- Phoebe tracks down her father, but isn't sure whether she should meet him.
- The friends are preparing for the festive season. Rachel is still mad at Ross. Phoebe realizes her mother lied to her and gave her a picture of a model pretending it was Phoebes father. She goes to see her grandmother who tells her Phoebe her father is really a pharmacist and not a worshipped tree surgeon in Burma. Phoebe's grandmother gives her a photo of her real dad. Ross suggests that Rachel should make a list about him to feel better. She makes the list and does feel better but Ross drives everyone nuts trying to prove every point on the list wrong. Chandler and Joey go with Phoebe to see her dad. Rachel and Monica have a Christmas party at their place. Phoebe doesn't want to be disappointed in her dad and doesn't go to meet her dad.—Anonymous
- On Christmas, Monica is strapped for cash and cannot afford to tip the service people servicing her apartment or building (like the postman, newspaper man, the building supervisor). So she bakes home made cookies and gives to all servicemen, against Ross's advise. The initial reactions are bad when the newspaper is delivered to her door in the worst possible shape. Then the mailman delivers Judy's Christmas ornaments (in a bag marked fragile), all broken and with a huge boot print all over the package. To top it off, the Monica and Rachel are throwing a Christmas eve's party and Ross breaks the radiator knob, with the radiator stuck at the highest setting. The building supervisor Mr Treeger (Mike Hagerty) informs the girls that the new knob cannot be found until after the holidays. Ross begs them to pay him, but Monica refuses.
Phoebe discovers that the framed picture of her father that her grandmother (Audra Lindley) keeps in her apartment is actually the photo model (it is the same photo model as was on Ross's photo frame, that he bought as a gift). Phoebe confronts her Grams and after continuing to lie initially, Grams admits that her real father lives upstate. She hid this truth as Phoebe was better off without him, whom she considers as an irresponsible person (Frank Buffay) for abandoning his young family. Phoebe spends days with information services in all upstate cities trying to find the address for Frank Buffay. Grams sees this and realizes that Phoebe is hurting in this identity crisis. She reveals that Franks stays in NYC and gives Phoebe the address and her cab to go and visit him.
Chandler and Joey delay Christmas shopping to the evening of Christmas eve. But then Phoebe asks them to accompany her to her father's house. Phoebe gets there in her Grams cab, but cant decide if she wants to meet him. After several hours of to and fro, Phoebe confesses that she is afraid that today she has a wonderful image of her dad in her head. But her dad may not be as wonderful in real life and she wants to hang on to that image. with support from Joey and Chandler, she goes back But now, Joey and Chandler have lost their last chance to get their Christmas shopping done
To win back Rachel, Ross asks her to make a list about him, and then feels offended when she calls him obsessive, using too much hair gel and cant seize the moment among other things. Monica and Rachel throw a tropical theme Christmas party and Treeger decides to show up. Ross decides to seize the moment and tips Treeger, $50 and then another $50 to fix the radiator. Mr Treeger says the cookies were a really nice personal touch and the radiator cannot be fixed till after the holidays as the shop is closed.
Eventually, Chandler and Joey get Rachel a car wiper blades and new car smell. Phoebe gets toilet seat covers. Ross gets 2 sodas. Monica gets ribbed condoms.
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