4. Doing Santa's Job
You really can't have Christmas without Santa Clause. It doesn't matter if you're all grown up and without kids of your own or if you're a devout Christian who renounces any of the Pagan history associated with the holiday. Santa is inescapable in the month of December. Just try to turn on your television without seeing the jolly old man in some incarnation or another. While he's definitely the main man most specials actually tend to deal with him having his thunder stolen. Yep, we're talking about those that attempt to do Santa's job for him. There are really two different ways in which this trope can be played. The most common - and most likely to occur in the real world - sees characters dress in red fat-suits with beards to try and impress their children. The second segment in Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas plays this trope with Goofy and Max. We also see it in Full House, Rugrats, Boy Meets World, and many more. The majority of episodes that deal with this theme are - of course - usually intended for younger audiences. Friends did it too albeit as a "holiday armadillo" rather than Santa Clause. The other way the trope is played sees characters literally do Santa's job for him by delivering gifts to all the good boys and girls of the world. In fact, The Flintstones did this twice despite living during a time before Christmas came into being. The first aired as a regular episode with Fred taking up the mantle after Santa injured himself. The second aired as a special which retold the events of the first with Fred joined by Barney as a helper elf. Many other cartoon characters have pulled the job for the big man including Johnny Bravo, Jimmy Neutron, and the Powerpuff girls. Disney Channel also released a live-action film titled Twas the Night which focuses on a boy and his uncle delivering Santa's gifts for him although the greedy uncle uses the magic to steal instead. In the first case of this trope it's usually all for naught as the children figure out the identity of the fake Clause. The real one eventually makes his appearance to fix their mistakes and keep the spirit of Christmas alive in the hearts of children. Only in the latter are the substitutes actually necessary making for a theme that will continue to be repeated as Christmases pass.