In lieu of a Thanksgiving-themed episode, Abbott took a brief intermission only to return with the best gift sitcom land has to offer: not one, but two holiday episodes, airing back-to-back for a full dose of wintertime cheer. This year particularly pulled on my heartstrings as someone who didn’t celebrate Christmas growing up, a fact that, when shared, often results in people looking at me like my dog died. Remember in Abbott’s first-ever holiday episode when Janine passed out a completely blank and undecorated cookie to her student, who is a Jehovah’s Witness? Well, I was that student, except for cultural reasons and not religious (let’s just say I knew the phrase “American consumerism” from a very young age). Abbott continues the nondenominational representation through little Khadija, a Muslim student of Barbara’s.
Barbara is ecstatic about the forthcoming Christmas concert since her class is headlining with a performance of “Deck the Halls,” but when Khadija looks up at her with devastatingly brown eyes to say she can’t participate as her family doesn’t observe the Christian holiday, Barbara goes above and beyond to make sure everyone is included. It’s sweet coming from a woman who loves tradition and Christ, but above all, Barbara is a champion for her students, so it makes sense that she takes Khadija’s situation to heart. Listening to those kids tell Khadija, as she sits alone while her classmates rehearse, that “Santa doesn’t like you” would pull at anyone’s heart. Plus, it’s nice to see Barbara taking charge in such a progressive way — emphasizing nonreligious practices is often framed as a way of the new “woke” world — since it seems her character has been trapped in a loop of storylines about being stuck in the past.
Janine gets caught up in Barbara’s plan to take Christmas out of the show when she fills in as captain of the step team, diligently creating a routine to Run DMC’s “Christmas in Hollis” — though none of the students actually know the song because they were all born more than 20 years after it was released. Right as Janine finalizes a routine that the whole team likes, Barbara announces the show’s rebrand as “Winter at Abbott” and declares that any reference to Christmas will be stripped from the program, including Christmas songs. She gives Janine impossibly specific instructions to pick songs that “must include spending time with loved ones and warm beverages, yet be enough of a throwback that adults can enjoy while simultaneously being fresh enough to engage our modern youth.” It’s also verbatim what Janine put into the Google search bar, only to find out that no one has written such a song … yet.
The thought of creating the perfect nondenominational winter song ignites Barbara’s love for the bright lights of the stage (not that it takes much to ignite that particular flame for a person who warms up by singing her own name). She tries her hardest to cajole a classroom of 5-year-olds into learning a brand-new tune, not knowing that her students took it upon themselves to write an original song. They share it with Barbara, singing with gap-toothed smiles, “Santa’s coming; hot cocoa makes me fart!” Barbara immediately puts an end to their creative contributions, and when things don’t get any better with the kids trying to learn her song, she makes an executive decision that the winter concert meant as a showcase for students will now be a solo performance featuring herself.
As Barbara continues her quest to neutralize the winter holiday season, Jacob prepares for a visit from his brother, Caleb. It’s about time our favorite white boy got some more character development outside the halls of Abbott. Chris Perfetti is a strong supporting actor with a natural ability to inject humor into scenes that have nothing to do with Jacob; his outlandish reactions to the other’s shenanigans and his warmth when serving as a voice of reason make him integral to the ensemble’s chemistry. Beyond that, Perfetti subverts the white-savior archetype enough to keep Jacob likable while still being in on the joke — his delivery of “just like Morehouse” after Melissa tells Jacob he’s on the waitlist for her Christmas Eve dinner is the perfect example of teetering the line of insufferable (if I met a white man who applied to any HBCU it would be the last time I met that man) and earnest (but I love Jacob! He meant no harm!). Jacob’s little brother, like all siblings, brings out Jacob’s inner child, and even before Caleb makes his first appearance, Jacob is harshly defensive. He describes Caleb as everything his parents ever wanted, saying he was popular, played football, and “had a teenage pregnancy scare and still somehow managed to be the family’s golden child.”
