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Thomas, and Toby are old friends, and now, Percy, you are my friend too!

— Mrs. Kyndley

"Thomas' Christmas Party" is the first Christmas episode of Thomas & Friends, aired as the show's first season finale. Prior to the episode’s airing (but before its broadcast), it was first published as a book by the creator of the franchise, the Reverend Wilbert Awdry.

Synopsis[]

ThomastheTankEngine

Thomas carrying people on his branch line

It is Christmas time on the Island of Sodor, and Thomas and Toby are very busy carrying people and parcels along the branch line. Despite Annie and Clarabel complaining that they are overloaded, Thomas retains his festive spirit.

Near his branch line is a little cottage. This is the home of an older woman named Mrs. Kyndley. Thomas always whistles "Happy Christmas!" to her and agrees that Christmas would not be the same without her.

All the engines have been polished at the sheds, but Thomas does not mind and tells them he wants to throw Mrs. Kyndley a party to thank her for saving him from a landslide the year before. When she was ill in bed, she waved her red dressing gown out the window to warn Thomas, and Sir Topham Hatt sent her to the seaside in Bournemouth to get better as a reward.

Thomas'ChristmasParty

Christmas at Tidmouth Sheds

All the engines agree that a party is a great idea and hope that Sir Topham Hatt agrees as well. He does, but when the party gets set up, there is a heavy snowfall, trapping Mrs. Kyndley in her house. Thomas bravely puts on his snowplow and sets off with Toby to rescue her and soon, they arrive at the covered in the snow-covered cottage. Thomas whistles to Mrs. Kyndley to tell her they have arrived when suddenly, Terence arrives with his snowplow to help clear a path from the cottage to the railway. Once everything is cleared away, Percy takes the workmen home and Terence stays behind to look after Mrs. Kyndley's cottage.

Thomas and Toby take her to the shed, where the party is supposed to be, but as they arrive home, they find the shed in darkness. Suddenly, a switch is thrown, and the sheds are covered in lights. Sir Topham Hatt congratulates the two engines, everybody sings carols and Mrs. Kyndley says it is the best Christmas party ever.

Characters[]

Availability[]

The original UK version of Ringo Starr's narration was used on several VHS tapes, including the franchise’s second and third releases, The Further Adventures of Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends, and Coal & Other Stories, respectively; before being released (either restored or unrestored, depending upon the edition purchased) on the VHS, DVD and digital download releases of The Complete Series One.

In the US, it was available restored on disc 2 of The Early Years DVD. Before that, George Carlin's version of the episode was released in "Thomas' Christmas Party," "Thomas' Christmas Wonderland," "Thomas' Snowy Surprise", and "Ultimate Christmas" on VHS and DVD with "Thomas and the Missing Christmas Tree" and "Thomas and Percy's Christmas Adventure."

Notes[]

  • The storybook of this episode, as written by Awdry, was published prior to the episode’s airing in order to uphold the contractual agreement between Allcroft, Mitton and Awdry at the time that every episode of the TV series had to be originally published in a book as part of The Railway Series (the origins of the franchise). It was illustrated by Clive Spong, who also provided the pictures for the stories written by Awdry’s son, Christopher, who at this point had taken over writing for The Railway Series.
  • Stock footage from "Thomas, Terence and the Snow" is used.
  • This episode was paired with "Dirty Objects" when it was first broadcast.

Cast[]

Voice actor Role
Ringo Starr Narrator
George Carlin (US)

Gallery[]

Videos[]

See also[]

External links[]

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