While at the mall, Kevin discovers that Coach Cutlip, who has been hard on his students, secretly works a second job as a mall Santa Claus. Cutlip knows Kevin saw him and starts treating him better in gym, to the resentment of Kevin's friends. Cutlip calls Kevin to his office to explain why he works as a mall Santa and pleads to not tell anybody, which Kevin promises, before remembering that he had told Doug Porter that he saw Cutlip working at the mall. Doug told Randy and Tommy, and they all want to know where at the mall Cutlip works. Kevin refuses to tell them, but they decide to go to the mall and find him. Kevin gets Norma to take him to the mall so he can warn Cutlip, but when he sees the students, he just stands up and looks at them. When they see him, in Santa costume, they all just smile and decide to keep looking for Cutlip, while Kevin is happy that he didn't reveal the secret.
Includes examples of
- Christmas Episode: The second of four.
- A Day in the Limelight: Coach Cutlip gets to be the focus of an episode.
- Chekhov's Gun: Kevin figures out that Coach Cutlip is the mall Santa when he sneezes and says "scusi" the same way that Cutlip did earlier in the episode.
- Norma wants to buy Kevin a tie at the mall, but Kevin does not want to shop for a tie. When Norma is too busy to take Kevin to the mall so he can warn Mr. Cutlip, he gets her to take him to the mall by saying he wants to get a tie.
- Hidden Depths: Cutlip is strict as a gym coach, but shows a softer side as he also works as Santa Claus to make kids happy.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Coach Cutlip is a jerk to his students, but likes to make kids happy, and feels good about making them happy as Santa. When he tells Kevin about why he took the job and begs him not to tell anyone, the narrator says that this was the first time he saw Cutlip as a person ("Not a great person, not even a good person, but a sad, lonely person").
- Mall Santa: Coach Cutlip secretly works as one.
- Secret-Keeper: Kevin agrees not to tell anybody that Coach Cutlip secretly works a second job as Santa Claus at the mall.
- Teacher's Pet: Kevin's friends see him as this after Cutlip starts treating Kevin better, unaware it's because Kevin knows Cutlip's secret.
