| Merry Christmas, Kenan | |
| Season 01, Episode 11 | |
| Air Date | December 14, 1996 |
| Previous | Dial O for Oops |
| Next | Baggin' Saggin Kel |
Merry Christmas, Kenan is the eleventh episode of the first season of Kenan & Kel which was first broadcast on December 14, 1996.
Summary[]
The episode begins like all Kenan & Kel episodes, with Kenan and Kel appearing onstage to greet the audience. Kel tells the audience that tonight's episode is going to be very special; when Kenan asks why that is, Kel responds that it's their Christmas show. Kenan remarks that it doesn't quite feel like Christmas, at which point Kel tells the special effects men to make it snow on the set, and then has someone bring in a one-horse open sleigh (without the horse, though, more resembling a rickshaw). Kenan takes off in the sleigh, saying that "this could be a very merry Christmas after all." Kel calls out for him to come back and then walks off, muttering his catch phrase, "Awwww, here it goes!", as the main story begins.
At the Rockmore residence, Kel is attempting to help Kenan's parents (Roger and Sheryl) and sister (Kyra) decorate their Christmas tree by hanging orange soda cans on it. Kel goes to show his "ornament" to Kenan, who is looking at a catalog showing what he wants for Christmas - the Roadblazer Deluxe Elite mountain bike. Kenan explains to Kel that he has been saving up his money all year for it, but Kel is concerned that if Kenan spends all his money on the bike, he will not be able to buy presents for his family and friends. When Sheryl says it's time to put the star on top of the tree, Kel volunteers to do so (despite Roger saying that he always puts it on top) and ends up making the tree fall down on top of Roger.
Later, while working at Rigby's, Kenan is handing Mrs. Quagmire her groceries when she starts to talk about how much she loves Christmas and Christmas carols, before asking Kenan if he would like to hear one. Before Kenan can say no, she then starts singing "The Twelve Days of Christmas", much to Kenan's annoyance. After Kenan sends her outside with her groceries, Chris comes in with a life-sized mechanical Santa Claus that he found outside. Chris asks Kenan to help him set it up, but Kenan declines, saying he's taking his break, and goes to the back room. He hears "Jingle Bells" being sung outside and opens the back door to find Kel gleefully singing along with Mrs. Quagmire. Chris asks for Kenan's help in plugging in the mechanical Santa, but again Kenan declines. When Chris gets the mechanical Santa working, it suddenly grabs him and starts beating him up.
Kenan then decides to leave work and go to the mall to get a look at the bike in person. At the mall, Kenan shows Kel the Roadblazer Deluxe Elite, before Kel convinces him to get on it to see how it feels, which Kenan does. Just then, the salesman stops him, since he had noticed Kenan looking at the bike before, tells Kenan that if he wants the bike so much, he had better save up enough money for it before someone else buys it. However, Kenan gets the salesman to hold on to the bike for him, offering to put down the hundred dollars he currently has for now, and that he will pay the remaining amount of money needed after he has acquired it.
Afterward, Kenan and Kel go to the mall's toy store, where Kel points out a toy he's interested in - a tuba-phone (a tuba with a telephone in it). Elsewhere in the toy store, the store's Santa Claus is greeting kids when a bratty, spoiled little boy named Sam says he wants Santa to bring him a fighter jet for Christmas. The kid then takes offense at Santa's laugh, and when Santa points out that his request is a rather large one, Sam punches him and knocks him out. The customers who were waiting in line to see Santa become irate about this, and the store manager is also upset about this, so he goes looking to find someone else to play Santa. He finds Kenan and Kel and asks Kenan to play Santa. Kenan initially declines the offer, but when the manager offers to pay him $100 for the job, he accepts once Kel reminds him that's almost the exact amount he needs to purchase his mountain bike.
Assisted by Kel (who dresses as an elf), Kenan does an overall good job portraying Santa at the store. One boy named Daniel shows up, saying all he wants for Christmas is for Santa to bring a new bike for his little sister, Katie. Daniel explains that Katie's old bike was stolen, and their mother cannot afford to buy them a new one herself. Kenan, touched by the boy's story, says that he will make sure Katie receives a new bike for Christmas, but after Daniel and Katie leave him, their mother mentions to him that she really can't afford a new bike for them, and that she will have to tell them that Santa was unable to deliver it.
Later, back at Rigby's, Kenan confides to Kel that he cannot stop thinking about that poor family who visited him while he was playing Santa. Just then, Chris shows up, with his arm in a cast due to his incident with the mechanical Santa earlier, and gives Kenan his paycheck, officially giving Kenan enough money to pay for the Roadblazer Deluxe Elite mountain bike. Kenan rushes back to the mall and is about to pay the salesman the rest of the money for the bike, but he then hesitates in doing so when he sees another man buying a bike for his daughter nearby, and he changes his mind.
On Christmas Eve, Kenan, dressed as Santa, sneaks into Daniel and Katie's house, carrying a bag of presents that he bought with the money he had saved for the mountain bike. However, Daniel and Katie's mother hears him and comes in while he is putting the gifts under their very small Christmas tree. Daniel and Katie then come in and are delighted to see Santa in their living room. Kenan presents Daniel with a CD player, and Katie with a stuffed rabbit, and also reveals that he also bought new bicycles for the both of them.
Later, Kel and Chris join the Rockmore family for their Christmas Eve festivities, where Kenan and his sister Kyra open one of their presents early, as they always do on Christmas Eve. Kel gives Kenan a pair of battery-powered underpants that keep a person warm during the winter, and Kenan presents Kel with the tuba-phone. After Kel and Chris leave, Kenan's parents say that Kel told them all about how Kenan spent his money on buying presents for Daniel and Katie, and they're proud of him for that. Kenan says that he figures if he starts saving his money now, he can get the Roadblazer Deluxe Elite bike next year. After everyone goes up to bed, the real Santa Claus shows up, bringing the Roadblazer Deluxe Elite mountain bike to Kenan.
In the closing segment, Kenan and Kel arrive onstage, with Kenan riding his new Roadblazer Deluxe Elite bike and Kel carrying his tuba-phone. The rest of the cast then joins them onstage, and they start singing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas". But when they get to the line "...and a Happy New Year," Kenan stops the song, saying that he has something he needs to take of before New Year's Eve, and then rides his bike offscreen. Kel calls for him to come back, and then everyone else says, "Awwww, here it goes!", prompting Kel to shout "Awwww, that's my line!" Kel follows his friend offscreen as the rest of the cast finishes the song.