Phineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation!

Phineas and Ferb turn the city of Danville into a giant thank you card for Santa Claus because they feel nobody ever thanks him for all the joy he brings to the world. Doofenshmirtz uses a device called the "Naughty-inator" to put the city of Danville on Santa's naughty list.

Act One
It's the morning of Christmas Eve and Phineas and Ferb are shown flying through the air on the "dual toboggan" beds. Meanwhile, Candace is in her room, talking to her mom on her cellphone. Linda and Lawrence are waiting for Lawrence's parents at the airport as the flight from England has been delayed. Linda is getting quite bored with Candace's dilemma about the perfect gift for Jeremy Johnson and asks Candace what her brothers are up to after muttering, "Forgive me, boys.". Candace says that they are doing nothing, "which is weird." Candace quickly hangs up the phone and dashes to Phineas and Ferb's room.

She finds them sitting in their beds, having just landed in from outside. Candace is confused because she had not seen Phineas and Ferb on their trip through Danville in bed. Phineas mentions seizing the day without getting out of bed, and that they can cross that off their to-do list. Candace grabs the list from Ferb and notices that writing a letter to Santa Claus is number one on their list; she laughs and asks sarcastically when they wrote the list. When Phineas asks if Candace writes a letter to Santa, she laughs scornfully at them. Phineas, a bit upset, shows Candace a presentation of sightings of Santa Claus, and mentions that "making the most out of one day" is pretty interesting to him and Ferb.

Candace soon realizes that this could be the way to get the perfect present for Jeremy: have him write a letter to Santa, telling "in detail" what he wants most, and getting a hold of it to buy him the right gift without looking like a loser. Phineas points out that she could also just ask Jeremy what he wanted "to avoid any unnecessary complications", and once again, Candace laughs him off. Candace leaves and Phineas mentions how awesome Santa is: he gives everything to everyone else, and never asks for anything in return. He asks Ferb if he is thinking what he is thinking, and Ferb responds be handing him a blueprint. After a momentary gross-out (and a quick correction done by Ferb), Phineas decides to turn Danville into a giant thank-you card. Perry the Platypus puts a top hat on a snowman. The snowman comes to life and tells Perry "Wintertime's fun. Follow me!" A loud crash is heard, and the poor snowman's nose rolls over to Perry. He is next shown exiting the Agency's elevator into a agency Christmas party, still holding the carrot. Major Monogram spots him, eats Perry's carrot, and starts imitating the snowman that had just been hit by a plow. Carl mentions that it is "Secret Santa" time, and picks out Perry's present from underneath the tree. Perry opens it up to reveal "A Sal Tuscany Christmas" CD; Carl responds in a way that makes him seem like he is the one who is Perry's Secret Santa. Its note read "Your secret Santa has exquisite taste". Monogram's wristwatch starts making an "uh-oh" sound; Monogram tells Perry to look at the monitor behind him. The Monogram on the screen is briefing Perry when Perry turns around and sees that Monogram is holding up a sign that looks like his shirt he wears when briefing Perry during the summer. Monogram tells Perry to turn around and finishes briefing Perry, who runs off. The agency party commences once again.

Jeremy Johnson gets an early wake-up call from Candace. She confuses him playing drums and asks, "Whatcha doin'?" Isabella is seen putting down her newspaper and looking as though she has sensed a disturbance in the "Whatcha Doin'?" force. Candace is talking about writing a letter to Santa when she is interrupted by Phineas and Ferb, raising a picture of Santa onto the roof. When she continues talking to Jeremy, she has forgotten what she was talking about. Jeremy reminds her that they were talking about giving letters to Santa. She begins to laugh him off, but stops, remembering her plan. Jeremy starts to ask Candace a question when she hangs up, thinking he doesn't suspect a thing.

Phineas and Ferb are on the roof of their house, admiring their creation: a "Rest Stop for Santa". Isabella, Buford, and Baljeet arrive, Buford commenting, "Cool clubhouse". Phineas then explains that it is not a clubhouse, but the ultimate rest and relaxation lounge perfectly tailored to the jolly rubenesque world traveler or a rest stop for Santa. Phineas shows everyone the main highlights of the stop they have prepared for Santa, then explains why they have built it: as a thank-you to Santa. Phineas asks if they have written letters to Santa. Candace laughs in the house, and everyone stares toward her. Phineas finishes by asking if they ever wrote a thank you letter. They give the answer at the same time that they haven't written thank you letters because no one ever said anything about it.

Meanwhile, over at Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated, Perry has just burst through Doofenshmirtz's wall. Shocked, Doofenshmirtz traps Perry by stringing lights around him and a bird on his bill, singing, "And a partridge on a Perry... the platypus!" Doofenshmirtz continues and shows Perry the Naughtyinator. He explains that the naughty juices in the tank are vaporized and shot into the air. He then says that there is only one flaw in his plan: he doesn't hate Christmas. He explains that Christmas was always just okay in his childhood:that there was no "scarring back-story" to go along with it. To further explain his feelings to Perry, he starts singing. He mentions that he did not even make the plans himself; they were mailed to him from his Uncle Justin from Borneo, where he is rumored to be in hiding. He gives Perry quite a shock when he presses a button and says there is nothing else to do, until a chair pops out of the ground and he flops in it, saying, "...but to sit and wait for a reason," which relieves Perry and the partridge.

Act Two
Phineas and Ferb are on a podium, announcing to everyone how they will be decorating Danville, and the decoration commences. A little festive music plays as a montage of the decoration. Candace is shown doing a dance while walking and singing a bit of "That Christmas Feeling" when she arrives at the Johnson Residence. She almost reveals what she is doing but stops herself. When Jeremy is distracted by the new arrival of tinsel, Candace is distraught and calls after him, saying that she "already licked the stamps!"

