- Based on the promos, this episode looks ridiculous, like not a good ridiculous, but a we’re on Disney Channel ridiculous. Bright Side: At least we get an x-mas episode this year (and we probably will not see a new one until 2017).
- So, we begin in the places of all places, the Bay Window, where Riley and Maya spend their life! Seriously, when they grown old I still expect them to be sitting in the bay window.
- Riley is excited for her group of friend’s Secret Santa and she is the only one. Maya announces she’s going to spend Christmas with Riley despite the fact this will be her first Christmas with new step-father, Shawn. She fears that if she is there, Shawn will see how crazy they are and the marriage will be ruined.
Not excited for Secret Santa! - Riley and friends, including Zay and Smackle but no Lucas (he’s spending Christmas in Texas) gather at Topanga’s for secret santa name draw.
And the group fared well without Lucas! The breakdown is Riley draws her true love’s name (Farkle), Zay gets Smackle, Farkle gets Zay, Smackle gets Maya and Maya draws Lucas. So this means Lucas has Riley, but we’ll never see that. Smackle is also the best during this part, spoiling it for everyone she can!!! Love her!!!
When you draw your true love's name for Secret Santa . . . - Topanga reads to Ava and Auggie because she decided to punish herself for some reason, but that went as good as you can expect . . .
Babysitting . . . (see next pic) How did Topanga feel about that?
My face when I saw this episode promo . . . - OMG it must really be Christmas because we get a Farkle and Zay scene that points out that he doesn’t really know Smackle or Farkle and they don’t know him. More of this please!
New BFF's! - Also, I though this would be funny.
I suck at using MSpaint . . . but I imagine too much time with the Matthews could do this to you! - Now we get back to main plot, Maya avoiding her home for Christmas. Maya tells the story of how Katy dresses as an elf and gives her whatever she worked enough for at the diner to get her. So, the Matthews decided to put on a reenactment of of Katy and Maya’s Christmas past to help them make their “Christmas present” better.
And Katy was there too for the slightly offensive reenactment. Katy did the best she could . . .
Topanga as Katy is the best!!! 
This is your life Katy Clutterbucket Hunter . . . - The next part of this episode focuses on how horrible the secret Santa goes.
It’s so bad that it’s really funny, but once they explain their gifts, we get the best moment of GMW ever: Riley tells Farkle she loves him! #Riarkle/#Farley Forever!!!!
"Worst gift ever" -Smackle 
When you embrace your true love after you confess your undying love . . . - We go back and finish the Christmas play, by peeking into the future. We see Shawn’s Christmas past, where Cory plays Chet and Auggie as Shawn and Maya realizes how lucky she was that not only did she have Katy, but her mom actually gave her gifts that would make her life better. Katy and Maya take their leave because Shawn is waiting for them at home (but who’s home? Theirs? His cabin in woods? They never say . . .) The End!
"Merry X-Mas to all and a goodnight" -Maya
*****EXTRA TIDBITS*****
- Riley became a noun as Christmas time is the best time to be a Riley.
- I loved the story about Maya throwing snowballs at the ice rink and Corey having been injured by one!
- Riley had this bit where she kept throwing glitter from her pockets because butterflies didn’t work and at the end, the glitter turned into blue and yellow butterflies . . .
- Auggie as Shawn is NO!
Just NO! - For a moment I almost shipped Zay and Smackle . . . for a moment, then I moved on.
- And Riley told Farkle she loved him!!! So, I am also guess by order of elimination Lucas got Riley but her boyfriend skipped town without telling her . . .
PS: My little attempt at photoshop in MSpaint came from https://www.vecteezy.com/free-vector/wine-bottle
It's been way too long. Being punctual about getting GMW reviews in on time for me this season. I was really into it before the ski lodge episode and then something happened. I'll be honest, I haven't enjoyed many episodes since then. One. There was one. Girl Meets Her Monster was my jam. Anyway, here we are now with just a few episodes left and no guarantee for a fourth season. I'm getting ahead of myself, though, let me go back to Girl Meets a Christmas Maya.
