A Christmas They Never Forgot--Reflections on a Favorite Episode

Christmas always inspires me to share my thoughts, and this episode of Little House on the Prairie is a favorite of mine.

While the show ran for nine seasons plus three additional movies, we didn't see episodes surrounding Christmas often--and I don't think the last Christmas episode (Bless All the Dear Children) had any snow in it. Most likely because the show was filmed in California, and based upon my conversation with Kent McCray, it seems to have taken a great deal of effort to create those snowy scenes. (Rolled up sleeves around Christmas in Minnesota?)




That the little house on Plum Creek got blasted with so much snow that all their guests had to spend the night, is just one of the many things that makes this episode so special, as does the wonderful music that Michael Landon decided to use.


This is the last time that we see every member of the Ingalls clan together. By this time Mary and Adam are living in New York, and Hester Sue brings them to Walnut Grove as a surprise. We don't see Mary and Adam again, something that always makes me sad, as I wish they could have returned for the final movie.


The family sits around telling stories of Christmases past. Caroline, Almanzo, Laura and Hester Sue each share a bit of themselves with the entire group. We learn about how Caroline came to accept Papa Holbrook, and the Christmas that Almanzo almost stopped believing in Santa Claus. Laura shares the memory of Mr. Edwards coming for Christmas dinner when the Ingalls family lived in their little cabin in Kansas, and Hester Sue shares a Christmas as a black child from the south living during the Civil War.

Each story is touching and every story speaks volumes of what we have come to love about Little House on the Prairie.

One thing that sticks out to me in this episode is how much a part of the cast Dean Butler and his character Almanzo have become by this point. Now, I know I am slightly biased because I am a huge fan of Dean's, but Charles and Almanzo have many wonderful scenes together in this episode. I especially enjoy when Almanzo and Charles are about to go off to fix the barn door and Almanzo says, "Let's go Pop", to which Charles replies, "Follow me son." A far cry from their relationship at the beginning, where Charles punched the daylights out of Almanzo for possibly kissing his young daughter. Watching Charles's feelings toward Almanzo change is one of the best parts of the series for me. That's why I've written several fan fiction stories that involve these two men--including a new one that I am in the process of editing.

Since so many of you have voted for this episode as your favorite, I would love to read your comments on what is so special about this episode to you.

Merry Christmas everyone!

December Featured Books of the Month

Back in the early 90's--when I didn't have gray hair--I picked up an eight book set by T.L. Tedrow called The Days of Laura Ingalls Wilder.I did not know at the time that this series was considered controversial. That Roger Lea MacBride, the heir of Rose Wilder Lane, and Laura Ingalls Wilder biographer William Anderson had come out against the books. All I remember from those days is that I was totally captivated by these eight books that provided a fictional life for the famous children's author and her family.

Released in 1992 by Thomas Nelson Publishers, according to this article, Tedrow was also trying to put together a television deal to produce a series based upon the books.

I haven't read these books since I first bought them; and I wonder now that I have taken an interest in the real life of Laura Ingalls Wilder and her family, if I would enjoy these books as much as I did when they first came out over 15 years ago.

I am featuring these books in December for a couple of reasons: I would like to know how many people own them or have read them, and what your opinion of them is regardless of whether you've read them or not. Is this pure historical fiction? Is it a rip-off of the original books? After hearing about them would you read them?

Here is the list of books in order:

Missouri Homestead
Children of Promise
Good Neighbors
Home to the Prairie
The World's Fair
Mountain Miracle
The Great Debate
Land of Promise

Wikipedia offers a synopsis of each book in the series and briefly mentions the controversy surrounding the books. Amazon has a few sellers who offer a boxed set of books 1 - 4, and the full set is available on eBay, as are single copies of each book.

New Favorite Christmas Episode Survey

Well, it's back. I have just posted the survey asking what your favorite Little House on the Prairie Christmas episode is. Though I know I am totally biased, mine will always be A Christmas They Never Forgot. I enjoy hearing about Almanzo's, Caroline's, and Hester Sue's childhoods, and listening to Laura retell the story of their Christmas in Kansas brings back fond memories. It's also nice to have Adam and Mary back in Walnut Grove again, though I wish we had seen more of them.