Back at D.E.I., Doofenshmirtz is saying that all he wanted for Christmas was the ability to hate Christmas. A knock at the door brings him off his dilemma for a minute, and when he opens his door, there are some carolers singing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas". Doofenshmirtz comments that this is one of the reasons why he just can't hate Christmas. However, when the carolers barge in and start asking for "figgy pudding" in their song, Doofenshmirtz gets so aggravated by them that he fires the Naughtyinator.

The North Pole's satellites have picked up that Danville is naughty. A long list of names streams out on a piece of paper, caught by Blay'n, who tusk-tusk at it. Clewn't comes over, complaining that children get worse and worse every year. A random elf comes over and starts blabbing to Blay'n about Clewn't (and keeps repeating the phrase "in fact"), and when he realizes that Blay'n has walked away, he mutters to himself " 'just go up and talk to the first person you see... that's how you make friends!' I'm never going to another seminar." At the Flynn-Fletcher residence, Phineas, Ferb, and Candace have noticed that the sky has gone dark. Phineas states "Is it me, or does the sky look really dark and ominous, as if its foreshadowing events which will have a negative impact on our lives". A long line of mail trucks come driving up the snowy drive, and the last one stops, a mailman getting out. He apologizes to Phineas and Ferb, saying that everyone's letter to Santa was returned after being branded naughty. Phineas asks Candace how that could possible, and then Candace then mentions how the boys got everyone in Danville involved in their "hare-brained schemes". Phineas, realizing Candace's point, suddenly thinks that this whole situation is his fault. He asks Candace "you think this could be my fault?" to which Candace replies, "Sometimes we do things without knowing they're naughty. Sometimes, we do a whole summer's worth of them!" Phineas is last seen looking disappointingly at the branded letter.

Act Three
Phineas and Ferb see in the news that Danville has been stamped naughty and that Santa is not coming to Danville. Upon waking up, Phineas sits straight up in bed, saying, "It was all a bad dream; Christmas wasn't canceled." Isabella points out that however many times he tries that method, it isn't going to work, then asks him if he's going to stay in bed for the rest of his life. Phineas replies with a "Why not?" Isabella points out that the mall closes in 20 minutes. The scene zooms out to show they are in a mattress store in the mall. Baljeet and Buford are discussing Christmas. Buford "has a method": act any way you want all year long, and then right before Christmas, perform one big selfless act of kindness. Baljeet mentions that he wants a kiss from someone under the mistletoe, to which Buford replies "I'm outta here" and leaves. Baljeet calls after him that he meant a nice girl, not Buford.

Meanwhile, over at D.E.I., the Naughtyinator is still running and the carolers are still hassling Doofenshmirtz for some figgy pudding. ("We won't go until we get some, it's the principle of the thing!") Perry chatters angrily at them and Doofenshmirtz complains that the carolers are still not getting it through their heads that Christmas is gone and storms off. One of the carolers suggests the song "But It's Christmas, Becky!" to which another caroler replies, probably Becky, "You have got to get over me, Josh."

Candace and Jeremy are outside a store, and Jeremy is talking on his cellphone. When he hangs up he explains to Candace that Suzy is pretty upset that Santa is not coming to Danville, and that he needs to get home. When Candace tries to get him to do some last minute window shopping, Jeremy asks what is really wrong. The way Candace tries to explain that she wants to know what Jeremy wants for Christmas is a bit confusing, so Jeremy ends up leaving, baffled. Phineas, Isabella, and Baljeet are lamenting the fact that Danville was branded naughty when Phineas gets an idea to go to a radio station and broadcast a song to the North Pole. Blay'n and Clewn't see what is going on and decide to come to Danville to see what's gone wrong. Doofenshmirtz is telling the carolers that when he went into the kitchen to get some almond brittle ("Love it!"), he actually did find some figgy pudding (a lot of it) and now is quite sheepish at how easily the problem could have been solved. Phineas and his friends are cleaning up the materials used in the broadcast. Phineas asks if there is any chance that the elves of the North Pole had heard it, then two of Santa's elves show up, Blay'n and Clewn't. Perry is wriggling and trying to get out of his trap when the Sal Tuscany CD he got from his Secret Santa falls onto the floor. Doofenshmirtz spots it and starts to play it, enjoying the last few hours until Christmas is destroyed. Phineas is wondering if the Danville branding was a mistake when Candace walks up. Phineas introduces Blay'n and Clewn't as two of Santa's elves, to which Candace replies, "You've got to be kidding me." Blay'n remarks that it is more like the city itself is misbehaving, but that something is definitely not right around Danville.

Perry's hat is making the same "Uh-oh" sound that Monogram's watch was making earlier. A miniscule television pops out of the hat and Monogram appears on the screen, telling Perry that Carl actually did not give Perry the CD and to not play the CD. Doofenshmirtz conveniently chooses this time to crank up the volume. He listens to "We Wish You a Merry Christmas", which has grown on him. Sudenly, Sal tuscany sings "Christmas can not be destroyed, not even by a naughtyinator!" This then causes the naughtyinator to break and Doofenshmirtz is left puzzeld to how Sal Tuscany did that. Doofenshmirtz curses to himself and Perry jumps up and punches him. Baljeet is sad about the fact that he will never kiss a girl under the mistletoe when Buford gives him a wedgie, saying that he will never get to his one great act of kindness. Phineas asks Isabella if there was a Christmas wish that she was afraid of losing, to which she replied that she didn't really celebrate Christmas, but Hannukah was excellent. Seeing her mistake, she quickly tries to act sad in an attempt to side with them. Phineas asks the elves if they really seem like bad kids, to which Blay'n replies that everyone was reading nice — except for Buford. Phineas says that the elves should contact Santa and tell him to come to Danville. The elves say that it is not that simple and that Santa is not coming to Danville.

