Sam Drucker is selling artificial Christmas trees that squirt "genuine spruce spray" from the top and ooze fake sap from the trunk. Oliver is horrified; he wants an old fashioned Christmas with a real tree, but first he must get a permit from Mr. Kimball to chop one down. After decorating a real tree on Christmas Eve, the neighbors drop by the Douglases for an evening of songs and Lisa's hotscake "fruitscake".