“The ‘I Love Lucy’ Christmas Show”

(December 24, 1956) This special was filmed on Thanksgiving Day, November 22, 1956. Since it was a holiday, and the episode consisted mainly of flashbacks, there was no studio audience present for the filming. “Little Ricky Gets a Dog” (S6;E14), “Lucy and the Loving Cup” (S6;E12), and “Lucy and Superman” (S6;E13) were all filmed in the weeks before the Christmas special, but saved to become the first episodes of 1957. They would also be the last episodes set in the New York City apartment before the big move to Connecticut.

This program is considered the first ‘retrospective’ (clips) show in television history.

During the first season “Drafted” (S1;E11) aired on Christmas Eve, so a ‘tag’ (a short scene following the main episode) was shot which depicted the four main characters all dressed like Santa Claus. They sang “Jingle Bells” and at the end of the tag, a fifth Santa is suddenly there – the real St. Nick?  In turn, they tug on each others beards which come off easily, but when they get to the mysterious stranger, he says “ouch!” His beard is real! He then disappears into thin air, leaving the gang mystified. They look into the camera and say “Merry Christmas, everybody!”  This is the only time in the series that the ‘fourth wall’ is broken and the actors directly address the camera. We – the viewers – are the “everybody." 

In the 1951 Christmas tag Santa was played by Vernon Dent, but in this full episode he is played by A. Cameron Grant, who also had a bit part in The Long, Long Trailer (1954).

This tag was used several times throughout the early seasons and was the inspiration for this full fledged “Christmas Show” during season six. Naturally, Little Ricky was incorporated into the story. 

In this fleshed out version, the gang reminisce (via flashbacks to previous episodes) as they trim the tree (literally and figuratively) on Christmas Eve. The flashbacks (all from season 2) include Lucy telling Ricky about her pregnancy in "Lucy Is Enceinte” (S2;E10); Lucy, Ricky, Fred and Ethel singing in a barbershop quartet in “Lucy’s Show-Biz Swan Song” (S2;E12); and Ricky, Fred and Ethel frantically preparing for Lucy’s impending labor in “Lucy Goes to the Hospital” (S2;E16).

The episode establishes that in the Ricardo household, Santa Claus is not only in charge of bringing the presents and stuffing the stockings, but also bringing the Christmas tree!

Once Little Ricky is safely tucked into bed, Fred and Ethel enter with the tree – a Christmas gift from the Mertzes that cost $5.00! Trimming off a branch here and there to even out the shape, Fred gets caught up in Lucy’s reminisces and ‘trims’ the tree into a bare trunk with a few haphazard branches.

Because this was a special episode, it was never re-broadcast in syndication. It was felt that viewers had no interest in a Christmas special at any other time of the year. The episode was also full of extended clips that were already part of the syndication package. Lucy and Desi considered this show a holiday ‘gift’ to the fans, and not a regular episode. Sanka Coffee was the evening’s sponsor, with an ‘alternate sponsor’s’ message from Procter & Gamble’s Lilt.

• CBS would eventually re-broadcast this episode in primetime on December 18, 1989. The ‘wraparound’ segments (the non-flashback parts) were broadcast in color in 1990, and these color scenes are available on the DVD release. 
• On December 20, 2013, CBS rebroadcast the Christmas episode with “Lucy’s Italian Movie” (S5;E23) aka “Grape Stomping” in which both episodes were colorized.  This broadcast drew an astonishing 8.65 million viewers.
• On December 7, 2014, CBS aired the “Christmas Show" once more (with an encore showing on December 24, 2014) paired with a colorized “Job Switching” (S2;E1) aka “The Chocolate Factory.”
• The colorized “Christmas Show” was shown again in December 2015, this time teamed with a newly colorized version of “Lucy Does a TV Commercial” (S1;E30) aka “Vitameatavegamin.” 
• In December 2016, now a CBS holiday tradition, the “Christmas Show” was aired with a colorized version of “Lucy Gets Into Pictures” (S4;E18).  
• In December 2017, CBS again broadcast “The I Love Lucy Superstar Special” with a colorized version of “The Fashion Show” (S4;E19). 
• In December 2018, CBS presented the show alongside a newly-colorized version of “Pioneer Women” (S1;E25) aka the long loaf of bread. 
• In December 2019, CBS presented the show alongside a newly-colorized version of “Paris at Last” (S5;E18) from 1956. 
• In 2020, CBS announced that it was giving the special a year off. This is likely due to the fact that due to the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic, there was no time or resources to create the colorized companion episode. 

Christmas Future

Mattel issued separately-sold ‘Barbie’ dolls of each of the characters in their Santa suits. 

“The Lucy Show” featured two Christmas episodes.  The first (filmed and broadcast in black and white)

in 1962

and co-starring Vivian Vance.  The second (filmed and broadcast in color) in 1965 and co-starring Gale Gordon.  

During the holidays, The Lucy-Desi Museum in Jamestown NY adapts their “I Love Lucy” set recreation for the holidays.