Act Four
Phineas decides to bring Christmas to Danville. Getting into the sleigh, Phineas goes over everyone's stations: Candace will keep track of who gets what presents; Blay'n and Clewn't will make the toys; Isabella and Buford will wrap the presents; and Baljeet will feed the presents into the gift shooter, manned by Ferb. Before they take off, Buford is still curious about Phineas and Ferb's rest-stop for Santa, so he asks Phineas "Are you sure [it's] not a clubhouse?". Annoyed, Phineas replies "Yes I'm sure".

The beginning of the trip takes a turn for the worse then the clouds created by the Naughtyinator block Phineas's vision. Buford goes back down and tells everyone to turn on their Christmas lights, clearing up the sky. This gives him his one big act of selfless kindness. A montage takes place, showing the kids doing their various jobs.

Jeremy Johnson has appeared on Candace's computer. Candace tells them to skip this house and cheers, glad that she got Jeremy the right present. When Ferb tries to shoot the last gift, it gets stuck in the gift shooter. Candace mentions that it was Wendy Stinglehopper's present and that she asked for a really big hat. Baljeet goes to free the present and gets caught on it, falling down Wendy's chimney safely because of the parachute, right before Phineas calls out "Baljeet!" Before Baljeet went through Wendy's chimney, he yelled "goodbye my friends!" Wendy gets really excited that Baljeet brought her the hat and kisses him on the cheek under the mistletoe. He laughs lightly, then grabs and kisses her. Baljeet leaves, saying "Later!" Perry is now seen jumping out the window, and Doofenshmirtz mutters to himself that he hates Christmas. He then realizes what he has just said, and cheers because he has gotten his Christmas wish: to be able to hate Christmas. Upon arriving home, Phineas congratulates everyone on their work. Candace excuses herself and prepares to go see Jeremy. Baljeet and Buford arrive, Baljeet commenting that Phineas's house is on fire. Phineas realizes that it is not smoke, but steam. As they get onto the roof, Santa comes out.

Doofenshmirtz is complaining about how much he hates Christmas and smashes Perry's Sal Tuscany CD on the floor. Doofenshmirtz decides to call his Uncle Justin and thank him for the Naughtyinator plans, but looks at the package closely this time and realizes the package says "Barneo", not "Borneo". The operator tells him that Barneo is in the North Pole. Looking closely at the smashed CD on the floor, he sees that the letters of "A Sal Tuscany" can be rearranged to spell "Santa Claus" (with an embarrassing left over "Y" in the mix). He then looks at the cover of the CD case and sees that Sal Tuscany is really Santa Claus, poorly disguising his face with a false black mustache over his white one.

Candace is running out the door to go to Jeremy's house, but when she opens the door, Jeremy is already there. Jeremy gives Candace her present: a pair of earrings. Jeremy said he knew Candace liked them in the magazine and was going to make her good necklace into a pair just like them. When Candace asks how he afforded it, he said he sold his guitar. Candace hands Jeremy the present she got for him: the silver guitar that he had wanted. It turns out that Candace sold her good necklace to get the guitar. They laugh and give each other a hug.

Phineas says he thought Santa was not coming to Danville, to which Santa says that he would not want to miss out on the "Cool rest stop" Phineas had made. He also thanks Phineas for doing "The Danville run" and reads Phineas's Christmas wish to everyone: to be like Santa for one day. Santa asks if he can have the clubhouse, which Buford blurts "I knew it was a clubhouse!" Phineas says that they can, before Santa hitches the rest stop to his sleigh and flies away. After Santa leaves, Phineas asks Ferb what his Christmas wish was. Ferb tells them to look at the paper, which bears the headline "World Peace". Phineas is astounded, but that actually was not what Ferb was looking at. In the bottom corner of the paper, there is a picture of Ferb playing a harmonica with the headline "Local Boy Gets Harmonica". The Flynn-Fletcher station wagon pulls into the driveway and Linda, Lawrence, and Lawrence's parents pile out. As everyone heads inside, Grandma proclaims that she made figgy pudding. We get a brief glance at what everyone gets for Christmas Day. At the end, Perry the Platypus is seen putting a hat on a snowman, as he did before going to the Agency's Christmas party. It looks as if the snowman was run over again, because a carrot rolled over to Perry, but a vegetable truck tipped over, spilling all the vegetables.

Songs
A total of seven songs were written for the special, making the most songs featured in a Phineas and Ferb episode at the time. Among them are:
 * Winter Vacation - Bowling for Soup and Disney Chorus
 * I Really Don't Hate Christmas - Dr. Doofenshmirtz
 * That Christmas Feeling - Olivia Olson
 * Where Did We Go Wrong? - Phineas, Isabella, Baljeet, Candace, Jeremy, and Dan Povenmire
 * Danville for Niceness - Phineas, Isabella, Baljeet, Buford, and Danville citizens
 * Christmas is Starting Now - Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
 * Thank You Santa - Mitchel Musso
 * What Does He Want? - Candace Flynn (extended version only)
 * We Wish You a Merry Christmas - the Carolers
 * Christmas Cannot Be Destroyed Even With a Naughty-Inator - Sal Tuscany
 * The Twelve Days of Christmas (A partridge on a Perry only) - Dr. Doofenshmirtz

One more song, "What Does He Want?", was written for Candace to sing about her dilemma of what to get for Jeremy, but was cut for time. It was reinstated in the 2010 Disney Channel and Disney XD broadcasts.

