The Best Christmas Gift

"**The Best Christmas Gift**" is the first Christmas special of The VeggieTales Show, the first episode of the first season, and the second episode produced of the entire series.

## Plot

Bob and Larry are preparing for their first Christmas show in Mr. Nezzer’s theater and the show seems to be headed for disaster. Bob begins to wonder how to celebrate Christmas when everything is going wrong. It’s only when the Veggies go back to the very first Christmas, where times were tough and things didn’t seem to be working out, that they all learn the promise of Christmas – God is with us. It’s a timeless story of hope that every family will enjoy!

## Characters

* Bob the Tomato
* Larry the Cucumber
* Junior Asparagus
* Archibald Asparagus
* Pa Grape
* Jimmy and Jerry Gourd
* Mr. Nezzer
* Mr. Lunt
* The French Peas
* Madame Blueberry
* Petunia Rhubarb
* Jimmy Neutron
* Timmy Turner
* Wubbzy
* Oscar (picture cameo)
* Grandma Gourd (picture cameo)
* Chog Norrius (picture cameo)
* MacJimmy (picture cameo)
* MacNezzer (picture cameo)
* MacScooter (picture cameo)
* Goliath
* Khalil *(non-speaking role)*
* Bruce Onion *(non-speaking role)*

## Songs

### Main Episode

* "VeggieTales Theme Song"
* "Christmas Foods"
* "Junior Shepherd"
* "Wisemen"
* "Let There Be Joy"
* "Kingdom of God"
* "O Goliath"

### DVD & Digital Release Version

* I Can Love *(VeggieTales Christmas Songs & Stories Mash-Up)*
* Oh, Santa! *(VeggieTales Christmas Songs & Stories Mash-Up)*
* Donuts for Benny *(VeggieTales Christmas Songs & Stories Mash-Up)*
* Wrapped Myself Up for Christmas *(VeggieTales Christmas Songs & Stories Mash-Up)*
* The Hairbrush Song *(Silly Song Remix version)*
* The Water Buffalo Song *(Silly Song Remix version)*

## Production

Phil Vischer got the idea for the episode as a response to the Sandy Hook shootings that happened in 2012 two weeks before Christmas. Multiple people had taken down their Christmas decorations in response because "how could they celebrate Christmas in tough times?". It donned in Phil that the tough times are exactly why Christmas is worth celebrating. That idea of spreading joy and hope in the tough times became the main theme of the episode, but instead of dealing with something as dark as a shooting, it tackles kids having their own bad days around Christmas.

Phil wrote the first draft of the script on November 19th, 2018 with later revisions done on December 7th, December 10th, March 10th (2019) and August 8th (2019).

According to Phil, this episode was not originally intended to be the first episode of The VeggieTales Show’s first season. "God Wants Us to Make Peace" was intended to be the first episode released for the first season. It was decided by TBN to have the Christmas special come out first instead, just in time for the upcoming 2019 holiday season. *(This is confirmed by the episode's script and production number as well)*

## Fun Facts

### Trivia

* This is the first episode for the following things:
	+ The first new episode from a series created by Big Idea since "Bye Bye Bacon Bill!", which was the final VeggieTales in the City episode.
	+ The first speaking appearance of Petunia Rhubarb since Monster in the Closet.
	+ The first speaking appearance of Junior Asparagus since Attack of the Marshmallow Laser.
	+ The first time Goliath physically appears in a work related to VeggieTales since "Josh and the Big Wall!" (as well as the compilation *Little Ones Can Do Big Things Too!*).
	+ The first time Khalil appears in a work related to VeggieTales since "Celery Night Fever".
		- This also marks the first time Bruce Onion appears outside of said episode.
	+ The first time Jimmy, Timmy, Wubbzy appears in a work related to VeggieTales since their last shows in Woozy Walden, Fancy Schmancy, and The League of Villians.
	+ The first time the VeggieTales characters original designs were used since Beauty and the Beet, not counting promotional material released on the online store and official social media posts.
	+ The first time Debi Derryberry has voiced Jimmy since The League of Villains, the first time Tara Strong has voiced Timmy since Fancy Schmancy, and the first time Grey DeLisle has voiced Wubbzy since Woozy Walden.
	+ The first time Lisa Vischer has voiced Junior since Celery Night Fever, the first time Madame Blueberry is voiced by Stephanie Southerland, and the first time Petunia is voiced by Kira Buckland.
	+ The first time Mr. Nezzer appears in a work related to VeggieTales since Beauty and the Beet and as well as the introduction of David Mann as Nezzer’s new voice actor.
		- Phil Vischer’s voice can still be heard as Mr. Nezzer during O Goliath.
		- It is also known an earlier cut had Phil voicing Nezzer throughout.
	+ The first time the 2012 Universal logo is featured in a work related to Big Idea, even though it is not a movie.
	+ The first work from Big Idea that both Trilogy Animation Group and Prana Studios are involved in.
		- This is also the last time Prana Studios will be credited, as the studio shut down and animation production moved to 88 Pictures.
	+ The first time a Big Idea DVD has the following things:
		- The first time French subtitles are offered as an option.
		- The first time that the options are split into two different menus.
		- The first time since "Abe and the Amazing Promise" that the buttons on the main menu are positioned in a vertical fashion.
		- The first time the "Piracy is not a victimless crime" warning is featured on a Big Idea DVD that is not a compilation.
	+ The first time an audio commentary was featured since "The Little House That Stood".
	+ This is so far the only episode of the revival series to be dubbed in Swedish.
* This episode premiered on iTunes exactly 5 years and 1 day after Beauty and the Beet, the last VeggieTales tale to use the original character designs before The VeggieTales Show.
	+ It also premiered on DVD exactly 6 years after Merry Larry and the True Light of Christmas.

### Remarks

* The following things could lead to viewers mistaking it for a movie:
	+ The Universal and Trilogy Pictures logos playing at the beginning.
	+ Opening credits at the very beginning.
	+ The episode's overall runtime being labeled 58 minutes, due to the included bonus features being integrated into the episode for home video releases, much like other Universal home video releases.

### Goofs

* Larry's tooth appears to be missing in a few scenes.
* Jean-Claude's voice is not pitch-shifted when he says "Au revoir." Additionally, Goliath's mouth is moving when Jean-Claude says this, even though nothing comes out of his mouth,

### Inside References

* The coffee mug that Bob drinks from is from Saint Nicholas: A Story of Joyful Giving.
* The glasses that Larry puts on to read Bob's list are originally from the cover of the Veggie Bible Dictionary, those glasses were also used in the Netflix series.
* The postcards in the Christmas Foods segment feature characters from previous episodes including Oscar, Grandma Gourd, Emma Grape and the cast of MacLarry and the Stinky Cheese Battle.
	+ The postcards also feature the settings of both the Rootin' Tootin' Pizza Place from The Ballad of Little Joe and Jolly Joe's from The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie.
* Jimmy and Jerry reference going to Burger Bell, a reference to His Cheeseburger.
* Pa Grape wears the same costume as he wore in Abe and the Amazing Promise, with slightly different colors.
* Junior, Jimmy, and Jerry can be seen wearing their costumes from Dave and the Giant Pickle.
* Larry wears the same costume as Belazzar from The Little Drummer Boy. Madame Blueberry and Mr. Lunt’s costumes are also based on the other Magi costumes of Bob and Archie, respectively.
* This isn't the first time that peas have portrayed angels.
* Petunia and Mr. Lunt reprise their roles in A Christmas Play