The Real Christmas

**The Real Christmas** is the eighth episode of season two of The Real O'Neals. The Real Christmas is also the first Christmas themed holiday special.

## Synopsis

Eileen will stop at nothing to win the Christmas choir competition and gives the coveted Christmas choir solo to their newest member, Brett, to Kenny's dismay, while Jimmy is tasked with spying on their toughest competitor, Sheila Demars . But, when Kenny attempts to sabotage Brett's role, he finds a potential love interest. Meanwhile, Shannon accidentally gives Pat the wrong impression about a Christmas present she plans on giving to Ethan.

## Plot

Eileen is conducting her Christmas choir, but Allison is out of key, so Jodi takes her under her wing. On the other hand, Kenny is great at singing and Eileen wants for him to be their soloist. She also gives Jimmy the job of spying on the church choir of Sheila DeMars, from their rival church. Because of the lack of good singers in the choir, Eileen has to get new members. She finds a guy named Brett who is perfect for the job. Brett ends up being better than Kenny, and takes his place as the soloist. Kenny is jealous and he tries to sabotage his chances as part of the choir. Brett knows exactly what he's doing and the two of them get into an argument. Brett reveals that he's in love with Kenny and kisses him, putting an end to Kenny's hatred for him. Brett says that he'll back out of the choir if it means Kenny will be happy and Kenny supports it. Sheila catches Jimmy recording him and says that if he sabotages his own choir, then she'll let him go. Jimmy is quickly caught by Eileen and explains everything, including Brett leaving the choir. Eileen argues with Kenny over it and convinces him that he was wrong to allow Brett to leave and gets Kenny to get him back. On the night of the performance, Shelia's choir has a war veteran as the main drummer. When Eileen's choir goes up, Kenny is the soloist because Brett is not showing up. Kenny starts to sing, and suddenly, Brett starts walking down the ailse, contributing a new twist to the song. He and Kenny both become the lead singers of the song at that point. When it comes to the final decision, the winner of the contest is some random other church that has never been seen or mentioned before, but it was part of the contest. It was a shame that Eileen didn't win, but it was okay, because all that really mattered is that the one upped Sheila.

Meanwhile, Shannon gets a Christmas present from Ethan, meaning that their relationship is getting serious. Shannon says that she'll give him a Christmas present that "He can't get from anyone else, but her." When Pat tells Gloria about it, Gloria says that what Shannon means by that is sex. Nervous about what Shannon and Ethan are going to do, Pat goes into her room and looks reflectively at her "baby shoes", which were actually shoes for her American Girl doll. Shannon sees him in her room and Pat tries explaining to her the concept of adulthood, and becomes ever more nerve-wrecked when Shannon says that when she showers, she's "getting Ethan's present ready". Shannon is later going to get on the bus to see Ethan, and Pat rushes to the bus stop to stop her. He goes off on a tangent, convincing her not to have sex with him, and Shannon explains that really, all she was doing was making a diorama of the two of them at the art musuem. She explains how that was a gift that only she could give him and that the showers were just because she got glue in her hair.

## Characters

* Kenny O'Neal
* Eileen O'Neal
* Pat O'Neal
* Jimmy O'Neal
* Shannon O'Neal
* Jodi O'Neal
* Sheila DeMars
* Brett Young
* Allison
* Gloria

## Trivia

* First Christmas episode of the series.
* It is revealed that Alison is not a good singer.
* A supercut of all the times Kenny said that he was gay from previous episodes occurs, including the Pilot, The Real Papaya, The Real Grandma, The Real Wedding, and The Real Other Woman.
* Though it's not entirely an original song, this episode features the first full-length musical number of the series, with it being The Greatest Night, performed by Kenny O'Neal and Brett Young.