The secret word is "Happy New Year" as Pee-Wee Herman (Paul Reubens) and the Playhouse gang hold a Christmas party. Things threaten to get out of hand fairly early as the increasingly disappointed Pee-Wee receives one fruitcake after another. When he complains that he didn't get anything he
really
wanted, our hero learns an important lesson about sharing from none other than Santa Claus. Among Pee-wee's special guests are singers k.d. lang, Grace Jones, Dinah Shore, and the Del Rubio Triplets, "Beach Party" perennials Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon (who'd recently costarred with Pee-wee in the theatrical film
Back at the Beach
), the outrageous Little Richard (on ice-skates!) and such pop-culture giants as Oprah Winfrey, Charo, Cher, Joan Rivers, Magic Johnson, and even Zsa Zsa Gabor.
Pee-wee Herman's Christmas Special
first aired December 21, 1988 on CBS.