It is 1933, during the Depression, and being Christmas Eve, the Walton family are in the midst of their Christmas preparations and hoping to celebrate it together. The problem is that there are many events which seem to prevent John Walton (Daddy) from arriving home to share this Christmas with his family. The majority of the film then has Olivia wishing and hoping that he will make it home, the children rushing to the door to see if the noises they hear are their Daddy, and John-Boy heading out into the snowy night to try to find him. Eventually Daddy walks through the door, and the first Walton Christmas "miracle" has occurred. We are also introduced to the little old ladies, the Baldwin sisters, the makers of bootleg whiskey, a venture that doesn't go down at all well with Olivia. We learn that John-Boy writes down all his secret thoughts, but tries to keep this from his parents, especially his father. He wants to go to University but feels that there is no way that his family could afford to send him. (thetvdb.com)