Make sure you vote for your favorite in our sidebar. I also changed the voice over on the AudioPal so give it a listen.

New Laura and Almanzo Story at Fanfiction.net

I believe most of you know that I write Little House fanfiction stories. In the beginning, I tried my best to mix real life and the show, but at some point fans of these stories requested I fill in the gaps in Laura and Almanzo's romance that inevitably are created by the limits of television and the need to have a one-hour storyline and provide a season's worth of episodes that focus on more than two characters.

I have taken my task seriously and now have written at least sixty stories based upon Little House on the Prairie, the majority of which use the show's characters as inspiration. Whenever I write a story featuring Laura and Almanzo, I have to admit that I visualize Melissa Gilbert and Dean Butler acting it out. This helps me to create stories that, for the most part, stay true to the characters and the end product is a better story because I can include Beth's and Manly's mannerisms and facial expressions from watching episodes over and again.

My latest story is titled, Finding A Way. It takes places during Season 9, after the episode A Child With No Name, which is where Baby Boy Wilder is born and dies.

One of the limits of television is that you can't get inside a character's head visually. So much can take place in a character's mind--and often does--which is why I feel that Stephen King's books don't always make it to film well. King is the master of internal thought and often uses dreams to relay what his characters are thinking and experiencing. The advantage to this limitation, however, is that viewers who wanted to get inside those characters' heads have created stories that hopefully honor the essence of the show and its characters, and help to fill in those missing elements. That is what I try to do with my fanfiction.

In Finding A Way, Laura struggles to move on even though six months have passed since Baby Boy Wilder's death. At the end of A Child With No Name, a repentant Laura announces happily to Doc Baker that she and Almanzo are thinking of having another baby. As a mother, that doesn't seem possible to me. Laura's grief over the loss of her son wouldn't disappear just because Doc Baker ended up saving Rose's life. But again, the episode is only one hour long, and Landon and his writers certainly came up with the best way to close out the episode by having Laura see the light, making the way for Doc Baker stay in Walnut Grove.

What I attempted to do with this story is show that Laura and Almanzo's marriage and life didn't just go back to normal. There was a time when Laura grieved deeply for her son and was afraid of getting pregnant again. Almanzo struggled too, but in a different way. As he tried to get closer to Laura, she moved further away from him. He felt lonely and isolated, much as he did when he thought he would never walk again (Days of Sunshine, Days of Shadow).

I'm not sure how others will feel about this story, but I am truly thrilled with how it turned out. If you are interested in reading it, you can find it at www.fanfiction.net.

Back to School - Season 6

Now that Labor Day has come and almost gone, thoughts turn to school days. My girls actually started last week, but they don't do much during that first week. Homework will start tomorrow--UGH--and the kids will really start getting down to work.

It probably isn't surprising, then, that my thoughts also turned to the first episode of Season 6 - Back to School. Michael Landon began Little House on the Prairie that year (Sept. 1979) with a two-part episode that introduced new characters: Eliza Jane Wilder and her handsome brother, Almanzo. Eliza Jane became the new school teacher and her brother Almanzo got a job working at the Feed and Seed, in addition to taking care of the Wilder farm.

The introduction of Almanzo was important for viewers because fans of the books knew that this character would be the man Laura Ingalls ended up marrying. I can imagine the pressure that put on Michael, and on Dean Butler, who portrayed Almanzo Wilder.



As we discussed last month--though most of that conversation took place at Facebook--the romance that Michael Landon and his writers created is very different from what fans of the books knew. In the books, it is Almanzo who pursues Laura. On the show, however, Melissa Gilbert's character, Laura, had a huge crush on Almanzo from the moment she saw him. Caught somewhere between childhood and womanhood, a growing and changing Laura hoped and prayed that Almanzo would see her as older than she was. This would be the way their relationship played out through most of Season 6, until the episode Sweet Sixteen where Almanzo finally does realize that Laura isn't a little girl anymore.


