Phineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation

There's no such thing as an ordinary winter vacation for these two.
"Mom! Phineas and Ferb are making a Christmas Special!"
—Candace at the end of the Title Sequence

Phineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation is a special edition of Phineas and Ferb, first aired in 2009 and set while the characters are on winter break. It's Christmas Eve and Mom and Dad are stuck at the airport, waiting for Dad's parents to arrive from England on a very delayed flight. While waiting for them and the holiday, the boys construct a special rest stop for Santa. They get the rest of Danville in on the project, urging a city-wide decorating extravaganza as a giant thank-you message to the man in red, but the whole thing comes to a screeching halt when everyone's letters to Santa are returned marked "naughty." Thinking he's responsible, Phineas then leads the population on a crusade to convince Santa that they're really nice, but it's too late -- he's already left on his rounds. Desperate to save Christmas, Phineas, Ferb, Isabella, Baljeet, and Buford team up to deliver gifts to the Danvillians instead.

In addition to the usual memorable musical numbers, the special features two subplots. Candace is angsting over the perfect Christmas gift for boyfriend Jeremy. Meanwhile, Dr. Doofenshmirtz is the one who's really responsible for Danville's naughty label; but he's upset because he believes that, as an evil genius, he's supposed to hate Christmas, but the most he can summon is "a burning indifference." He even sings about it, unsurprisingly.

Tropes used in Phineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation include:
  • All Just a Dream / Catapult Nightmare: Invoked Trope unsuccessfully. When he gets the news about Danville's naughty status, Phineas goes back to bed and tries to pretend that he dreamed the whole thing. It doesn't work.
  • Batman Gambit: Santa set the plot up himself so that everyone's wishes for Christmas would come true.
  • Building Swing: Hanging Christmas lights the old-fashioned way is too boring for Ferb.
  • Christmas Elves: Two of Santa's helpers show up in response to the Danville niceness campaign, and try to help the kids get things straightened out.
  • Christmas Songs: The theme song was revamped for the special, and it also features other new songs performed by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy.
  • Continuity Nod: Doofenshmirtz's gift to Perry is a vase. In an earlier episode Major Monogram says they got into Doof's files and found this out.

Monogram: First, we know what you're getting for Christmas. Don't ask, our lips are sealed, it's a vase.

  • Crowd Song: The entire population of Danville sings a song called "Danville Is Very Nice" to persuade Santa to take them off the naughty list.
  • Cut Song: Candace's "What Does He Want?" It was not featured in the original 2009 airings or the DVD release, but does appear on the soundtrack and was reinstated in the 2010 broadcasts.
  • Everyone Is Christian At Christmas: Isabella actually points out that she celebrates Hanukkah, but she nonetheless sides with everyone else trying to save Christmas. (It appears that she gets presents from Santa like the others--only they're Hanukkah presents from Santa.)
  • For the Evulz: Averted; Doofenshmirtz has his doubts about using his Naughtyinator because he doesn't hate Christmas and he doesn't want to destroy it without a reason.
  • Friendly Enemy: Doofenshmirtz exchanges gifts with Perry the Platypus.
  • Getting Crap Past the Radar: It is still Phineas and Ferb after all. See here for details.
  • "Gift of the Magi" Plot: Subverted. Jeremy sells his guitar to buy Candace the earrings she wants; Candace sells her good necklace to buy Jeremy the silver guitar he wants. The subversion is because they each give up a valued possession to buy a gift for the other, but the gifts they receive are better than the stuff they gave up in the first place(and were things they were planning on exchanging for the items they ended up with anyway).
  • The Grinch: Averted with Doofenshmirtz, who is so apathetic about Christmas that it takes a troupe of really annoying carolers to finally push him into trying to destroy it. When the machine is destroyed later, he doesn't even care. Played straight at the end, fulfilling his Christmas wish to become an example of this.
  • Hope Spot: The kids and all of Danville are bummed that Santa isn't coming. They give up on Christmas, singing "Where did we go wrong?" before the boys get their gumption back...only to discover it's too late to fix things because Santa's already left the North Pole.
  • Informed Judaism: The series already made it known that Isabella is Jewish, but it's only briefly touched on here when she isn't able to properly commiserate with the others about Santa not coming.
  • Insistent Terminology: Phineas insists that the structure he and Ferb built for Santa is a rest stop; Buford is equally insistent that it's a clubhouse.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Buford's secret Christmas wish is for his friends to think he's nice.
  • Limited Wardrobe: Lampshaded by Candace's excitement over receiving two new outfits for Christmas -- exactly like the one she wears in every episode.
  • Literal Genie: A group of carolers insistently sing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" at Doofenshmirtz's door. They focus on the verse about asking for figgy pudding and refuse to leave until he gives them some. When he finally does, they go.

Carolers: We won't go until we get some, we won't go until we get some, we won't go until we get some, it's the principle of the thing!

  • My New Gift Is Lame: Poor Carl! His gift from Major Monogram is an autographed picture of the Major...addressed "To Whom It May Concern."
  • Pretty in Mink: Candace's parka and boots.
  • Santa Claus: Voiced by Clancy Brown, who is well known for voicing a certain evil bald millionaire.
  • Saving Christmas: Subverted. Christmas was never actually in any danger. Santa arranged for the entire plot to occur so that Phineas could get a shot at this, fulfilling his Christmas wish to be like Santa.
  • Sexy Santa Dress: The backup dancers for Doofensmirtz's song.
  • Shout-Out:
    • The intro features a scene of a yeti helping the kids decorate a Christmas tree, based on a similar scene featuring the Abominable Snow-Monster from the Rankin-Bass Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer special.
    • The Gift Of The Magi, as mentioned above.
    • The "Danville Is Very Nice" scene is a tip of the hat to "We Are The World".
    • The talking snowman Perry encounters is an Affectionate Parody of Frosty the Snowman.
    • Ferb puts lights on buildings using pistols that fire Christmas light strings, and swings across the buildings just like Spider-Man.
    • The ending had a couple seconds of the kids dancing just like a scene in A Charlie Brown Christmas.
  • Significant Anagram: The CD Perry receives for Secret Santa, "A Sal Tuscany Christmas", is actually a scrambled message from Santa Claus.

Doofenshmirtz: ...with an embarrassing leftover "Y".

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