack. You know, with the big horns on top and a record player inside.
Jim Anderson
Oh, no.
Bud Anderson
And now wait. This is a cool idea. Gus is gonna drive the soundtrack all over town this afternoon. And Joe and I, we're gonna be inside playing the Christmas carol records. Bud. Well, I'm not really gonna play the records. Joe's gonna do that. And I'm gonna read the commercials.
Jim Anderson
Commercials?
Bud Anderson
Sure. For Gus McCarthy's used car lot. Joe plays a carol and then I read a commercial. I got some cool ideas. How do you like this one? It starts out risky. Married gentlemen in a 1936 two door sedan with white side.
Margaret Anderson
Oh, Bud, maybe you'd better or.
Bud Anderson
Oh, what fun it is to ride in a 1940 club coupe with overdrive and new seat covers. Look, Bud, I saw mommy kissing Santa Claus. In a 1948 convertible with radio and Beatles. How do you like those? Pretty good, huh, dad?
Jim Anderson
Pretty good. But have you lost your mind? This is Christmas.
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Margaret Anderson
to save your father's right, bud. That's carrying it entirely too far.
Bud Anderson
But if I don't work on the truck this afternoon, I won't get to ride on it in the parade tonight.
Jim Anderson
Parade? On Christmas Eve?
Bud Anderson
Sure, the big Santa Claus parade. They're gonna have floats and bands and cowboys, all kinds of stuff.
Jim Anderson
What? No skyrockets? Well, now I've heard everything. Peace on earth, goodwill toward men, introduced with a brass band.
Kathy Anderson
Daddy.
Jim Anderson
What is it, kitten?
Kathy Anderson
When are we gonna get our tree?
Margaret Anderson
Oh, you'd better go down and get one, dear. They'll be all gone.
Bud Anderson
I could have gotten one wholesale from Gus's used car lot. He sells Christmas trees, too.
Kathy Anderson
Can we have a purple tree this year, Daddy?
Jim Anderson
A purple tree?
Kathy Anderson
They're selling them on the vacant lot next to the pool hall. Red, yellow, pink, orange, purple. You can get any color you want. Except green.
Betty Anderson
If you're talking about the tree, I vote for a pink one.
Jim Anderson
What's wrong with green?
Bud Anderson
Nothing, except it just looks like a tree.
Jim Anderson
What's a tree supposed to look like, Daddy?
Kathy Anderson
Can we get one of those neon lights?
Jim Anderson
Oh, for Pete's sake. Neon lights, purple Christmas trees, brass bands. What has happened to you kids? Have you forgotten the meaning of Christmas? Have you forgotten everything you've learned in Sunday school?
Betty Anderson
No, Father. It's just that things are different now than when you were a boy. This is 1953.
Jim Anderson
Different nothing. You can change everything else, but not Christmas. Am I right, Margaret?
Margaret Anderson
You have the floor, dear.
Jim Anderson
The whole trouble is that Christmas has been turned into another super colossal all color production. Well, it's all wrong. And as far as this family is concerned, we're putting a stop to it this year. We're going to celebrate Christmas as it should be. Celebrated simply and naturally, without all the hoop de do and folderol. This is going to be a real Christmas.
Betty Anderson
I don't understand what you mean, Father.
Jim Anderson
Well, to begin with, we're not going to buy one of those painted trees. We're going to get in the car and drive up to Pine Mountain and cut our own tree.
Kathy Anderson
Oh, boy. Can we, Daddy?
Margaret Anderson
You don't really mean that.
Jim Anderson
Certainly I do. You kids gather up some warm clothes. Bud, get the saw out of the garage.
Betty Anderson
But, Father, it's at least 50 miles up there.
Bud Anderson
You can buy a tree for a couple of bucks, dad.
Jim Anderson
Now, that's what I'm talking about. All you kids can think of is buy, buy, buy. This is a part of Christmas you've never even experienced. Going out into the woods and cutting your own Christmas tree.
Margaret Anderson
The weather forecast said snow today.