As part of the special's publicity, the songs were played on Radio Disney in the Christmas season of 2009, and clips of the songs appeared as music videos on the Disney Channel and Disney XD. The songs were made available to download on and  on December 7th, the day after the special aired. They, along with the cut song, are also included on the album Phineas and Ferb Holiday Favorites.

The "Too Young" Line
None.

Perry's entrance to his lair
Perry brings a snowman to life and it gets run over and his carrot nose rolls back into the yard. Perry enters his lair to find the Agency's Christmas party has already begun and Monogram eats the carrot.

Evil Jingle
Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated!

Background Information

 * Santa Claus is responsible for: Sending Doofenshmirtz the plans for the "Naughtyinator" and giving Perry the Platypus the Sal Tuscany CD so that Doofenshmirtz will ruin Christmas in Danville and give Phineas the opportunity to save Christmas and get is Christmas wish of being like Santa Claus. Doofenshmirtz also gets his wish to hate Christmas.
 * Throughout the majority of the series, Phineas's height is less than Isabella's. However, possibly because this episode occured AFTER summer had ended, Phineas probably had a growth spurt, and is seen as about the same height as Isabella.
 * What everybody got for Christmas:
 * Phineas: A snowboard and the ability to be like Santa.
 * Ferb: Two bouncy balls & a harmonica.
 * Candace: Earrings (from Jeremy), and two pairs of her summer clothes.
 * Jeremy: A silver guitar (from Candace)
 * Linda: A Lindana T-Shirt.
 * Isabella: A Santa's Helper patch.
 * Buford: A baseball bat and his friends thinking of him as nice.
 * Baljeet: A calculator (which Buford automatically smashes to pieces with his bat), and a kiss under the mistletoe from Wendy Stinglehopper.
 * Irving: A pair of Phineas and Ferb's clothes.
 * Perry: A new bowl (from Phineas & Ferb), a vase (from Doofenshmirtz), and a Sal Tuscany Christmas CD (from his Secret Santa who is really Santa Claus; not Carl).
 * Doofenshmirtz: Almond Brittle (from Perry the Platypus) and the ability to hate Christmas.
 * Monogram: A nice picture of him and Carl (from Carl).
 * Carl: A signed picture of Monogram, saying "To whom it may concern, Merry X-mas" (from Monogram).
 * Meap: A picture of Phineas, Ferb, and Candace.
 * All Christmas wishes that are known were granted:
 * Phineas - To be just like Santa Claus
 * Ferb - A Harmonica
 * Buford - To be thought of as a good person by his friends.
 * Baljeet - To kiss a pretty girl (Wendy Stinglehopper) under mistletoe.
 * Doofenshmirtz - To have the ability to hate Christmas.
 * The vase that Doofenshmirtz gives to Perry was foreshadowed on a previous episode. Major Monogram accidentally tells Perry to expect this vase for Chrismtas.
 * Ferb, when one realizes it, got his harmonica on Christmas EVE, not Christimas Day. Although news presses regularly insert breaking news as the paper go to press, potentially past midnight making it Christmas day 1 second past 11:59:59PM Christmas Eve.
 * This episode is the first one not taking place in summer.
 * Baljeet may have some affection for Wendy because he acts shy around her and kisses her. He also saves her present.
 * Dr. Doofenshmirtz has an Uncle Justin hiding in Barneo. Although, the plans for the "Naughtyinator" are really from Santa Claus so Uncle Justin may be elsewhere!
 * It is still unknown how the book Oh, Christmas Tree! fits in with the events in this episode.
 * The other name for Danville for Niceness is "Santa, What Gives?"
 * When the Sal Tuscany CD breaks, Doofenshmirtz notices the letters are an anagram of "Santa Claus with an embarrassing extra 'Y'". "Sal Tuscany" is an anagram of "Santy Claus", similar to the name "Sandy Claws" in The Nightmare before Christmas, but the writers seem to have used "A Sal Tuscany" for the anagram instead. At the end of the scene Doofenshmirtz exclaims "Sal Tuscany is Santy Claus?"
 * This episode reveals that Candace can play the contrabass. (Although prior to this episode, it may have been obvious since "Mom's Birthday" reveals that she can play the bass guitar, which is basically a guitar-sized clone of the double bass.)
 * This special further confirms Isabella is at least part Jewish, as it she affirms her celebration of Hanukkah.
 * Isabella says that she writes letters to Santa in the beginning, but later she says that she doesn't celebrate Christmas and that she celebrates Hanukkah. She may have just said that to help Phineas's point, or she may be half-Jewish. (If one's mother is Jewish, then they are considered a Jew as well.) Although, Garcia is a common Hispanic surname (and typically the maiden name in her name configuration while Shapiro is a relatively common Jewish surname.) This could also mean that Isabella does not celebrate religious Christmas, just commercial. Santa Claus is generally considered a more commercial part of Christmas, not tied down to a particular religion.
 * Candace called Jeremy "her little drummer boy" and "her little town of Bethlehem". Since "The Little Drummer Boy" and "O Little Town of Bethlehem" are Christian Christmas carols, this may signify that Candace and, presumably, the rest of her family, are Christians.
 * In this episode, Isabella, Candace, Grandpa Fletcher, and Grandma Fletcher are the only ones who wear their regular outfits. Although Isabella, Candace, and Grandma Fletcher also wear winter outfits in outdoors scenes.
 * Vanessa, Stacy, and Gretchen are the most recurring characters that don't appear in the episode, although Vanessa is heard singing That Christmas Feeling, as well as Stacy being mentioned when Candace is talking on the phone. Stacy also has a cameo appearance in the extended episode during the song What Does He Want?
 * Isabella's voice is slightly higher pitched every time she sings in this episode. It could just be because she sings using a different voice than The Ballad of Badbeard and In the Mall.
 * This is one of the rare chances to see Phineas angry, or just plain old unhappy.
 * Santa Claus uses the Yiddish word "shvitz," which means "sweat." This usage, combined with the stereotypical Yiddish music that plays as he says it, may imply that Santa is at least part Jewish.
 * While the kids are singing Danville for Niceness, Phineas is looking bored until Isabella comes in shot, then he looks at her with admiration. This suggests some attraction between the two.
 * This is the second time Buford is seen with a baseball bat. ("Swiss Family Phineas")
 * In Spain this episode was emitted on 4th December on Disney XD, the same day that in the USA, on Disney XD.
 * Doofenshmirtz, after tying up Perry, placed a partridge on his beak and sang, "And a partridge on a Perry. The platypus!" Coincidentally, the name "Perry" actually does mean "pear tree".
 * A book based off this episode was released September 13, 2011.
 * A another Christmas episode for the series will premiere on December 2, 2011: A Phineas and Ferb Family Christmas.