The brothers haven’t spoken in three years, so when Caleb shows up at Abbott days before his anticipated arrival, Jacob isn’t sure how to receive the surprise. Caleb is the inverse of Jacob: He’s a tall, charismatic jock who works as a personal trainer. Melissa succumbs to Caleb’s allure, despite his being a Giants fan, a nugget Jacob throws in to try and prevent his brother from bonding with his roommate. But Caleb contextualizes his allegiance more as hating the Cowboys than being a fan of the Giants, which is the sports equivalent to “an enemy of my enemy is my friend” to Melissa, gaining Caleb an official invitation to Melissa’s dinner before Jacob gets one. Caleb charms the kids and teachers alike, immediately receiving Ava’s approval, promising Gregory he won’t “corner him with small talk,” and earning a guest spot on the student podcast This Abbott Life, which is the last straw for Jacob. He crashes the podcast recording, interrupting Caleb during an anecdote about Jacob going to prom without a date. Jacob summons Caleb into the hallway, asking why he came into town in the first place before ranting on about how Caleb sucks up all the attention as “the favorite.”
Jacob’s outburst stuns Caleb, who clearly has a different interpretation of their dynamic, similar to how Janine’s sister felt when she came into town (we miss you, Ayo!). Caleb leaves to stay with a friend, and Jacob vents to Gregory about always feeling second to his brother, who also reminds him of all the reasons he left home. To hopefully give more insight into Caleb’s point of view, Gregory forces Jacob to listen to the full podcast recording. Before Caleb dives into the story about Jacob’s prom, he explains how much he looked up to his big brother, saying he knew he would never be as smart as Jacob so he put his effort into his muscles instead. He calls Jacob the most fearless person he’s ever met, and as Jacob takes in these words, he realizes how much he got wrong about their relationship. They reunite at the show (the podcast kids invited Caleb), and Jacob explains how Caleb makes him feel while Caleb reassures his brother that he sees him as nothing less than a boss, but he’s always there to lend a listening ear if he needs it.
Once the winter concert finally rolls around, Ava warns Barbara, in front of a packed house, that she’d better not ruin winter because she already ruined Christmas. Looking sharp in a white suit with pearl-encrusted shoulder pads, Barbara opens her mouth to sing, and all her vocal cords can muster is a squeaky half-note. Tariq, who is inexplicably in the wings (he says he doesn’t know why he’s there, either; he merely goes where his feet take him), takes control of the situation in a classic Tariq way: by playing a beat and seeing what happens. He tells the kindergarteners to perform the song they wrote while the step team “goes crazy.” At first, it’s a mismatch of discordant notes and unsure choreography, but then things start to fall together like when you’re little putting on an impromptu concert with your cousins in the living room. The parents beam with pride as their kids shine on stage, abundantly proud of their hard work and creativity.
After the show, Khadija’s mother thanks Barbara for finding a way to allow her daughter to participate, with the joy in her eyes speaking volumes. I intimately know what it’s like to sit silently at my desk, not knowing the words to any Christmas carols, smiling politely as my friends show me their presents, so Barbara’s dedication to inclusion felt personal. The sadness I felt as a kid wasn’t so much that I was jealous about not having a tree or presents, but about wanting to be a part of a community experience that looked like a lot of fun without betraying my family’s beliefs. Thanks to Barbara, Khadija got exactly that. Gotta love the staff at Abbott Elementary!
Teacher’s Notes
• At the end of the episode, Gregory finally goes to get a haircut after his co-workers keep pointing out how rough his hair is getting. Helming the barber’s chair is none other than television royalty Keith David. Not only is this an amazing guest star, but the big reveal is that he is playing Ava’s dad! I can’t wait to see more of him and learn more about Ava’s upbringing.
• Speaking of Ava, O’Shon is back with his fine self. He comes to Abbott to fix the projector for the show but lingers in case anything goes wrong. We all know the subtext behind that is, “Give me your number whenever you’re ready, Ava.” This cat-and-mouse game between them is cute, and her unbothered act shows exactly how much she’s into him.
• Here are my fave lines from this episode:
Barbara: “And as the children say — It’s going to be a ‘sleigh’! S-L-E-I-G-H. Get it?”
Student after Janine, Jacob, and Ava perform “Christmas in Hollis”: “Can we just do Ariana Grande?”
Barbara and Tariq on how inappropriate “Let It Snow” is:
Barbara: “It is far too adult with all of that kissing in front of the fire.”
Tariq: “You can’t forget the good-bye-ing too. They was nasty.”