SYNOPSIS
What do British composer Frederic Austin, actor Frank Kelly and comedian Jason Byrne all have in common? Come December 2025, all three will have created iconic versions of the ‘Twelve Days Of Christmas’.
First scribbled down in 1705, the carol has been mangled, jingled and joyfully reimagined for over 300 years and now it’s ‘Storybuds’ turn.
Over twelve jolly-holly episodes, Jason tells the story of Larry the librarian and Betty the birdwatcher who decide to fake an illness so they can avoid the big family Christmas celebrations in favor of ‘having a quiet one’. But when twelve unusual gifts begin to show up on their doorstep each day, you can be sure that Larry and Betty’s Christmas is going to be anything but quiet.
So grab your favourite yellow armchair, squeeze into your Christmas onesie, and brace yourself for twelve episodes of full-throttle festive mayhem. Because Christmas without Storybud? Well that’s just Thursday in a novelty jumper.
EPISODE BREAKDOWN
EP01: Larry breaks the news to his dad, that himself and Betty won’t be able to make it along to the Cracker’s Christmas Celebrations this year. But not to worry, one of their relations has sent a monkey to keep them company. (219)
EP02: While still adjusting to their primate-housemate, Betty’s birdwatching chat group kicks off with the sighting of a rare bird in the area. But her plans to catch a glimpse of the elusive Parper may be scuppered with the arrival of the second gift; a hairdressing duo named Rita and Zita. (286)
EP03: Much to Larry’s annoyance, his neighbour, Mr Trousers, has managed to get all his Christmas houselights up overnight, potentially scooping the much coveted front page photo in the ‘Ballybud Bugle’. But maybe there’s a way to use today’s gift of three e-scooters to decorate the house … that’s if you can stop Rita, Zita and the monkey from racing around the sitting room on them. (379)
EP04: Some people would think that four ponies is the perfect Christmas present but not Betty, especially when the four ponies start eating your Begonias. But determined to bring a smile back to Betty’s face, Larry turns the situation around and delivers a fun, festive memory for everyone. (284)
EP05: Trust your uncle Mario to gift you five thousand deep-fired onion rings to ‘get you through the Christmas’. It’s gonna take more than four ponies, two hairdressers, a monkey, a librarian and a birdwatcher to get through that lot … perhaps some unusual visitors from out of town can help. (287)
EP06: Six Swifties! Yup, you read that right. Six Taylor Swift obsessed fans show up at Larry & Betty’s … a gift from his niece Helen. But never mind all that, Betty’s got bigger problems to worry about now that the choir has had to pull out of the Ballybud Christmas fundraiser happening tonight. Eeek! (297)
EP07: Yay, it’s snowing! However, the freezing temperatures have burst a pipe in the kitchen which is now flooding the house and forcing the monkey, the hairdressers, the ponies, the Swifties, Larry and Betty to higher-ground. But the arrival of a gift of a seven-person-kayak from cousin Danny may prove to be the most useful of all the gifts so far. (345)
EP08: When Larry and Betty are awoken by a gang of hangry seagulls demanding to be fed a full Christmas dinner ‘or else’ …. they know it’s going to be an unusual day. But when a present of eight Riverdancers also shows up and turns the house upside down, they have to be thinking that putting up with the big Family Christmas would have been much easier than all this. (362)
EP09: We often get useless Christmas presents, an inflatable dart board, a solar powered flashlight, slippers … but what could be a more useless gift than a bus load of burley hurlers, nine burley hurlers to be exact. I mean, it’s not even a full team. With Larry and Betty at their wits end and their house turned upside down, can anything be done to avoid them having to ask their neighbour Mr Trousers to take them all in for Christmas? (437)
EP10: Mrs Acrossdaway, who lives across the way, has lost the animals from her live Christmas Crib and she needs Larry and Betty to help. Always keen to help a neighbour (unless your name is Mr Trousers), Larry rounds up a motley search party of dancers, hurlers, Swiftiers, ponies, hairdressers and a monkey, all piled into a convoy of ten bumper cars; today’s family gift. But in Ballybud, there’s really nothing odd about any of that! (432
EP11: It’s Christmas Eve and Larry and Betty are in a real pickle. While one drone from cousin Deirdre may be a fun Christmas gift, the eleven drones that Larry and Betty receive are a lot less fun, especially when they start getting in the way of Santa’s present deliveries! How can Larry and Betty put things right with Santa and ensure every child in Ballybud gets the gift they want? (382)
EP12 It’s Christmas Day, and while it’s not exactly the quiet Christmas Larry & Betty were hoping for, things have worked out pretty well with the monkey, the hairdressers, the ponies, the Swifties, the dancers and the hurlers. All that’s left now for is everyone to sit down and enjoy a Christmas dinner – but wait. Something is missing. CHRISTMAS CRACKERS! Where are they going to get Christmas Crackers at this hour on Christmas Day? Ding-dong. Could that be the Crackers at the front door?
