A cold, snowy Wisconson Christmas finds Howard Cunningham trying to convince his family to put up a new-fangled, artificial tree, and a mysterious sailor delivers a gift from Fonzie's father, forcing the Fonz to deal with his long-suppressed feelings of abandonment.

Richie Cunningham anonymously takes over for absent advice columnist, Aunt Fanny, and innocently sews the seeds of disaster when he answers a letter from feuding roommates, Ralph and Potsie.