Promotion and availability
The special was promoted through a multi-platform campaign, which saw the seven musical numbers from the special broadcast on Radio Disney starting November 17, 2009, and Phineas and Ferb appearing in the Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade, broadcast by ABC on Christmas Day. Following its premiere on Disney XD, the special became available on video on demand systems, mobile platforms, the Xbox Live Marketplace, and the iTunes Store (where the songs are also available for download).

A DVD of the special, titled Phineas and Ferb: A Very Perry Christmas, was released on October 5, 2010. It featured the special along with four regular episodes of the series, all centered on Perry - "Interview With a Platypus", "Oh, There You Are, Perry", "Chez Platypus", and "Perry Lays an Egg", plus a bonus episode, "The Doof Side of the Moon", which had not yet aired in the United States at the time of the DVD's release (it was broadcast on the Disney Channel three days later). The DVD's bonus features also included a segment where Santa reads the characters' letters to him, and a featurette on the making of the songs. In addition, the DVD was packaged with a free Perry iron-on. Copies of the DVD sold at also came with a bonus disc featuring the episode "The Chronicles of Meap" with special audio commentaries.

Production Information

 * This episode exists in two versions: in a 45 minute full version (actual runtime 33 minutes) and in a 30 minute version (actual runtime 22 minutes) with several scenes cut to fit the channel's regular standard time slot., and was released on DVD on October 5, 2010 as A Very Perry Christmas.
 * The 30 minute version was broadcast on at least three ABC affiliates in 2009: KOMO, on December 12th at 1 p.m. with a repeat that was scheduled for December 20th at 4:30 p.m., KATV in Little Rock, and WABC in New York.
 * The Walt Disney Company had such high hopes for the episode that it aired not only on Disney XD (December 6, 2009) and Disney Channel (December 11), but ABC the next day (12/12) in a 30 min version and ABC Family (December 18) as well. This was the first time ABC Family has ever broadcast an episode of Phineas and Ferb .
 * Radio Disney released "Christmas Is Starting Now" from the episode on November 27, 2009.
 * When this special was shown on Disney Channel and ABC Family, it was paired with "S'Winter", presumably due to its winter theme. On other times, though, it was with "Toy to the World".
 * Django Marsh, Swampy's son, is credited at the end for additional voices.
 * iTunes released a free music video and the soundtrack to the Christmas special became available on the day after the special aired on Disney XD.
 * Series co-creators Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh, along with the special's director Zac Moncrief, have announced their hopes that the special will become a holiday classic.
 * The writers wrote a total of seven songs for the special and hope for them to become "songs that this generation of kids will think of as Christmas songs the same way that kids think of 'Welcome Christmas' (from How The Grinch Stole Christmas) or 'Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer'."
 * This episode is tied with "Wizard of Odd", "Phineas and Ferb Musical Cliptastic Countdown", and "Phineas and Ferb Summer Belongs to You!" for containing the 2nd most songs in a single episode with 7 songs, including a revamped intro, beating out Dude, We're Getting the Band Back Together's record of 5 songs. If What Does He Want? from the Extended Edition is counted, the total number of songs is 8, which would be in 2nd place, one short of Rollercoaster: The Musical!, which has the current record at 9 songs.
 * Disney XD UK aired the ABC Family version of the 2009 Christmas Special on December 20, 2010.
 * International premieres:
 * December 07, 2009 (Disney XD UK)
 * December 12, 2009 (Disney XD Spain)
 * December 17, 2009 (Disney Channel Latin America)
 * December 18, 2009 (Disney XD Germany)
 * December 21, 2009 (Disney Channel Netherlands/Flanders)
 * December 21, 2009 (Disney Channel Spain)
 * December 25, 2009 (Disney XD Netherlands and Disney Channel Scandinavia)
 * 2010 Broadcasts:
 * November 26, 2010 (Disney XD Germany)
 * December 3, 2010 (Disney Channel US) runtime: 40 minutes (Extended Edition, includes a new song, What Does He Want?)
 * December 4, 2010 (Disney XD US) runtime: 45 minutes (Extended Edition)
 * December 4, 2010 (Disney XD Spain) runtime: 36 minutes (Extended Edition, called "Navidad con Perry" ("Christmas with Perry", a rough translation of "A Very Perry Christmas"), includes a new song, What Does He Want?)
 * December 6, 2010 (Disney XD Germany) - Extended Edition
 * December 9, 2010 (Disney XD UK) - Extended Edition
 * December 11, 2010 (Disney XD Poland)
 * December 17, 2010 (Disney Channel Latin America) runtime: 45 minutes (Extended Edition, called "Una Muy Perryz Navidad" (A Very Perry Christmas), includes a new song, What Does He Want?)
 * December 17, 2010 (Disney Channel Brazil) - Extended Edition
 * December 18, 2010 (Disney Channel Asia) - Extended Edition
 * December 20, 2010 (Disney Channel and XD Netherlands/Flanders) - runtime: 40 minutes (Short Version)
 * December 24, 2010 (Disney XD Netherlands and Disney XD Germany) - Extended Edition

