It is Solstice Eve, and during their travels Xena and Gabrielle arrive in the ubiquitous village that dominated much of the first and second seasons. This particular version is ruled by King Silvas, a miserly old ruler who is intended to bring to mind Ebenezer Scrooge, the central character of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol. (In fact, many of his lines in the episode are loose rewritings from Dickens's Christmas classic.)
Silvas lost his wife thirty years earlier, and has since banned the celebration of Solstice - the longest night of the year. He has also taxed his people to the brink of poverty. His clerk, an ex-toymaker by the name of Senticles, is given a notice to shut down an orphanage that very night.
Gabrielle, in the spirit of the holiday, encourages Xena to change Silvas's mind "without breaking heads." Xena does her best, and changes the king's mind without beating him up. Gabrielle inspires Senticles, and he undergoes a transformation into the bearded, flue-diving gift bearer that we've come to know and love.
The plot borrows from several holiday classics. There is the aforementioned A Christmas Carol, and the "Santa Claus" origin borrows from the stop-motion animated special Santa Claus is Comin' to Town, where the selfish and miserly burgermeister has banned toys, and a young Nicholas comes to the rescue.
But what is a Xena episode without a good fight sequence? This episode's closing act owes a great deal to the original Home Alone, where a cute little McCaulay Culkin defends his home using a variety of toys.
Much of the joy found in this episode, looking back on it now, is how fresh it feels - especially given the glut of holiday clichés that are packed inside. You have your miserly (and miserable) old man who has a change of heart, a chorus of orphans, and the good will towards men message. There is even the climactic snowfall. (Granted, in this case the "snow" is feathers from the stuffed animals used to drive off the guards, but it still counts.)
Joseph LoDuca's score for this episode (much of which can be found on the second soundtrack disc from Varese Sarabande records) is magical, filled with flutes and bells. This episode shows how effective good music can be. There are a couple of wonderfully clever examples of LoDuca's music in this episode. They include:
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