Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas

From Freepedia

Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas is a 1977 Christmas special created by Jim Henson, based on a book by Russell and Lillian Hoban. While it uses Muppets, it does not feature any of the major Muppet characters except for Kermit the Frog, who acts as narrator. It features songs by Paul Williams (songwriter)

The Story

The story tells of Emmet Otter and his Ma, a widow who scrapes by on the small amount of money she gets from doing laundry and that Emmet gets from doing odd jobs around their home of Frogtown Hollow. As Christmas approaches, they hear of a talent contest in the nearby town of Waterville, and separately decide to enter to buy nice presents for each other -- a nice guitar for Emmet, or a piano for Ma. However, in a twist on The Gift of the Magi, they must sacrifice each other's livelihood for the talent contest -- Ma hocks Emmet's tools for dress fabric, while Emmet turns Ma's washtub into a washtub bass for a jug band.

Emmet and Ma each do an excellent job, only to be defeated at the last minute by a rock and roll band formed by a local gang. However, as Ma and Emmet's jug band sing a song together on the way home, they are overheard by the mayor of Waterville, owner of a local restaurant, who hires them as singers for his restaurant.