Jim Anderson
Oh, we'll be up there and back in three or four hours. Not going to snow that much. Besides, I have chains. Now, get your coats.
Kathy Anderson
I'm getting mine. I'm ready.
Betty Anderson
Oh, this sounds like a real peachy Christmas.
Jim Anderson
It will be, Princess. You'll see.
Margaret Anderson
Dear, I have all those packages to deliver to the Rogers and the Newmans.
Jim Anderson
Throw them in the car, honey. We'll deliver them on our way back.
Margaret Anderson
You're sure this is a good idea?
Jim Anderson
Am I sure? Margaret, believe me, this is going to be a Christmas none of us will ever forget.
Kathy Anderson
Are we almost there, Daddy?
Jim Anderson
Oh, another mile or two, maybe.
Betty Anderson
Father, it's starting to snow again.
Jim Anderson
Oh, is that snow coming down?
Bud Anderson
It isn't corn flakes,
Jim Anderson
just a little flurry. Nothing to worry about. Come on, cheer up, everybody. It's almost Christmas Eve.
Betty Anderson
What is there to cheer up about?
Bud Anderson
Joe's probably out on the soundtrack playing Deck the the Holes with boughs of holly and selling cars like crazy.
Margaret Anderson
But we're not talking about that, remember?
Jim Anderson
Okay, now, if you kids think you have a hard life, look at that little grocery store back off the road there. Miles from everything. How would you like to live there?
Kathy Anderson
Well, I wouldn't, that's all.
Betty Anderson
I just wouldn't.
Bud Anderson
What if you had to?
Kathy Anderson
Well, I wouldn't.
Bud Anderson
What if you had to?
Betty Anderson
I said I wouldn't.
Bud Anderson
Yeah, but what if you had to?
Betty Anderson
Father, Tell Bud to stop it.
Jim Anderson
Bud, stop it.
Kathy Anderson
Are we almost there, Daddy?
Jim Anderson
No, it won't be long, kitten. Look at that snow drifting down. Isn't that beautiful? We're going to have a white Christmas.
Margaret Anderson
It's lovely, dear, but do you think we should try to go any farther?
Jim Anderson
Just around the next bend.
Betty Anderson
Why, we had to drive clear up here into the wilderness to get a Christmas tree.
Jim Anderson
You'll understand, Princess, when we're back home this evening. When the fragrance of the tree fills the whole house.
Kathy Anderson
Wha. What happened, Daddy?
Jim Anderson
Nothing. Snow's a little deeper here.
Betty Anderson
Bother. We're not moving.
Bud Anderson
Are we stuck, dad?
Jim Anderson
No, we're not stuck.
Kathy Anderson
Why aren't we Moving, dear.
Margaret Anderson
We can't go any farther. It's snowing so hard now you can't see ahead.
Betty Anderson
Can you turn around?
Jim Anderson
I won't try to turn around. Only thing we can do is back up.
Kathy Anderson
We're not moving.
Margaret Anderson
What's the matter, dad?
Jim Anderson
I'm afraid we're stuck.
Kathy Anderson
Oh, no, Jim, we can't be.
Jim Anderson
Now, there's nothing to get excited about. We'll get out of here somehow. Take the wheel, Margaret. Bud and I will get out and push. Come on, Bud.
Bud Anderson
I can't even see.
Betty Anderson
What do you want me to do, Jim?
Jim Anderson
Put it in reverse?
Betty Anderson
I can't hear you.
Bud Anderson
The snow's getting deep. Dad,
Jim Anderson
it's no use. We can't move it. Shut off the motor, Margaret.
Margaret Anderson
Well, what do we do now, dear?
Jim Anderson
Well, we'll have to leave the car and walk back.
Kathy Anderson
Walk back?
Margaret Anderson
Yeah.
Jim Anderson
Well, come on, everybody out. Take the keys, Margaret.
Margaret Anderson
All right, Button up your coat. Kathy, Betty, bring those two blankets.
Betty Anderson
We can't walk all the way back in this snow.
