Thomas' Christmas Party

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

- Mrs. Kyndley

Thomas' Christmas Party (originally Thomas's Christmas Party) is the twenty-sixth episode of the first season. In the US, this episode first aired on Shining Time Station's 1990 Christmas special 'Tis a Gift in 1990 and aired on the last airing of Storytime with Thomas on FOX Family.

Plot
It is Christmas time 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 wouldn't be the same without her.

At the sheds, all the engines have been polished but Thomas doesn't 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 The Fat Controller sent her to Bournemouth to get better as a reward.

All the engines agree that a party is a great idea and hope that The Fat Controller agrees as well. He does, but on the day of the party, there is a heavy snowfall, trapping Mrs. Kyndley in her house. Thomas bravely puts on his snow plough and sets off with Toby to rescue her, and soon, they arrive at the cottage which is covered in snow. 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 sheds in darkness. Suddenly, a switch is thrown and the sheds are covered in lights. The Fat Controller congratulates the two engines, everybody sings carols, and Mrs. Kyndley says it's the best Christmas party ever.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Edward
 * Henry
 * Gordon
 * James
 * Percy
 * Toby
 * Annie and Clarabel
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Mrs. Kyndley
 * Terence (speaks only in Japanese dub)
 * Bertie (cameo)
 * Henrietta (cameo)
 * Farmer Finney (cameo)

Locations

 * Tidmouth Sheds
 * Mrs. Kyndley's Cottage
 * Hackenbeck Tunnel
 * The Viaduct (deleted scene)
 * Knapford (deleted scene)
 * Bournemouth (mentioned)

Trivia

 * This episode is based on the story of the same name, released alongside the series in 1984. It also features a flashback from the story Mrs Kyndley's Christmas from The Railway Series book, Toby the Tram Engine.
 * Stock footage from Thomas' Train and Thomas, Terence and the Snow is used.
 * The platform Sir Topham Hatt stands on is made out of LEGO bricks.
 * The Christmas lights are real Christmas tree lights.
 * The text in the end credits is red in the original version.
 * When George Carlin provides the narration, Ringo Starr can be heard in the background when the engines sing at the end. Every foreign version has this as well, meaning Ringo's singing is built into the soundtrack for some reason, Except the Spanish Version.
 * George Carlin's narration of this episode was never featured on an episode of Shining Time Station. It first appeared on Thomas' Christmas Party and Other Favorite Stories. It aired on TV on the final airing of Storytime with Thomas in 2001.
 * In the Japanese dub, Gordon says Percy's lines during Thomas' flashback.
 * This is the last episode filmed at the Clapham Junction railway station. All future episodes would be filmed at Shepperton Studios up until 2008.
 * This is the last episode to have Thomas with his Real-looking brakepipe.

Goofs

 * Clarabel is facing the wrong way in the opening shot.
 * When the workmen fit Thomas' snowplough, blu-tak is on one of the men's legs.
 * Throughout the episode, Toby keeps losing his brakevan.
 * When the engines whistle, only Thomas, Edward, and Henry's whistles can be heard.
 * At the Christmas party, Henry is in his old shape.
 * In the Sprout Channel version, around the time the engines save Mrs. Kyndley and the time Thomas gets back to the sheds, the narration is dramatically out of sync.
 * The Christmas tree at Tidmouth is far too tall compared to the engine shed.
 * In a deleted scene, Thomas' eyes are wonky.
 * When Sir Topham Hatt stands on the Platform, some Blu-tak can be seen under his feet.
 * At the beginning when Thomas whistles "Happy Christmas" to Mrs. Kyndley, Clarabel is the front coach and facing forwards, but in the next shot she is at the back of the train and facing backwards.

Merchandise

 * Books - Thomas's Christmas Party
 * Buzz Books - Thomas's Christmas Party
 * Ladybird Books - Thomas's Christmas Party
 * Magazine Stories - Thomas's Christmas Party
 * My Thomas Story Library - Toby (discontinued)

Home Media Releases
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UK

 * Further Adventures of Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends
 * Coal and other stories
 * Troublesome Trucks, Coal and other stories
 * Bumper Special
 * Down the Mine and Other Stories
 * Thomas' Christmas Party and 17 other stories
 * The Biggest Ever Christmas Collection
 * Peep Peep Party
 * Seasonal Scrapes
 * The Complete First Series
 * Children's Christmas Favourites
 * Christmas Collection

DVD Packs

 * Classic Collection

US

 * 'Tis A Gift
 * Thomas' Christmas Party and Other Favorite Stories
 * Thomas' Christmas Wonderland and other Thomas Adventures
 * Thomas' Snowy Surprise and Other Adventures
 * The Early Years
 * Ultimate Christmas
 * Season 1 (Digital Download)

DVD Boxsets

 * Celebrate with Thomas
 * Sodor Friends Holiday Collection
 * Holiday Favorites

JPN

 * Thomas the Tank Engine Vol.6
 * The Complete Works of Thomas the Tank Engine 1 Vol.6
 * Thomas's Christmas

AUS

 * Coal and other stories
 * The Biggest Ever Christmas Collection
 * The Complete First Series

DVD Boxsets

 * Complete Series 1-10

FRA

 * Chatty Trains
 * The Talkative Trains

PHL

 * Down the Mine

NZ

 * Percy Runs Away and Other Stories
 * Bumper Video Collection Volume 2

NOR

 * Thomas Celebrates Christmas
 * Thomas the Tank Engine

FIN/ISL

 * Thomas the Tank Engine 3

GER

 * The 9 Best Christmas Stories
 * Thomas and His Friends Vol. 3
 * Lots of Little Helpers

NL

 * Merry Christmas!
 * The Greatest Stories: The Adventures of Thomas

BRA

 * Christmas in the Beautiful Land of Thomas

IN

 * Down the Mine and Other Stories (DVD)

ITA

 * The Grumpy Locomotive

MYS

 * Thomas' Christmas Party and Other Thomas Adventures

ROM

 * Thomas and Percy (Romanian DVD)

DVD Packs

 * Triple Pack 1

SER

 * Thomas the Tank Engine 2 (Serbian DVD)

SVN

 * Thomas and the Christmas Tree (Slovenian DVD)

HRV

 * Thomas in Trouble (Croatian DVD)

WAL

 * Letting Off Steam and 8 Other Stories

CHN

 * Thomas and Friends Season 1-4 (DVD)

TWN

 * Thomas and Friends Volume 3 (Taiwanese DVD)

DNK

 * Thomas in Trouble and Other Stories (Danish DVD)
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