I really enjoyed the secret santa story from this episode and I wish it had taken on a bigger role, like the entire episode kind of role. It was great to see the gang struggle to pick out gifts for one another, especially since they also acknowledged the fact that they don't all know one another well enough to know what to get. Much of the show focuses on Maya and Riley's relationship (not that is a problem because the show is pretty much about them) so we don't get to see what goes on with the others.
I hope in the future we get to see more of a presence from the rest of the group. The focus can still, and should be, on Riley and Maya, but I want to see more of Farkle, Lucas, Zay, and Smackle. I need them to come into focus a bit more. The second half of this season those characters haven't been much more than the spares in the classroom and I can't handle that.
Something else happened in this episode. Something to do with Ava and Auggie, right? I really can't remember so I'm scrolling through Shane's review to try and jog my memory. Oh, Maya and her mom had to have some sort of ridiculous play put on for them by the Matthews family. What was that about? Something to do with Shawn, but what I really think happened is the writers just wanted to name drop "Shawn" to remind us that he is married to Maya's mom. I'm not interested.
And now I'm going to take a moment to explain my feelings about the show at this point, and how I feel about its future. I don't mean to sound as if I'm bashing the show, if I do. The thing is, I want the show to grow up. I want it to grow with its characters, like BMW did. Isn't that what we all want? Maybe not, but it's a nice idea to entertain in my own head. The thing is, this show has a really great cast of young actresses and actors and I want to see more of them. And by this point I am rather attached to all of them and I need to see them grow up. This season has been disappointing for me because, for the most part, there hasn't been any continuing storylines for any of the characters (with the exception of the love triangle and its resolution). It's just been one stand alone episode after another and it's just felt shallow. I have grown very tired of seeing the group face a situation that is resolved in five minutes. Where are the more serious issues that young people their age face that can't be overcome with a Riley pep talk? We haven't seen any of those. I want those.
Happy Holidays, you guys. We'll see you back here in 2017 to discuss the few episodes of GMW that are left to air.
It's been way too long. Being punctual about getting GMW reviews in on time for me this season. I was really into it before the ski lodge episode and then something happened. I'll be honest, I haven't enjoyed many episodes since then. One. There was one. Girl Meets Her Monster was my jam. Anyway, here we are now with just a few episodes left and no guarantee for a fourth season. I'm getting ahead of myself, though, let me go back to Girl Meets a Christmas Maya.
I really enjoyed the secret santa story from this episode and I wish it had taken on a bigger role, like the entire episode kind of role. It was great to see the gang struggle to pick out gifts for one another, especially since they also acknowledged the fact that they don't all know one another well enough to know what to get. Much of the show focuses on Maya and Riley's relationship (not that is a problem because the show is pretty much about them) so we don't get to see what goes on with the others.
I hope in the future we get to see more of a presence from the rest of the group. The focus can still, and should be, on Riley and Maya, but I want to see more of Farkle, Lucas, Zay, and Smackle. I need them to come into focus a bit more. The second half of this season those characters haven't been much more than the spares in the classroom and I can't handle that.
Something else happened in this episode. Something to do with Ava and Auggie, right? I really can't remember so I'm scrolling through Shane's review to try and jog my memory. Oh, Maya and her mom had to have some sort of ridiculous play put on for them by the Matthews family. What was that about? Something to do with Shawn, but what I really think happened is the writers just wanted to name drop "Shawn" to remind us that he is married to Maya's mom. I'm not interested.
And now I'm going to take a moment to explain my feelings about the show at this point, and how I feel about its future. I don't mean to sound as if I'm bashing the show, if I do. The thing is, I want the show to grow up. I want it to grow with its characters, like BMW did. Isn't that what we all want? Maybe not, but it's a nice idea to entertain in my own head. The thing is, this show has a really great cast of young actresses and actors and I want to see more of them. And by this point I am rather attached to all of them and I need to see them grow up. This season has been disappointing for me because, for the most part, there hasn't been any continuing storylines for any of the characters (with the exception of the love triangle and its resolution). It's just been one stand alone episode after another and it's just felt shallow. I have grown very tired of seeing the group face a situation that is resolved in five minutes. Where are the more serious issues that young people their age face that can't be overcome with a Riley pep talk? We haven't seen any of those. I want those.
Happy Holidays, you guys. We'll see you back here in 2017 to discuss the few episodes of GMW that are left to air.