Jim Anderson
I know that. We're going back to that little grocery store we passed. It's only about a quarter of a mile. Close the car doors. Okay, Kathy. Now all stay together.
Bud Anderson
We better hurry. It's getting dark.
Kathy Anderson
Daddy?
Jim Anderson
Yeah?
Kathy Anderson
It's almost Christmas Eve.
Jim Anderson
Yes, almost.
Bud Anderson
I got snow in my shoes, snow down my neck.
Margaret Anderson
Can you see where you're going, Jim?
Jim Anderson
Yeah, I can see.
Betty Anderson
Marooned on top of a mountain in a blizzard.
Jim Anderson
All right, stop complaining. It could be worse.
Betty Anderson
Yeah. We could have come up here in our bathing suit.
Margaret Anderson
I don't know why we had to come up here.
Bud Anderson
Yeah, what was the idea?
Betty Anderson
Well, I'll tell you, my freezing friends. This is that warm and beautiful event known as a simple old fashioned Christmas.
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Narrator
Well, as I said earlier, the white frame house on Maple street is dark this Christmas Eve. About noon today, Jim Anderson revolted against his family's attitude toward the yuletide and decided that this year they should discover the joys of a simple, old fashioned Christmas. Nice thought.
Tom Terrell
Yes.
Bud Anderson
How's it working out?
Narrator
Terrible. They drive up to Pine Mountain to cut their own tree and ended up in a snow bank. Now, with the car abandoned, Jim and the family grope their way through the blizzard toward an isolated roadside store like this.
Bud Anderson
I think my nose is frozen.
Kathy Anderson
How much farther is it, Daddy?
Jim Anderson
Well, it must be right ahead of us. If it weren't snowing so hard, we could probably see it.
Bud Anderson
There it is, dad. See the light?
Tom Terrell
Yeah.
Jim Anderson
Yeah.
Kathy Anderson
There's the store, Mommy.
Margaret Anderson
Oh, well, thank heaven.
Jim Anderson
That looks real pretty for Christmas Eve, doesn't it? Holly wreath in the window.
Betty Anderson
All I'm interested in right now is getting back to Springfield. I'm supposed to be at least three parties tonight.
Bud Anderson
If we get back in time, I can still ride in the parade with Joe on the sound truck.
Margaret Anderson
All those gifts are still in the car, Jim. We'll have to get them out somehow. They have to be delivered tonight.
Jim Anderson
All right, one thing at a time. Let's get in here and thaw out first.
Kathy Anderson
Oh, boy.
Bud Anderson
Nice and warm.
Kathy Anderson
Daddy, look at that. They've got a fire in a barrel.
Jim Anderson
That's not a barrel, kitten. That's an old fashioned pot bellied stove.
Margaret Anderson
Oh, this looks like the kind of a store my father used to talk about.
Bud Anderson
Look at the stuff hanging from the ceiling. Lanterns and snowshoes, all kinds of junk.
Jim Anderson
By golly, it smells just like the old general store back in my hometown.
Betty Anderson
Who runs the place?
Jim Anderson
I wouldn't be surprised if it's Lum and Abner.
Tom Terrell
Hello? Anybody here?
Kathy Anderson
Be there in just a minute.
Betty Anderson
Where's the telephone?
Jim Anderson
Oh, it's here someplace.
Margaret Anderson
You children had better take your coats off now.
Maggie Terrell
I was just putting the bacon on the stove. We weren't expecting anyone in tonight.
Betty Anderson
How did you folks get up here?
Jim Anderson
Well, our car stalled up the road. I wonder if we could use your telephone.
Maggie Terrell
Well, you'd be most welcome to use it if we had one.
Kathy Anderson
No telephone.
Jim Anderson
Well, hello there.
Tom Terrell
Is that your car? It Snowed in up the road?
Jim Anderson
Yes, that's ours.
Tom Terrell
We must have passed on the road without seeing each other. I just walked up there to see if you needed help.
Margaret Anderson
Well, that was very thoughtful of you. We were looking for a telephone.
Maggie Terrell
Well, I guess the nearest phone is down at the Harper's place, isn't it, Tom?
