Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas is the thirtieth episode of Ben 10. This episode celebrates the one year anniversary of Ben 10.

Plot
It's a hot day in the middle of Death Valley, as Ben turns into Grey Matter to increase the air conditioner's output, only for it to be blown apart and overheat, prompting Max to pull over and vent out the smoke and dust. The gang sees something in the distance of the desert, prompting them to check it out. When they get there, it turns out to be a large wooden building, flanked by two giant wooden soldiers that has a cool breeze coming from inside. Max said that it was probably an abandoned holiday theme park. Upon entering, Ben, Max, and Gwen come upon a winter wonderland village that had real snow in it. After having a brief snowball fight, the three of them walk into town to discover that it is entirely christmas-themed, with people looking like elves, reindeer pulling sleds stacked with Christmas presents, a Christmas tree being decorated in the town square with a star on top, and a toy band marching around, playing horns. Max then says that this reminds him that their family never really had a proper Christmas together due to familial issues, and that he hopes that it'll end so the Tennyson family can celebrate underneath one roof like he always wanted.

As Ben goes bobsledding and Gwen goes ice-skating, Max goes into a store for some hot chocolate where he encounters a group of elves, asking him to come with them. Max, believing that he was being taken somewhere to pay for his drink as another elf looks at him, with his eyes blue instead of the usual green like everyone elses'. Max was then taken into a building where he meets Mr. Jingles, the mayor of Holiday Village, who claimed that Max was really Santa Claus, and that the village was made specifically for him and did not want him to go. Mr. Jingles then ordered the elves to dress Max up as Santa Claus, as he pressed a button that magnetized Max to a chair that was behind him after he was dressed. Mr. Jingles then pulled out a joystick remote that controlled Max as he was brought into the workshop and presented to the elves working inside, causing them to cheer happily now that "Santa" had arrived. Mr. Jingles said that he was happy that Max brought his grandchildren along, claiming that he could always use more elves.

Out in the town square, Ben and Gwen were busy looking at some of the presents underneath the tree as they turned and saw several nutcracker soldiers, similar to the ones outside the front gate, arrive and begin to fire candy canes at them. Ben turned into XLR8 as the two of them escaped and encountered the blue-eyed elf again, Elsgood. Elsgood then told the cousins that Holiday Village was underneath a curse, and that Max was believed to be Santa. He goes on to say that if the Tennyson children stay in the village, they will turn into elves. They don't believe it until their eyes turn solid green, their cheeks turn rosy and their ears become pointy.

The village was frozen at Christmas time in the 1930s, and time had stood still ever since then.

All the villagers were turned into elves by a mysterious machine. After learning this, Elf Ben transforms into Grey Matter and sneaks into the machine and deactivates it. Mr. Jingles tells them that happiness from perfect gifts is the only solution to end the "village curse". Max explains that the spirit of Christmas isn't about giving the perfect gifts, it's about the spirit of giving. When Stinkfly delivers all the gifts that have been made, the "village curse" was lifted and the Tennysons were somehow teleported back to their right time. Mr. Jingles is gone, but a statue of him remains, which, according to a plaque, was created in 1928.

Major Events

 * Elsgood and Thomas Jingles make their debuts.

Characters

 * Ben Tennyson
 * Gwen Tennyson
 * Max Tennyson
 * Elsgood (first appearance)
 * Sunmin (first appearance)
 * Elves (first appearance)

Villains

 * Mr. Jingles (first appearance)
 * Giant Panda Plushes (first appearance)
 * Nutcrackers (first appearance)
 * Snow Phantoms (first appearance)

Aliens Used

 * Grey Matter (2x) (the second time was an accidental transformation, selected alien was Four Arms)
 * XLR8 (accidental transformation; selected alien was Heatblast)
 * Wildmutt
 * Stinkfly

Allusions

 * The kids with Grandpa Elsgood at the end of the episode greatly resemble Konohamaru, Udon and Moegi from the popular anime series Naruto.
 * The way Grey Matter jumped around from box to box inside of the Jingleator and the music are similar to a Super Mario Bros. level.

Trivia

 * Merry Christmas is a Christmas special, yet it takes place during the summer.
 * When Stinkfly reverts to Ben, his harness falls to the ground behind him, it should have remained around his shoulders.
 * When the Rust Bucket got damaged, Ben could've gone Upgrade to repair it after he recharged.
 * Ben and Gwen nearly turned into elves but changed back to normal after breaking the curse.
 * This is the first time XLR8 runs on ice.
 * It is the only Christmas special episode in the Ben 10 Franchise.
 * It is the only episode with magic facts that are not related to the magic of Gwen, Hex or Charmcaster.
 * Merry Christmas is the one year celebration of Ben 10.
 * Some of the children resemble Team Ebisu.