Summary
Overview
In this holiday-themed rerun episode, three stories explore the complexities of gift-giving. A Toronto man and his brother attempt to give their difficult-to-please 88-year-old mother the perfect Christmas present by singing carols in harmony. Truman Capote's classic 1959 recording of 'A Christmas Memory' shares his childhood experience of making fruitcakes with his elderly cousin in 1920s Alabama. Finally, a story from rural Maine reveals how a reclusive Christmas tree farmer's generosity transformed lives in unexpected ways, though not without complications.
Christmas at the Target Store
One week before Christmas, shoppers at a Target store on Chicago's West Side unanimously express confidence that none of their gifts will be returned. Store manager Lee Crum finds this amusing, knowing that the day after Christmas is always the busiest day for returns, with people hiding their faces like criminals as they bring back unwanted presents.
- Every shopper interviewed expresses complete confidence that their gifts won't be returned
- Store manager reveals the day after Christmas is the busiest day for refunds
- People returning gifts often hide their faces from cameras like criminals
" Oh. Well, the day after Christmas is the busiest day in refunds. So I don't know how true that statement is. Nobody ever returns my gifts. "
The Impossible Task of Buying for Mom
Brothers Ian and Tim Brown face their annual Christmas dilemma: finding a gift their 88-year-old mother won't hate. After decades of rejected presents and her infamous dismissiveness toward any gift they give, they devise what seems like the perfect solution—singing Christmas carols in harmony like they did as boys in choir. But their plan requires emergency coaching from choir experts, and even then, their mother's response proves as unpredictable as ever.
- The mother is notoriously difficult to shop for, rejecting virtually every gift with disdain or dismissing suggestions outright
- When given a fur coat, she cried, said 'this is too much,' then locked herself in her bedroom for four hours on Christmas Day
- The last gift she genuinely liked from Tim was a nickel napkin ring he bought at age 6, forty years ago
- The brothers decide to sing Christmas carols in harmony as their gift, hoping it will transport her back to when they were her boys
- Their rehearsals are disastrous, sounding 'purely putrid' and requiring emergency help from choir experts
- When they finally sing at her door in sub-freezing weather, she briefly tears up but quickly dismisses them to watch her favorite TV show
- The brothers realize the secret is giving an imperfect gift—one that shows care but maintains the family's delicate balance of dysfunction
" I hate Christmas. Really? Do you know there are more people who commit suicide at Christmas than any other time of the year? "
" I think that giving gifts to parents in this sort of desperate search for approval... absolutely. Yeah. You think we're seeking approval? Yes. It's a bit late. "
" The secret obviously is to give an imperfect gift that lavishes enough attention on your old ma that she knows you still care but that's also fundamentally flawed so that no one goes home feeling indebted or beholden or lonely. "
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