Reception
Phineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation! garnered 2.62 million viewers during its debut on Disney XD, the most watched telecast in the channel's history or its predecessor Toon Disney, and the number three program of the night in all demographics. It received 5.213 million viewers for its debut on Disney Channel, the first (and to date, only) episode to exceed 5 million viewers. It was the highest rated episode of the series to date and 5th highest for the week.

Series co-founders Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh, along with the special's director Zac Moncrief, have announced their hopes that the special will become a holiday classic. The special's broadcast on Disney XD was preceded by an "all weekend-long" marathon of the show, and the Disney Channel broadcast was preceded by a six-hour marathon of the show. The premiere of this special on Disney XD drew 2.62 million viewers, making it the most watched telecast ever on Disney XD. Its Disney Channel premiere made it the most watched episode of the series to date, drawing 5.2 million viewers.

Syndicated version edits
When shown in half-hour form on ABC, the following edits were made in order to fit the special within a half-hour time slot:
 * The first scene of Phineas and Ferb test-driving their beds as toboggans (after the opening sequence) is cut. In its place, an establishing shot of the Flynn-Fletcher household (not used in the full-length version) is used.
 * Candace's conversation with Linda is shortened down.
 * Audio of Phineas saying "Well, [Ferb and I are] hardly lollygagging" is added to the shot of the parachute outside his window. The conversation between him and Candace following that is also shortened.
 * Perry approaching Frosty is shortened down. The shot of Frosty's carrot nose rolling up to Perry after he gets run over is also cut.
 * The second half of Monogram's video message to Perry (from "We don't know what Doofenshmirtz is up to" to "It's a party! Wa-hey!") is cut.
 * Part of Candace's phone call to Jeremy (including Candace saying "Whatcha doin'?" to Jeremy on the phone (and Isabella sensing it, and Phineas and Ferb raising a picture of Santa onto the roof) is cut.
 * Phineas's description of the inside rooms of Santa's rest stop is cut.
 * Doofenshmirtz's speech about his plans to use the Naughtyinator is slightly shortened. The second verse of "I Really Don't Hate Christmas" is also cut. Also, a reaction shot of Perry is added in immediately after the song, replacing part of the shot of Doofenshmirtz walking to pick up the box he received the device in.
 * The first verse of "That Christmas Feeling" is skipped. Phineas's announcement before the song is shortened, and Candace singing the song afterwards is also cut.
 * The carolers skip immediately to "Now bring us some figgy pudding" in the edited version, and Doofenshmirtz's reaction is shortened.
 * The scene of Blay'n receiving the report of Danville being naughty is cut entirely. As a result, the establishing shot of the North Pole's Naughty Investigation Unit building is moved to the middle of "Danville for Niceness".
 * Candace trying to make Phineas and Ferb stop their "ridiculous efforts to thank Santa Claus" is cut. Additionally, in the same scene, Jeremy doesn't appear at all in the half-hour version. As a result, when Phineas is looking at his envelope and saying "Santa thinks everyone in Danville's been naughty?", Jeremy is removed from the shot.
 * The news report about Danville's Christmas being cancelled is shortened down to one shot, with the dialogue changed to "In case you're just joining us, Christmas has been cancelled in the city of Danville!"
 * Phineas and Isabella's conversation at the mall is shortened, as is Buford and Baljeet's.
 * Candace's argument with Jeremy and "Where Did We Go Wrong" are skipped entirely.
 * Baljeet and Buford's verse of "Danville for Niceness" is skipped.
 * Phineas only says "Well, [performing the song] was fun at least" in the full-length version.
 * Phineas introducing Candace to Blay'n and Clewn't, and Candace and Clewn't discussing why they think the city was branded naughty, is cut.
 * Baljeet, Buford, and Isabella giving their reactions to the idea that Christmas isn't coming is cut.
 * The kids reacting to when Blay'n says "Santa's not coming to Danville" and him repeating the statement is cut.
 * The rest of the gang and Candace agreeing to help Phineas and Ferb save Christmas is skipped, as well as the scene of Phineas explaining their position in the sleigh. In the syndicated version, this is replaced by a -style cut from Phineas saying "We're gonna save Christmas!" to a shot, exclusively made for this version, of the elves in the sleigh with the camera zooming out to show the kids in there with them. This shot even includes some dialogue not heard in the full-length version (Blay'n: "By jingle, these kids can build things fast!" Clewn't: "I told you, I read their files!")
 * Candace pointing out that the computer still says Buford is naughty and Clewn't changing it is cut, skipping straight to Candace watching it change to say Buford is nice.
 * "Christmas is Starting Now" is shortened.
 * A brief cut to Clewn't when Candace sees Jeremy's Christmas wish is only in the full-length version.
 * Baljeet delivering Wendy's hat is shortened (Wendy pointing out her mistletoe to Baljeet is cut).
 * Doofenshmirtz declaring "This is the best Christmas ever!" is only in the full-length version.
 * Baljeet and Phineas's lines regarding the steam coming from the rest stop ("Not to alarm you, but your house is on fire." "That's not fire, it's steam! Come on!") is different in the edited version ("Hey look! Someone is using your clubhouse!" "Come on, let's check it out!").
 * The shot of Doofenshmirtz throwing the Sal Tuscany CD to the ground is replaced by a nighttime establishing shot of his building. The shot of Doofenshmirtz then looking at the remains of the disc and noticing that Sal Tuscany's name is an anagram of Santa Claus a few seconds later is cut as well.
 * Candace and Jeremy's conversation about their gifts is shortened.
 * The group shot after Santa says "Merry Christmas, Phineas" is skipped.
 * Much of the second half of "Thank You Santa" is cut.

