Carol's mom calls, but Carol has her hands full with Kate who is crying.  Elizabeth checks on Dean Rollins who is having a hard time breathing.  She rushes to check on him, but he was just faking it.  A young woman named Valerie Page is brought in.  She is on the transplant list for a new heart and Lucy is taking care of her.  Mark is in San Diego helping his father move.  Carter has organized a "Secret Santa" for gift giving to the ER employees.  Malik is wanting a Nintendo Gameboy.  Some men dressed as Santa Claus come in and one of them throws up all over Kerry.  Lucy tells Valerie that she will die if she does not receive a new heart.  Cleo sees that Chad Kottmeier is back in the ER.  A friend has brought him in after he fell down a flight of stairs while he was drunk.  Elizabeth watches as they transport Dean to the jail ward.  He leg starts cramping and he ends up getting to stay.  Carol brings Kate in to be seen by a doctor.  A young man named Taylor Sparks is brought in after being shot in the shoulder.  As Carter helps with him, he finds a gun on the boy and takes it away.  Luka takes a look at Kate for Carol.  Cleo asks Chad about his father and where he is during all of this drinking.  He tells him that his father has a new family and it is just him and his mom.  Chad's mom comes to speak with Cleo.  She feels really guilty for not being a good mother to him.  A seventy-one year old man is brought in.  He lost control of his car and ran over a nativity scene.  Elizabeth tells Dean that he will need surgery on his leg or he will die.  He tells her that he will not have the surgery and she does not argue with him about it.  Lucy took it upon herself to have the equipment transferred over from another hospital for Valerie's transplant.  Peter tells her that he can not use the equipment and that Romano is the only one certified to use it.  Romano is off for the holidays.  Lucy knows that Valerie will die if someone does not do the transplant.  Luka tells Carol that Kate is okay.  Lucy calls Romano at home and he hangs up on her.  Carter gives the Nintendo Gameboy that was for Malik to the kid who was shot.  It was exchanged for his gun.  Peter takes care of a patient named Mr. Waller.  He is needing surgery, but he does not want it after what he experienced.  Peter had lost his heartbeat while in the elevator and when they brought him back, he says he saw his dead wife Edith and a bright light.  He wants to be with her for Christmas, so he is not afraid of dieing.  Lucy tells Valerie about not being able to use the equipment.  She tells her how sorry she is.  Anspaugh speaks with Elizabeth and Peter about their two patients who both need surgery.  He tells them that they need to change their minds.  Lucy goes to Romano's house to ask him for his help.  Romano is not happy about her interrupting his holiday.  Several kids come in to the ER looking for Carter.  They have brought in guns for a Gameboy exchange.  Carter ends up giving away all of the "Secret Santa" gifts.  He even ends up writing out checks to some of them.  Peter's patient Mr. Waller dies before he can convince him to have his surgery.  Elizabeth goes to see Dean.  She tells him what will happen if he does not have his leg operated on.  He finds it touching that she cares so much for him.  He agrees to have the operation.  A man speaks to Kerry about the Y2K dilemma and wrecks the computer system in the process.  Cleo arranges for Chad to go to a alcohol treatment program over the holidays.  His mother begs her not to make him go, but he goes anyways.  Carol takes a nap while Haleh and the others look after the twins.  Romano ends up in the OR and operates on Valerie.  Lucy is operating with him to Peter's surprise.  Cleo is on her way to Indianapolis and she decides to stop and check on Chad to see how he is doing.  Two young people are brought in with gun shot wounds.  One of them is a seven year old boy who got in the way.  He was shot in the head and died.  Carla brings Reese in to see Peter.  She is still bitter at him because of ruining her and Rogers life.  They were not able to move because of the legal battle for custody and it made Roger look bad with his company.  Luka carries Carol and the girls home and has some eggnog.

Reviewed by Tony Conner on 11-22-2000