Plot summary
While Christmas shopping with his mother, Kevin sees Coach Cutlip ( Robert Picardo ) moonlighting at the Brightlin Mall as Santa Claus. At school, Kevin is treated like royalty from the much kinder gift-giving "Ed" Cutlip so he wouldn't give up his secret to the rest of the class, much to the annoyance of his friends. But Kevin accidentally discloses to Doug Porter that he saw Cutlip working at the mall. Doug then tells Randy Mitchell, who in turn tells Tommy Kisling (Jay Lambert). So the boys gather a crowd to try to find Cutlip there.
Rather than hide, Cutlip decides to wish the boys Merry Christmas as Santa. When they spot him, they find that they can't ridicule someone dressed as Santa Claus and pretend not to see him. Kevin notes that Christmas was the one time of year when hardnosed Coach Cutlip was allowed to make children happy. Recurring guests: Robert Picardo as Coach Cutlip; Brandon Crane as Doug Porter; Michael Tricario as Randy Mitchell. Absent: Dan Lauria as Jack Arnold; Olivia d'Abo as Karen Arnold; Jason Hervey as Wayne Arnold; Danica McKellar as Winnie Cooper.
Credits
Adapted from Wikipedia contributors, The Wonder Years season 4. HTML formatting and reference markers removed.