Betty White: The Golden Girls Christmas (1986)

Happy Birthday Betty White!  Last week Betty White celebrated her 90th birthday and I've been inspired to write several blog posts as a tribute to her wonderful legacy on television.  I've already written about Date With the Angels,  The Mary Tyler Moore Show,  Life With Elizabeth and Prep & Landing Stocking Stuffer: Operation: Secret Santa. 

Now what you've been waiting for--Betty White also starred in two Golden Girls Christmas episodes, the first being 1986's "Twas the Nightmare Before Christmas."

The roommates successfully dodge Rose's story about the St. Olaf stage play of 'The Christmas Carol' with an all-chicken cast.

Hilariously, Blanche has a passion for men dressed in Santa Claus suits.  Concerned with the commercialism of Christmas and overspending on each others' gifts, the four roommates decide to swap homemade presents this year.  Blanche makes a photo calendar--The Men of Blanche's Boudoir.

Dorothy reacts to Mr. September in her new calendar from Blanche.

Everything seems to be going right this holiday, until...

A man in a Santa Claus suit holds the women hostage at Rose’s workplace, a counseling center.  The stranger has no intention of hurting them, he's just desperately trying to avoid spending Christmas alone.  Rose, Blanche, Sophia and Dorothy fear that this delay means that they have each missed their flights to go home to be with their loved ones for the holidays.  At the airport, they learn their flights have been canceled due to stormy weather.

As usual, they discuss their troubles over cheesecake and coffee.

Feeling like their holiday has been ruined, the women end up at a roadside diner sharing their sorrows over cheesecake and coffee.  Rose, Blanche, Dorothy and Sophia remind themselves that they are family and they belong together at Christmas time.  They begin to feel better after they volunteer to cover the shift for the man running the restaurant, allowing him to go home to be with his family for a little while on Christmas Eve.

"Let's go surfin' now, everybody's learnin' how..."

It miraculously begins to snow in Miami.  The episode ends with a joke when the ditzy Rose is inspired to select a Christmas song on the diner’s jukebox and ends up playing Surfin’ Safari.

This Christmas episode can be found on the second season DVD set's second disc.  The Golden Girls is currently airing daily on the Hallmark Channel and WE.