Tom Terrell
Yeah, and you'd never make it down there tonight. Not with the snow coming down like it is.
Betty Anderson
But how are we going to get back to Springfield?
Tom Terrell
I'm afraid you're not going to get back tonight, miss. Probably not tomorrow either.
Kathy Anderson
Oh, groan.
Betty Anderson
Here goes Christmas and all our plans.
Tom Terrell
I wouldn't feel too bad about it, miss. It may not be so noticeable. But it's Christmas here too, you know. And since Maggie and me, we're marooned up here in a manner of speaking. And since you folks are stranded too, why don't we just say we're all stranded together and snowbound, as it were.
Jim Anderson
Well, that's very nice of you, but
Margaret Anderson
we can't just move in on you.
Betty Anderson
Why not?
Maggie Terrell
You look like nice folks. Tom and me are alone here. I'll put some more plates on the table and there's plenty of beds upstairs.
Kathy Anderson
Can we do it? Please, Mommy, Please?
Margaret Anderson
It seems like a dreadful imposition.
Tom Terrell
It's nothing of the kind. I'm Tom Terrell and this is my wife, Maggie.
Jim Anderson
Oh, how do you do? Well, we're the Andersons. The little one is Kathy, our boy Bud. My daughter Betty, My wife Margaret.
Margaret Anderson
Hello.
Jim Anderson
And I'm Jim.
Maggie Terrell
Well, we're happy you're going to be with us.
Jim Anderson
Thank you.
Tom Terrell
We hadn't planned much of a Christmas, just the two of us. But now that there's some kids around, by golly, it's beginning to seem like Christmas. Come on, help me light up some more lamps, Bud.
Bud Anderson
Okay.
Tom Terrell
I'll tell you what we always did with our youngsters on Christmas. We gave them the run of the store. So help yourselves. Candy, cookies, anything you want.
Kathy Anderson
Oh, you mean it?
Jim Anderson
Really?
Maggie Terrell
Go help yourself.
Bud Anderson
Oh, man.
Jim Anderson
Steady now, don't get carried away.
Kathy Anderson
Oh, Mother, look at these.
Betty Anderson
Adorable old fashioned.
Margaret Anderson
In a minute, dear.
Kathy Anderson
Look here, Bud, look at this.
Bud Anderson
Yeah, but look at this.
Tom Terrell
Listen to him. My golly, it's good to hear youngsters around the place again.
Margaret Anderson
How many children do you have?
Maggie Terrell
2. A boy and a girl. But they're both grown up now, gone away. Seems like such a short time we had them with us. Well, would you like to come out in the kitchen with me, Margaret?
Betty Anderson
Yes.
Margaret Anderson
I'll help you put things on.
Tom Terrell
Jim. If you want to hang up your things, the bedroom's right up the stairway there.
Jim Anderson
Oh, good. I'll take these blankets and coats up.
Tom Terrell
Well, you kids finding anything back there?
Kathy Anderson
Sure. All kinds of stuff.
Betty Anderson
I found a school book back there, Mr. Terrell. It's the same one I use.
Tom Terrell
Yeah, it belonged to my daughter. She looked a lot like you when she was your age.
Bud Anderson
Did you have some kids, Mr. Terrell?
Tom Terrell
Yes, we have too, Bud.
Kathy Anderson
Where are they, Mr. Terrell?
Tom Terrell
Well, they've grown up and barn.
Kathy Anderson
Kathy, aren't you lonesome without your children?
Tom Terrell
Yes, we are. Sometimes I think we miss the most at Christmas time. You kids don't know how much you mean to your folks at Christmas.
Bud Anderson
We. We never thought about it.
Betty Anderson
I guess we always just thought how much Christmas meant to us.
Tom Terrell
We used to have our tree here by the stove and Judy and Bill would decorate it and put the candles on the tinsel and the stars and the little glass bells that. They're all in the box back in the corner where the kids packed them away.
Kathy Anderson
Don't you have any Christmas?