References to other Christmas specials

 * The scene of the yeti putting the star on top of a Christmas tree in the title sequence is a parody of The Abominable Snowmonster of the North doing the same thing in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
 * Perry's entrance to his hideout involves putting a top hat on a snowman and bringing it to life, ala Frosty the Snowman.
 * The music played when the lights come on sounds similar to "Suite from The Polar Express".
 * The music is also similar a song in the movie Elf.
 * The visuals in the end credits include a scene with the kids mimicking the dancing scene from A Charlie Brown Christmas.
 * O Come All Ye Faithful - During a commercial for the this special, an electric guitar version of O Come All Ye Faithful can be heard.
 * We Wish You a Merry Christmas - A group of carolers sing this song to Doofenshmirtz. They are later seen sharing a large tub of figgy pudding. This song is also on the Sal Tuscany CD.
 * The entire plot of this episode is reamarkabaly similar to that of an old animated Christmas special titled "'Twas the Night Before Christmas". In this film, an entire city was deemed "naughty" by a single, selfish act, resulting in everyone's letters to Santa being returned with stamps on them. The characters in this film also used music to get Santa's attention.
 * Gift of the Magi - Candace and Jeremy both sold personal possessions to get a perfect gift for the other. However, unlike the story, the personal items were to be converted into the gifts, instead of complements to them. Candace sold her necklace which would have been complemented by the "perfect" ear rings in order to buy the silver guitar Jeremy wanted and would have traded his guitar for but instead traded them for Candace's ear rings.
 * It's a Wonderful Life - When Phineas is trying to "wake up" out of the Christmas situation, he makes a remark about how different things would be had he never woken up that morning. This is similar to the fate-altering wish in this film.
 * Candace constantly calls Jeremy nicknames inspired by Christmas carols.
 * This title is a parody of the 1989 film, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.
 * A Christmas Carol - When Carl got angry with Major Monogram, Monogram called Carl, "Scrooge".
 * 'Twas The Night Before Christmas - Candace calling Jeremy "my little bowl full of jelly" alludes to this story, where Santa's laughing belly is compared to that.
 * Ferb points out the "Local Boy Gets a Harmonica" article to Phineas, which almost certainly is probably a reference to the plot of "A Chipmunk Christmas".
 * Garfield Christmas - The little boy is wearing blue footies with a bunny face like Doc Boy.
 * An All Dogs' Chirstmas Carol - During the What Does he Want? sequence Candace uses a disk as a tutu which is simliar to the pie tutu worn by Killer in the I Always Get Emotinal at Christmas song.

Other Allusions

 * Spider-Man - In the song That Christmas Feeling, Ferb shoots out strings of Christmas lights and swings from them in the same manner that Spider-Man does with his webs.
 * When Phineas shows proof of Santa to Candace, one is similar to the Patterson-Gimlin Film, possibly the most famous pieces of evidence regarding Bigfoot's existence. Another is similar to the Surgeon's Photograph, a famous (but hoaxed) picture of the Loch Ness Monster, and the third is based on the Shroud of Turin, an ancient cloth believed to have the face of Christ imprinted on it.
 * ICQ - When Monogram got a message or calls Perry it's preceded by an "uh-oh".
 * Barneo - The package that is sent to Doofenshmirtz is from Camp Barneo, an ice-floe base from North Pole, but Doofenshmirtz believes it's from his "Uncle Justin hiding in Borneo" (also called Kalimantan), an Island in Indonesia.
 * James Bond series - When Linda is at the airport, one of the flights on the board behind her is flight number 007.
 * The Rockettes - The girls dancing in the background of Doofenshmirtz's song I Really Don't Hate Christmas are similar to the Rockettes, including the kickline.
 * When Buford rides through the city, yelling, "Christmas is coming," it's similar to Paul Revere's legendary ride shouting that the British were coming, including a hand bell.
 * The Breakfast Club - During the song "Christmas is Starting Now," the kids are dancing on the ledge of the sleigh in a manner similar to how the Breakfast Club kids dance along a railing during the dance scene in the library.
 * Psycho - After Candace says "What'cha doin'?'" and we see Isabella, a version of the famous "musical sting" can be heard.
 * The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle and Friends - During the song Danville for Niceness, the sign says "Danville for Niceness or: Santa, What Gives?", which is similar to the end of each Rocky and Bullwinkle show where two titles for the next show would be announced, usually puns of each other.
 * Family Guy - Phineas yells in reaction to Ferb's inversed blueprint, thinking that it looks disgusting. He yells in a similar manner as Stewie Griffin when he watches "Two Girls, One Cup".