But I'm moving ahead too quickly; in Back to School we also see Nellie Oleson graduate, leaving the Walnut Grove school, and Laura, behind. This must have been hard on poor Laura, who is already trying to prove to her pa and Almanzo that she's no longer a child. And what makes matters worse is that Nellie thinks Almanzo is dreamy too; not to mention that Harriet is playing matchmaker for her daughter by inviting Zaldamo--as she calls him--to dinner at Nellie's Restaurant--an unexpected and unwanted graduation gift from Nellie's parents.

What results from this matchmaking attempt is one of the best Laura and Nellie fights of the series. Even though it seems that Nellie has it all over Laura, it's usually Nellie who is miserable in the end; and this episode is no different.

The important dinner between Nellie and Almanzo is ruined when Laura agrees to cook for them because neither Nellie nor her mother can cook anything. But Nellie doesn't want Almanzo to know she can't cook, so Laura is kept hidden in the kitchen, which gives her ample time to shake cayenne pepper on the chicken instead of cinammon. One bite of that chicken and Almanzo and Nellie are running for the pump to drink like fish and cool off their burning tongues.



Not one to take losing lightly, Nellie vows revenge; and boy does she get it. Convinced that the only way her father and Almanzo will see her as a woman, Laura decides to take her final exam so that she can graduate. Problem is, Charles has been out of work after being hit by a mill stone, and they can't afford to buy Laura the books she needs to study. Determined to pass that test, Laura begs Nellie to let her borrow her books--which Nellie does. Now, even though Miss Wilder has told Laura that the test will be mostly history, Nellie manages to convince Laura that Miss Wilder is lying to protect her job. Can't have any young, new teachers stealing her school, you know. So, guess what? Laura doesn't pass the test and she is more than upset.

A very satisfied Nellie stumbles upon a crying Laura on her way back from delivering cookies to Almanzo at the farm. Gee, there might have been a bit more history on the test than she remembered. You think! So, Laura proceeds to give Nellie more than a piece of her mind.



Don't you know that Almanzo picks this very moment to be driving back into town and comes upon Nellie and Laura in the watering hole. He pulls Laura off Nellie and brings her back to his place to get washed up. He gives her a robe and something to warm her up, then gets her to realize that not passing the test isn't the end of the world. And what does he get for his gallant behavior? Almanzo gets punched by Charles, who sure isn't happy to see Laura mooning all over the much older Almanzo while dressed in his robe. Seems an angry Nellie finally dragged her muddy body back to town and told Charles that she saw Laura and Almanzo kissing. We all remember what kind of temper Charles has, right?

Everything ends up okay though. Pa apologizes to Half-pint for the misunderstanding and they both blame Nellie for everything that happened. Then Laura makes them a picnic lunch and they go fishing.


Back to School is one of my favorite Little House episodes. It's where my crush on Dean Butler began. We see Laura struggling in that nasty place called adolescence--which we can all relate to; Pa continues his battle against being okay with his Half-pint growing up; and Nellie and Laura still fight from time to time to make things interesting. This is classic Little House at its best; and it still amazes me that after all these years, new generations of fans are discovering and enjoying the show that I grew up with.

Happy Labor Day!

When the Ingalls family was traveling in their covered wagon from the Big Woods of Wisconsin to Independence, Kansas there was no such thing as Labor Day. Though when you consider the sunup to sundown effort put in by pioneering families, you have to think they sure needed a day off. Perhaps that's part of why keeping the Lord's Day sacred was so important--it not only gave them time to compose their souls, but also to rest their weary bodies.

Charles Ingalls was a farmer--among other things--so the Industrial Revolution might not have meant much to him; but American workers demanded reprieve from long hours and poor working conditions. And thus, the first Labor Day parade was held in September 1882, where workers vocalized the issues they had with employers in the hopes that it would make a difference.

It would be over a decade before Labor Day became an official holiday, but American workers, like the pioneers before them, made their mark on America. Today we celebrate those contributions.

For a brief history of Labor Day, visit history.com.

Happy Labor Day!

New Survey

The latest survey is tied into the topic we discuss in this post.

Laura and Almanzo's romance was portrayed very differently in the show than in the books. We would love to know which version you prefer. Take our survey and feel free to leave additional comments here.