Tom Terrell
No, Kathy. Not anymore. There's no one to decorate the tree.
Kathy Anderson
Tom, I need some wood for the stove.
Tom Terrell
All right, I'll get it. I'll get it.
Bud Anderson
What are you crying about, shrimp?
Kathy Anderson
I just feel sad.
Maggie Terrell
Sad?
Bud Anderson
Yeah.
Betty Anderson
Are you thinking what I'm thinking?
Narrator
Maybe.
Betty Anderson
Well, climb up on a box and get down those snowshoes. You're going back to the car.
Maggie Terrell
Well, what's wrong with the children, Margaret? They didn't eat.
Margaret Anderson
I don't know. They're plotting something.
Tom Terrell
They run me out of the store. Told me to stay back here and lock the door.
Margaret Anderson
Maybe you better go out front and see what they're doing, Jim.
Jim Anderson
Oh, they're all right, honey. Leave them alone.
Margaret Anderson
Whatever they're doing, they've been at it for over an hour.
Kathy Anderson
All right, everybody, come in now.
Bud Anderson
Turn off all the lamps.
Kathy Anderson
Well, for pity sakes, what are they?
Jim Anderson
Well, let's go in.
Kathy Anderson
What in the world.
Tom Terrell
Well, will you look at that?
Betty Anderson
It's Christmas Eve, remember?
Maggie Terrell
Oh, a tree decorated and with candles from the Andersons.
Betty Anderson
MERRY Christmas to Mr. And Mrs. Terrell.
Tom Terrell
If that don't beat all.
Jim Anderson
It's beautiful, kids. How did you do it?
Betty Anderson
Well, Mr. Terrell said they had the decorations. So Bud went up to the car and got the saw and some things. Then he went out and cut the tree.
Kathy Anderson
I helped put on the decorations.
Bud Anderson
Look what's under the tree.
Tom Terrell
Where'd those packages come from, Santa Claus?
Kathy Anderson
You can't open them till Christmas morning.
Jim Anderson
Margaret, aren't those your packages from the car?
Margaret Anderson
I told them they could do it, dear. They changed the tags, I guess.
Tom Terrell
This is a miracle, Mother. We have a family camp gathered around
Maggie Terrell
a Christmas tree just the way it used to be.
Bud Anderson
Snow coming down outside, candles on the tree, a warm fire in the stove.
Betty Anderson
Oh, it's lovely. So lovely.
Maggie Terrell
The only thing that's missing is the Christmas carol. Judy, when she was a little girl, would stand up at the top of the stairs. And the way she sang it reminded you of the angels who sang it to the shepherds on that wondrous night.
Betty Anderson
Kathy?
Maggie Terrell
Where is Kathy?
Kathy Anderson
O little town of Bethlehem how still we see thee lie above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by yet in thy dark street Shineth the everlasting light the hopes and fears of all the years Are met in the tonight.
Betty Anderson
Father?
Jim Anderson
Yes, Princess.
Betty Anderson
Thank you for our first real Christmas.
Jim Anderson
This is Robert Young from all of us in the Anderson family. To all of you, a most sincere wish that the Christmas spirit in its fullest meaning be yours for now and always.
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You know there's no other evening in all the year like this night before Christmas. Now, after weeks of busy shopping, folks are warmly settled in comfortable living rooms, looking forward to the excitement of tomorrow morning. Well, we hope you find just what you wanted under that tree. And at this time, may we, the Post Cereals Company, take the opportunity of thanking all of you for making our products such favorites all over the country. Yes, Post cereals have long been famous for superior quality, fine flavor. Rest assured, we'll keep them that way for you always. One of Post's outstanding favorites is post 40% bran flakes. And it's now more delicious than ever because it has a new magic oven flavor and wonderful crisper texture. Remember, if you haven't tried them yet, start enjoying Post Bran Flakes soon. And a very merry Christmas from the whole Post Cereals family.
