Sabrina’s baubles change hands. Ryan’s been gambling and winning.

Radio Times: Susan gets her Christmas wish.

Characters: Alistair, David, Ruth, Ryan, Shula, Susan

• Susan’s late arriving for the Christmas decoration swap; she had trouble bringing Mum and Dad’s inflated snowman. The others have set up without her and the swap gets underway.
• Ryan arrives at the end of Alistair’s Gamblers Anonymous meeting and shows off a necklace he bought for Lisa. He thinks it’s great he didn’t put his winnings straight back on a nag, instead spending it on the more deserving one at home. Alistair, over coffee, tries to break it gently; Lisa will know where the money came from and would rather have their debts lessened. Ryan, unhappy with the truth, leaves Alistair’s question about attending the next meeting unanswered.
• The swap’s drawing to a close. Susan’s still lumbered with the snowman. David watches her pitch while she pops to the loo. On returning, she fears the worse — the snowman’s gone. But Christmas has come early for Susan; Sabrina came and her girls liked the “cute” “cool” snowman so David got a load of Sabrina’s fabled baubles in exchange. Susan thinks the boy’s done good.
• Alistair recounts Ryan’s tale to Shula. She urges him not to take on all Ryan’s problems himself; it’s group therapy — please don’t get too involved. Her pleas probably won’t work.