Pebble Junction's Christmas Eve celebration is marred when the Gila Monster Gang breaks jail and steals the pinata full of presents for everyone. Sheriff Sally Gopher takes a peculiarly casual view of the emergency--go on with the party, folks, says she; we'll catch 'em tomorrow and get our presents back then--but crafty Pete Pack Rat is on the ball: as he explains later, ""When I heard about the jailbreak, I switched the pinata with our presents in it for [another one] filled with a few surprises, like chocolate-covered soap."" And so the villains come roaring back, sudsing at the mouth, and the folks have their presents and their party. Another mechanical contrivance, like Pete's previous adventures.