Errors

 * After Candace ends her phone call with her mother, she pokes her head into the hallway and sees Phineas and Ferb's bedroom door, down on her left. This shouldn't be possible, as Candace's bedroom window faces the backyard (as evidenced on numerous occasions, such as in "Jerk De Soleil", "Fireside Girl Jamboree", and "Wizard of Odd"), while the boys' room overlooks the front yard (later shown when they land their rocket-powered dual toboggan). Furthermore, the boys' bedroom window is placed directly across from their door, as is the case with Candace. This would make it impossible that the kids' rooms are side-by-side, as they would have to have windows facing the same direction, or windows that look out the sides of the house, instead of in the front and the back. Going by that evidence, their rooms would have to be directly across the hall, not beside each other. This could also be that she might have moved rooms.
 * Doofenshmirtz pushes the same button to have his chair appear and to activate the Naughty-inator.
 * In some scenes of this special, Phineas is taller than Isabella (such as the scene where the two are singing Danville for Niceness) Though this is inconsistent throughout the episode, it could suggest that Phineas had a growth spurt after the summer where the rest of the series takes place, which is highly likely considering his age.
 * When we see the O.W.C.A Christmas party, we hear conversations in the background. This is impossible since the animals can't talk.
 * When Santa says "May I do the honors?" Isabella's hair outline is over her body.
 * When Baljeet pushes the present through the cannon a red bow appeared but when he crashed through the chimney it is gone.
 * Phineas, Ferb and their friends are on the platform above their house, when Ferb shows them the newspaper, but in the next scene they're outside the backyard, their friends have gone, and Candace has appeared next to Phineas and Ferb.
 * When Phineas and Ferb are talking about thanking Santa on their rooftop by the rest stop, Isabella says she wrote to Santa. Later she admits she doesn't celebrate Christmas, but had eight straight days of dreams come true for Hanukkah.
 * Phineas is the only person in Danville shown to get his letter back from Santa Claus, yet when Santa is on the roof of Phineas and Ferb's and has just came out of the rest stop, he takes Phineas's letter out and reads it.
 * When Phineas is describing the rest stop he mentions an elliptical machine, however the only exercise machine is a recumbent bike trainer.
 * During the O.W.C.A. party, when Carl gives Perry his Secret Santa gift, there is a bear agent standing behind him. After he gives it to him, and the camera zooms in on him and Monogram,it is gone. However when Monogram's watch goes off, it is back.

Continuity

 * Based on Candace's dialogue in this episode, it takes place after the summer in which the rest of the episodes so far occur. This is additionally confirmed by Jeff "Swampy" Marsh on the Phineas and Ferb wiki.
 * Both the Yeti in the shower and the Yeti being carted into the backyard past a gossiping Candace are direct parodies from the regular opening credits.
 * When Buford comments on the "cool clubhouse", the melody from S'Winter(song) can be heard in the background.
 * The "Kronk for Hire" cue plays as Phineas explains the features of Santa's rest stop.
 * Meap from The Chronicles of Meap and Irving ("Hide and Seek", "Phineas and Ferb Musical Cliptastic Countdown" etc.) make a cameo appearance.
 * The Farmer and Farmer's Wife from "Leave the Busting to Us!" are seen during Thank You Santa, where a larger present falls out of the sky onto her. They've also been seen in a few other episodes ("Put That Putter Away", "Picture This", "Hip Hip Parade", "Suddenly Suzy").
 * When Baljeet says "Well? Aren't you going to ask me what my Christmas wish is?" it could be a nod to Mom's Birthday, when Candace says nearly the exact same thing. ("Mom's Birthday")
 * During the song I Really Don't Hate Christmas, there is a photo of Dr. Doofenshmirtz with four of the scientists from Nerdy Dancin'.
 * Dr. Doofenshmirtz is wearing panda slippers, likely an homage to Peter the Panda, his temporary "other nemesis", who appeared in "It's About Time!". He's also been seen wearing them in a handful of other episodes ("Comet Kermillian").
 * This is actually the second time one of Doofenshmirtz' plans actually SUCCEEDS in any measurable degree (first was in That Sinking Feeling). This scheme lasted for the majority of the episode, but this was also the first plan Perry himself did not foil, but rather Santa (disguised as Sal Tuscany). Santa may have given Doofenshmirtz the plans, as well.
 * This episode marks the return of Suzy Johnson ("Crack That Whip", "Comet Kermillian" et.ali.). However, she does not have an active part in the story nor does she have any speaking lines. She only gives Candace an angry glare when she came over to visit Jeremy.
 * 2 items are from "Gaming the System":
 * 1) Dr. Doofenshmirtz is wearing a dress in his family Christmas photo, a nod to his flashback.
 * 2) Perry received a vase from Dr. Doofenshmirtz for Christmas as Major Monogram had mentioned he was going to earlier.
 * All of the regular cast has either a speaking role or a cameo appearance except for Django Brown, Vanessa Doofenshmirtz (due the fact that her voice actor is heard singing "That Christmas Feeling"), Charlene Doofenshmirtz, Gretchen, and Norm.
 * It has been shown that Candace's friend Jenny has a desire for world peace ("Day of the Living Gelatin"), which may have been a Christmas Wish causing the world peace, shown in the newspaper on Christmas morning. World Peace is also a stereotypical Christmas wish. Also from the same episode, Candace's line calling Jeremy "My little bowl full of jelly" this could be a reference to this episode. Candace had made a jelly head of Jeremy for the jelly party she had with Stacy and Jenny.
 * When Candace says "Whatcha doin'?" to Jeremy in her phone, Isabella is across the street in her house and reacts to it being said by someone other than herself. This is the second instance of long-distance perception, the first being when Doofenshmirtz feels a "disturbance in the cup stacking universe". ("Thaddeus and Thor")
 * When Candace is calling Stacy, a poster from Ready for the Bettys can be seen.
 * Agent P is again wrapped in Christmas lights by Dr. Doofenshmirtz, as he was in One Good Scare Ought to Do It!
 * Candace's explanations about idioms (by mouth I mean Jeremy) in the same way that Doof said "by fire I mean Perry the Platypus" ("Cheer Up Candace") and Monogram when he denyed Agent P's vacation ("Put That Putter Away")