Yes, Punky, There Is a Santa Claus

"Yes, Punky, There is a Santa Claus" are two episodes, the twelfth and thirteenth, of the first season of Punky Brewster and the twelfth and thirteenth of the overall series. They aired together on December 16, 1984 as a two-part Christmas special of the series.

Part 1
With Christmas around the corner, the holiday is made even more special since it would be the first time Punky and Henry spend it together. At the same time, however, it would also be the first Christmas she spends without her mother. While Henry is entertaining Punky, she admits to him that she misses her mother.

At school, Punky is told by Billy Bahootsas and his friends, the school bullies, that Santa Claus does not exists. When she returns home and tells Henry about it, he is quick to rectify her and say that Santa Claus is not only real, but he can also do anything. When Punky and Cherie, not convinced of Santa's existence, are out of earshot, Henry tells Betty Johnson that there has to be a way to convince the girls. Knowing that the school is having a hard time finding a suitable person to don the Santa costume for Punky's class, she suggests that Henry should do it, to which he reluctantly agrees.

Henry excels in his role as Santa and manages to hide his true identity for everyone. When it is Punky's turn to talk to Santa, she asks him to reunite her with her mother. When Henry is back at his photography studio and Betty is helping him out of his Santa suit, he vows that he will find Susan.

Part 2
True to his word, Henry start his hunt for Susan, even calling in the help of Gene Douchette, his friend and detective. Gene alerts him to the fact that there is a woman named Susan in the local hospital suffering from exposure, who fits the description of Punky's mother. Henry rushes to the hospital to follow up on the lead only to discover that the woman is not the Susan he is looking for.

On his way back home, a blizzard forces him to stop on Michigan Avenue at Nick's Nook, an antique store run by an old man named Nick. Henry, having been raised in this part of Chicago, is surprised by this Nick person, since he has no recollection of him or his store. Nick offhandedly tells him that miracles can happen and hands Henry a jewelry box as a gift for Punky, though Henry cannot accept the gift and continues his journey back home.

On Christmas morning, Punky wakes up, excited and hopeful to find her mother. Disappointed that Susan is nowhere to be found in the apartment, she starts to open her gifts, among which is one that had not been there the day before. The card says that it is from Santa Claus. Unwrapping the present, she discovers it is a jewelry box exactly like the one Nick had tried to give to Henry to give to Punky and instantly knows that it belonged to her mother, as her initials are engraved on it. The gift she had the day before left for her mother under the three is missing, and she understands that since her mother could not be there for Christmas, Santa had come to ensure she got the present her mother had gotten her and vice versa.

Feeling like Nick may have had something to do with the gifts, Henry tries to get the phone number for Nick's Nook but is told that such a store does not exists, proving to him that Nick was Santa Claus.

Cast

 * Soleil Moon Frye as Punky Brewster
 * Cherie Johnson as Cherie Johnson
 * George Gaynes as Henry Warnimont
 * Susie Garrett as Betty Johnson
 * Ami Foster as Margaux Kramer
 * Casey Ellison as Allen Anderson
 * Sandy as Brandon "the Wonder Dog"
 * Eddie Deezen as Eddie
 * Iggie Wolfington as Nick/Santa Claus
 * Dody Goodman as Mrs. Morton
 * Danny Ponce as Billy Bahootsas

Trivia

 * This is the first of three Christmas special episodes of Punky Brewster, the other two being "Christmas Shoplifting" and "Christmas Hero".
 * The music box that was originally Susan Brewster's makes it's first appearance and would later return in Fenster Hall, part 1.
 * These 2 episodes marks the final appearance of Eddie.