It's Christmas Eve, early 1930s on Walton's Mountain. As the family prepares for the holiday, they anxiously await Pa's return home from his job in the city some 50 miles away. He is late, and Ma and the grandparents hear on the radio a report of a bus accident that worries them. Oldest son John-Boy must step up to help grandfather cut down a Christmas tree, and upon learning the concern about Daddy sets out to find him.
| Writing | Earl Hamner, Jr. | Novel |
| Writing | Earl Hamner, Jr. | Teleplay |
| Directing | Fielder Cook | Director |
| Editing | Marjorie Fowler | Editor |
| Art | James Cane | Set Decoration |
| Production | Robert L. Jacks | Producer |
| Camera | Earl Rath | Director of Photography |
| Editing | Gene Fowler Jr. | Editor |
| Production | Lee Rich | Executive Producer |
| Costume & Make-Up | Dione Taylor | Hairstylist |
| Sound | Jerry Goldsmith | Original Music Composer |
| Costume & Make-Up | Robert Sidell | Makeup Artist |
| Art | Robert Emmet Smith | Production Design |
| Production | Pam Polifroni | Casting |
| Directing | Max Stein | Assistant Director |
| Sound | Harold Lewis | Sound Mixer |
| Costume & Make-Up | Robert Harris Jr. | Costumer |
| Costume & Make-Up | Betsy Cox | Costumer |
| Production | Edward O. Denault | Production Manager |
| Sound | Morton Stevens | Music Supervisor |