Narrator
Join us again next week when we'll be back with Father Knows Best, starring Robert Young as Jim Anderson. Until then, good night and good luck from the makers of post 40% brand flakes, the cereal preferred and eaten by far more people than any other brand place. And Instant Sanka, the delicious coffee that lets you sleep in. Our cast were Rhoda Williams as Betty, Ted Donaldson, Jean Vanderpyle, Helen Strom, Jeannette Nolan and Herb Butterfield.
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Calcium helps grown ups to a more vigorous life.
Tom Terrell
And now there's calcium in hot wheat meal.
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Calcium helps your body run smoothly.
Jim Anderson
And now there's calcium in hot wheat meal.
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Jim Anderson
active life and now there's calcium in hot wheat meal.
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Yes, a 1 ounce serving contains 1/3
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any other cereal, hot or cold. Father Knows Best based on characters created by Ed James, was transcribed in Hollywood and written by Paul west and Roswell Rogers. This is Bill Foreman speaking.
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Date: June 21, 2026
This episode features a classic Christmas program from the beloved radio show "Father Knows Best," transporting listeners back to the Golden Age of Radio. The story centers on the Anderson family's attempt to reclaim the true spirit of Christmas amidst changing traditions, commercialization, and their own busy lives. When a simple plan to cut down their own Christmas tree turns into an unexpected snowbound adventure, the family rediscovers the warmth of family, the kindness of strangers, and the meaning of the holiday.
“Christmas used to be a quiet and beautifully religious holiday… What has it become? A mad scramble to buy a lot of things you can't afford to give to people who don't need them. Now, dear, why can't we have Christmas the way it used to be?”
—Jim Anderson (03:49)
“You can change everything else, but not Christmas. Am I right, Margaret?”
—Jim Anderson (10:10)
“Since you folks are stranded too, why don’t we just say we’re all stranded together and snowbound, as it were.”
—Tom Terrell (20:55)
“Father? Thank you for our first real Christmas.”
—Betty Anderson (27:42)
Jim Anderson (on Christmas commercialization):
“It’s become a matter of bookkeeping... What has it become? A mad scramble to buy a lot of things you can't afford to give to people who don't need them.”
(03:49)
Betty Anderson (on finding out her gift):
“How can I be surprised if I don't know what kind of gold locket that's heart-shaped with my initials on it he's going to buy me?”
(05:02)
Bud Anderson (on commercial caroling):
“Oh, what fun it is to ride in a 1940 club coupe with overdrive and new seat covers!”
(07:06)
Jim Anderson (on tradition):
“You can change everything else, but not Christmas.”
(10:10)
Tom Terrell (welcoming the Andersons):
“We’re marooned up here in a manner of speaking, and since you folks are stranded too, why don’t we just say we’re all stranded together and snowbound?”
(20:55)
Tom Terrell (on missing children):
“Sometimes I think we miss them most at Christmas time. You kids don’t know how much you mean to your folks at Christmas.”
(23:42)
Betty Anderson (after the children decorate the Terrells’ tree):
“It’s Christmas Eve, remember?”
(25:30)
Betty Anderson (to Jim):
“Father? Thank you for our first real Christmas.”
(27:42)
Robert Young (as message to listeners):
“A most sincere wish that the Christmas spirit in its fullest meaning be yours for now and always.”
(27:56)
| Time | Segment | |-----------|------------------------------------------------| | 03:37 | Jim laments the commercial side of Christmas | | 10:41 | Jim insists on an old-fashioned celebration | | 14:08 | Car stuck; family stranded in the snow | | 20:00 | Meeting Tom and Maggie Terrell | | 23:42 | Terrells reflect on missing their children | | 25:30 | Kids reveal decorated tree and presents | | 26:55 | Kathy sings Christmas carol | | 27:42 | Betty expresses gratitude for “real Christmas” | | 27:56 | Jim/Robert Young offers Christmas message |
This "Father Knows Best" Christmas episode, as presented on Harold's Old Time Radio, is a heartwarming reminder that the most memorable holidays don’t come perfectly wrapped—they’re found in love, togetherness, and spontaneous acts of kindness. Its gentle humor, poignant moments, and universal themes make it as relevant today as it was decades ago.