Deck the Mall

Deck the Mall is the 5th episode of the series. It aired on Teletoon in Canada on December 23, 2004, and on Cartoon Network in the United States on December 7, 2008. The holiday rush is on, and it's stressing out everyone in the gang, leaving them unable to enjoy the holiday season.

Plot
Caitlin is trying to plan a holiday party, but Jen is uncooperative and snappish. Caitlin notes that this is unusual, as Jen has done inventory without messing up her hair, and Jen admits that there's something else bugging her: this is the first Christmas she's had since her parents divorced, and her mom is dating Jonesy's dad. Not only is she having trouble dealing with her mother having a boyfriend, but she's having to stay with her mother and Mr. Garcia because her father is out of town on a business trip. Jonesy arrives at that moment, and tells them that because the mall Santa may be out of commission due to his ulcers acting up, it's possible that he could take the job. The idea that living with Jonesy might be what she has to look forward to for the next few years depresses Jen, so Caitlin suggests that the whole group get together after work to eat pizza and relax.

Later, Jude is wrapping presents when Nikki arrives, followed in short order by Caitlin and Jen. It turns out that Jonesy got the Santa job, so Caitlin decides that they should visit him. However, one member is missing, so the group goes to get him. They find him in Grind Me, having dealt with an exceedingly long line to buy his first coffee of the day; unfortunately, just as he's about to take the first sip, a man bumps his hand, spilling the coffee.

When they get to Santa's Village, the group finds that Jonesy has gotten a job there. However, he's not working as Santa; instead, he's working as one of the elves. After the group mocks him for his ugly costume, they split up, with Jen and Nikki going back to work and Caitlin, Jude, and Wyatt going shopping. Wyatt and Jude head to the Khaki Barn and buy Caitlin's gift there, while Caitlin goes through the mall in order to buy secret Santa presents for her friends to give to each other. When she finishes, she goes to the Penalty Box to see Jen only to find that Jen is even more stressed than before, even going so far as to snap at Santa. Jonesy, meanwhile, ends up getting fired from his job at Santa's Village after he hits on Yummy Mummy. By the end of the day, everyone but Caitlin is fed up with Christmas.

Caitlin wants them to cheer up and try to enjoy themselves, and when Jonesy suggests that he can sneak them into a movie, she readily agrees. The group then head off to the Gigantoplex, but when they get there, they can't decide on which movie to see. They draw candy canes and end up going to Jude's choice, but find out once they've snuck in that there aren't any available seats. They decide to sit in the aisle, but they find it uncomfortable, and the group is soon thrown out of the theater for making too much noise.

As the group walks through the back halls of the mall, Caitlin remembers that she forgot their presents at the Big Squeeze. This soon turns out to not be their most pressing concern, as they get lost in the back ways. When they finally find a way out, they are in the food court with the lights off and the mall shut down, as it closed at three for Christmas Eve. Immediately bickering starts again, and this causes Caitlin to cry, as she's fed up with her friends constant bickering. This leads to a fight almost starting between Jonesy and Jen, which Caitlin defuses when she points out that they're lucky to have siblings as she's always wanted some, and they're lucky to have each other even if Jen doesn't want to participate in the turkey-eating contest. Jen and Jonesy then make up, and the friends all hug. Wyatt then remembers that Jonesy took a copy of Ron's master key when he worked for Mall Security, and they tell him to let him out.

Jonesy has other plans, however. After all, they're the only ones in the mall and have free run of the place. The friends then proceed to run off and have a good time, and along the way find their presents donated to charity, and they decide to let the presents be given away. When they finally leave for their respective homes and Christmas celebrations, they promise that they'll try and make getting locked in the mall after hours a Christmas tradition.

After Christmas, they gather by the Big Squeeze, happy that the holiday is over. Jonesy has big news, too: Jen won the Garcia family turkey-eating contest. Everybody is happy and content that the Christmas rush is over, but as the clock strikes ten to open the mall, they realize that there's going to be another big celebration coming up, as it's Boxing Day.

Quotes
Jen and Caitlin: EWWW! JUDE! Jude: What? Did you think they were gonna stay your innocent little parents forever? Jude: What did you say!? Wyatt: I said where should we look? For Caitlin's present? Jude: Huh? Wyatt: (pulling out cash and facing the band) I'll give you $6.75 if you stop playing! Wyatt: I had to fight off six psycho bargain hunters for that. Nikki: Oooooh, but it's so sexy. Jonesy: Back at you, Rudolph.
 * Jude: (about Mr. Garcia and Emma Masterson) I wonder if they kiss with tongue?
 * Jude: You're gonna make someone very happy tomorrow, Mr. Ball! (later as Jude fails to wrap the basketball properly) Okay, you're starting to get on my nerves, dude!
 * Wyatt: (near band) Where should we look next!?
 * Caitlin: So, did you guys find your secret Santa presents?
 * Jonesy: Meet you guys out front. I've got to go return this costume.
 * Nikki: Vin Diesel gets in an accident and dies at the end! Enjoy!

Trivia
Reason for firing: Tried to hit on Yummy Mummy and got pantsed by Stanley.
 * Goof: Wyatt orders an extra-tall no-foam cappuccino in this episode; however, in the episode "Awake the Wyatt Within" he orders double-foam cappuccinos, and one plot point is his paranoia about not getting as much foam from Charmaine.
 * Goof: Here, Jen's mom and Jonesy's dad dating is treated as a new thing, but in the first episode, Jonesy casually mentions it to Jen loud enough for the whole group to hear.
 * Jonesy's job: "Santa's Little Helper Elf"
 * In both air dates, Cartoon Network and Teletoon first aired the episode in December. This is no oddity, as the month itself is frequently known to be the "month of Christmas", in which this episode is celebrating.
 * Here, Courtney is first mentioned by Jen as being her sister.
 * Torque 2: More Torque is a reference to 2 Fast 2 Furious, the second installment in the "The Fast and the Furious" series.
 * In this episode, it's mentioned that Jen's parents split up. However, in "The Wedding Destroyers," it's implied that her father is dead. It's possible that Jen's dad died between "It's Always Courtney, Courtney, Courtney!" and the wedding.
 * Since the pilot episode took place in the summer, and there was already talk of Jen and Jonesy's parents dating, if this is their first Christmas since the split, that would mean that Jen's parents divorced sometime in the winter or spring prior to the start of the show.
 * The opening credits for this episode are written in red instead of their usual yellow.
 * This may be done to reflect this episode's purpose of being Christmas-themed.
 * Jude mentioned the French kiss twice whenever the gang talks about Jen's mother and Jonesy's father's relationship.