Today’s Days of Our Lives recap for December 22, 2023, details joy, tenderness, and drama at the Horton annual ornament party.
A Beautiful Horton Christmas
Doug (Bill Hayes) and Julie (Susan Seaforth Hayes) anxiously waited for their guests to arrive so they could trim the Horton Christmas tree as they have done every year on DAYS for nearly six decades. In fact, we even saw flashbacks of Horton Christmases of yesteryear with Tom (Macdonald Carey) and Alice (Frances Reid) at the helm. We even got a taste of Doug’s first Christmas with his own Horton ornament.
Chad (Billy Flynn) soon arrived with Charlotte and Thomas in tow, but they still missed their mother and Stephanie (Abigail Klein), who was spending time in the Square with Everett (Blake Berris). Finally, Chad decided to invite Stephanie to the Horton house to cheer up his kids.
When they had a moment alone together, Chad apologized for ever leading her on. He now knew it was too soon to get involved with anyone after losing Abigail. After that was settled, Everett showed up. Doug invited him forgetting that he was Stephanie’s ex. He also didn’t know Stephanie would be there.
Sarah (Linsey Godfrey) and Xander (Paul Telfer) showed up together with Baby Victoria, while Maggie (Suzanne Rogers) stopped by with Konstantin (John Kapelos). When Konstantin asked Xander if Victoria was well, he said that she was, but he wasn’t sure if that was thanks to Konstantin or in spite of him.
Maggie later explained the entire Horton ornament tradition and called herself an honorary Horton. Julie immediately corrected her since she was married to Mickey for so many years, she was a true Horton.
Finally, the ornament hanging began. This year, there was a brand-new ornament for Victoria that Sarah allowed Xander to hang on the tree.
Before the hour ended, we were treated to incredible flashbacks, including the time Jennifer (Melissa Reeves) hung Baby Abigail’s ornament on a makeshift tree for the first time with Alice, Mickey, and Maggie in Tom’s hospital room. During this Christmas, Doug and Julie surprised Tom with a visit.
Tate’s Christmas Miracle
At John (Drake Hogestyn) and Marlena’s (Deidre Hall) place, Brady (Eric Martsolf) welcomed Theresa (Emily O’Brien) so she could drop off Tate’s (Jaime Martin Mann) gifts. Both Brady and Theresa were surprised to hear that Tate volunteered to work at The Brady Pub on Christmas.
Theresa took the time to mention that she was dating Alex (Robert Scott Wilson) now and Brady wanted to know if she was just after his money. That started the bickering that Tate has had to deal with his entire life. He broke down and asked them to stop because he was sick of it.
Brady and Theresa apologized and promised that they’d get along. They’d even prove it to them right then and there with a Christmas Eve dinner of Chinese takeout. They even reminisced about taking Tate to Universal Studios when he was younger.
Tate later lamented that he bought Holly (Ashley Puzemis) a Christmas-birthday gift, but since they were on the outs, he tossed it in the trash. Theresa rescued it and told him to give it to the next girl he liked. That’s the way to do it. By the end of the night, Brady and Theresa decided Tate could attend high school in Salem.
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