I love this one even though I think a lot of it is anachronistic (like the Christmas wrapping paper, and the emphasis on Santa Claus, along with the way he appears, which I think may not have been the way that people thought of him back then, but maybe I'm wrong).
The boy who plays Almanzo is as cute as a button! And that's "Eb" from GREEN ACRES playing his dad!
I love the flashback to the pilot episode with Mr. Edwards. Caroline's flashback is sweet, too. And I also like Hester Sue getting a flashback.
Even Carrie seemed to get more lines than Cassandra!
Perhaps my only negative thing about this episode is that it seems odd to me that Melissa Sue Anderson is named at the ending credits, like she is just a minor character....but I guess she really was just a minor character in this one....kind of seemed a waste to bring her and Adam for the episode but they barely had any part in it. Even Adam seemed to have a bigger role than Mary.