Julia (Debbie Rush) and Trevor (Steve Pemberton) try to make Christmas work for their family, but when their son Patrick (Bobby Schofield) returns unexpectedly, they battle money problems as they try to stay together.
This episode contains examples of:
- Addled Addict: Patrick, causing him to beat up his own father to steal money from him, and apparently to have lost custody of Connor.
- Batter Up!: Trevor grabs a cricket bat as a weapon when he thinks Patrick's loan shark might be outside.
- Broke Episode: The episode's drama is primarily driven by the family's financial difficulties.
- Children Are Innocent: Connor fits this trope.
- Christmas Episode: Although it technically ends on December 24th.
- Crazy Homeless People: Played with. It's left ambiguous whether drugs or mental illness (or a combination) have driven Patrick out of his house as Jules and Trevor clearly want him there. Trevor describes Patrick as suffering from "a disease", which probably refers to addiction but, as a result, Patrick is very incoherent when we first see him.
- Driving Test: Mia goes through this, although it happens off-screen.
- For Inconvenience, Press "1": Trevor briefly encounters this problem when he tries to call for advice about his welfare payment.
- Frivolous Lawsuit: It's suggested that Alex sued a restaurant for serving olives with stones in them.
- Good Parents: Julia and Trevor adore their children and would do anything for them.
- Here We Go Again!: The episode ends on this note as Trevor and Julia acknowledge that Patrick will almost certainly leave within a couple of days and they have no idea when they'll see him again.
- High-School Dance: Mia attends one, making Julia feel like a failure that they can't afford the formal dress Mia wanted.
- Inherently Funny Words: The family likes to play a game based around repeating the phrase "Grandma's knickers."
- Julekalender: A variant; although it takes place in a single episode, the story shows an advent calendar being opened each day.
- Kitchen Sink Drama: The episode fits into this genre and is an homage to Ken Loach's films.
- Knight Templar Parent: Julia hits the loan shark with her car when she finds out that he's been threatening Patrick.
- Lighter and Softer: Undoubtedly the lightest episode of all five series so far, only the unseen loan shark is injured (albeit with the strong implication that Julia was responsible) and, while it doesn't look good for him, he doesn't die. The episode ends with the family together and unharmed (for now).
- Loan Shark: Patrick got into serious debt with one, leading Julia to take matters into her own hands.
- The Lost Lenore: It is mentioned that Alex's wife died at Christmas.
- Mama Bear: Julia does not take kindly to a loan shark threatening Patrick.
- Manly Tears: Alex bursts into tears over the anniversary of his wife's death.
- Missing Mom: The mother of Patrick's son is never mentioned.
- My New Gift Is Lame: In an effort to make up for being unable to afford a new dress for Mia to wear to a school dance, Julia tries to sew one for her instead. It doesn't work out quite as intended, and Mia struggles to hide her disappointment.
- Not in Front of the Kid: Julia's reaction when Trevor makes an off-colour joke in front of Connor (which he's too young to understand.)
- Oddball in the Series: Unusually for an anthology series which is drastically different episode to episode, this is still a total oddball for being incredibly optimistic and depicting their characters as truly loving, well-intentioned, and without dark secrets, while morally corrupt and disturbed characters, and twists of some kind, are a constant presence.
- Open-Minded Parent: Trevor is extremely resigned about Patrick's addiction and tells him that only his happiness matters.
- Papa Wolf: Although less impressively than Julia, Trevor instantly forgives Patrick for beating him up and goes to confront the loan shark he thinks is outside. (It's actually the police.)
- Pet the Dog: Two for Alex, who appears to be a cynical depressive at the start of the episode:
- Julia complains that Alex expects them to pay for Mia's driving lessons when they are already struggling financially, while Alex is well-off. He has a change of heart later in the episode and fixes Julia's car after the accident for free.
- While he appears quite shut off from the main drama, his genuine sobbing over the anniversary of his wife's death demonstrates that this comes from grief rather than bitterness.
- The Power of Love: The whole episode is dedicated to this.
- Raised by Grandparents: Julia and Trevor raise Patrick's son.
- Running Gag: The singing Christmas tree toy annoys Trevor on two occasions.
- The Scrooge: Julia describes Alex as this, citing his charging his own niece for her driving lessons as a typical example of his behaviour (though he later feels guilty about it and pays to repair Julia's car for her.)
- Surprisingly Happy Ending: Although it's bittersweet because Julia and Trevor admit that they don't know how long Patrick will be with them, Julia gets away with what she's done and they are all happy together.
- Thicker Than Water: The whole episode runs on this. See Mama Bear and Papa Wolf for how the parents qualify, but Mia, despite only being a teenager, is a pointed subversion of a Bratty Teenage Daughter, being very understanding when Julia tells her they can't afford the dress and genuinely thanking her mother even though she doesn't want Julia's handmade replacement.
