Season 1, Episode 12

Original Airdate: December 19, 1969

Written By: John Fenton Murray

Directed By: Oscar Rudolph

Christmas is a time for families and all the love (and headaches) they inspire. Is there a better way to start this year’s Sitcom Advent Calendar than by spending a half hour with the grooviest family it TV history? When a bout of laryngitis knocks Carol out of commission, Mike, Alice, and the kids try to muddle along somehow. But youngest daughter Cindy makes a plan to go straight to the source for Christmas miracles: Santa Claus.

Christmas Trope Count: 8 (All About Christmas, Decorating Indoors, Santa Believer, Religion!, Regular Shopping, Mall Santa, Holy Crap This Cast Member Can Sing, Carols)

This one scores the surprisingly rare Christmas episode hat trick of visiting a mall Santa during a shopping trip. Top it off with a scene at church and the showcase for Florence Henderson’s killer IRL pipes and you’ve got a solid start to this year’s Sitcom Advent Calendar.

Christmas Carol Count: 9 (“Deck the Halls,” “Jingle Bells,” “Joy to the World,” “Silent Night,” “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” “O Come All Ye Faithful,” “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear,” “O Christmas Tree”)

A Second Helping: A Very Brady Christmas (1988)

Stream The Brady Bunch "The Voice of Christmas" on Hulu