Christmas time in Salem usually offers viewers a break from the heaviest drama.

Much like in real life, people come home for the holidays, there's last-minute gift-buying, and people put aside all their worries to try to make the most of their time together.

But on Days of Our Lives during the week of 12-14-20, some people aren't getting into the Christmas spirit at all.

According to the official spoiler video, at least one person is angling for coal in their stocking while several others make their Christmas preparations.

Joey is thrilled to be home for Christmas, while Tony and Anna return to the Dimera mansion. But Gwen hasn't given up her evil plans. In one clip, she smirks at Anna, while in another, she catches Chad under the mistletoe.

There are still no clues as to what Gwen's problem is, but she's certainly taking steps forward in her plan to ruin Abigail's life! The fall spoiler video suggested that Anna sees through her, so let's hope that happens soon.

Chad had better not go through with kissing Gwen, either, especially not after the obnoxious stink he made about his suspicions.

The more interesting question is, what's up with Charlie?

According to the spoiler video, Claire is thrilled that Charlie asks her to be his girlfriend... but then he visits Ava.

Fans have long speculated that Charlie and Tripp are brothers and that Charlie is the one who raped Allie. But hopefully, the writers are going in a less predictable direction.

It's bad enough that Charlie is stuck in the middle of Philip and Xander's tug of war over the CEO position. Associating with Ava can't be good news, no matter what the reason.

And with Claire being over the moon about dating him, it looks like she's headed for a heartbreak of epic proportions.

NBC has also released 10 spoiler photos for Days of Our Lives during the week of 12-14-20. Check them out below, and let us know what you think!

Steve and Kayla bring Joey home from prison.

This isn't much of a surprise since Steve and Kayla were with Joey when he got the good news that he was released.

But the question is: what happens next? Joey has to have a storyline now that he's back, and the warm family scenes in the spoiler video can't be all there is to his return.

I'm curious about how Joey and Tripp will get along, especially with Ava back in the picture. Joey also isn't happy that Kayla declined to press charges against Ava -- will the vixen try to turn him against his mother somehow?

Xander explodes over Sarah's revelation about Philip.

Xander and Sarah now know that Philip is working with Ava, but can they prove it?

Or is Xander going to be more bothered that Philip tried to kiss Sarah?

This storyline will probably drag on until Philip and Sarah hook up for real, and Xander's temper may be one of the reasons everything falls apart.

Ava uncovers the truth.

Presumably, Ava is going to do some good for once and figure out who really raped Allie.

I still wish Allie's rape storyline had been about Allie and not about Tripp being falsely accused.

But if Ava puts a merciful end to it, I may forgive the writers for inflicting her on us yet again.

Ben and Shawn mourn Ciara.

Again? How many times are we going to suffer through this?

I still don't believe Ciara is dead. I think we're in for months of agony as her family grieves her endlessly, only for her to show up alive when the writers are good and ready.

Ciara's death is a big deal, of course, but Shawn and Ben need to find something else to do besides talking about how they both loved her. Maybe the two of them can join forces on some other case to honor her memory.

Claire shares her joy with Allie.

On Days of Our Lives, happy scenes are often the most painful.

Whenever characters get any joy in their lives, you know something horrible is about to happen.

And Claire being so ecstatic about dating Charlie means that he's likely going to turn out to be a bad guy.

Hopefully, we're not in for another obsessed weirdo kidnapping storyline down the road.

Chad overhears an incriminating conversation. 

I'd love it if Chad overheard Gwen talking to Stefano's portrait about her evil plans, but judging from this photo, that's not it.

Most probably, he'll hear Abigail having a perfectly innocent conversation that makes him convinced she's the one sleeping with Jake.

Her passionate denial and heartbreak over his ugly accusations won't matter when he hears a few sentences out of context, especially if Gwen is right there to egg him on in his wrongheaded beliefs. Ugh.

Allie and Steve talk about the night she was assaulted.

I'm not sure how I feel about this.

As a sexual assault survivor advocate, the idea of someone pushing Allie to revisit the night of her attack over and over in the hopes of proving someone else raped her turns my stomach.

Yet, in this case, we know what Allie doesn't: she's wrong about who raped her. 

Most likely, she'll someday realize that and then end up falling for the man she almost shot between the legs. Could this scene be laying the groundwork for that?

Tony and Anna return to Salem as the DiMera family celebrates Christmas Eve.

Yay!

Any time Thaao Penghlis returns, he lights up the screen. Days of Our Lives is more fun with Tony and/or Andre in Salem.

And no one does disdain better than Tony, either. Last time around, he was the only person to neutralize Gabi by ignoring her latest tantrum successfully, and from the spoiler video, it appears he has little use for Jake, either.

This almost makes the whole stupid Jake/Gwen/Abby/Chad storyline worth watching. I hope Tony and Anna stay a while!

Dr. Rolf has a special gift for Kristen.

Um, okay, how is Rolf in the same telephone bay as Kristen when prison complexes are sex-segregated?

And what does he want? 

Nothing good can come from Kristen associating with Rolf. She supposedly was turning over a new leaf before her arrest -- is she going to go back to being purely evil now?

Gwen's machinations land her on the naughty list.

I hope this means she gets caught! It's about time, if so.

The most annoying aspect of this nonsensical storyline is that three supposedly top-notch investigative reporters and a successful CEO can't see through obvious manipulations.

I don't care who catches Gwen, but I'm beyond ready for her to get some comeuppance already.

Your turn, Days of Our Lives fanatics!

Hit the big, blue SHOW COMMENTS button and let us know what you think of these spoilers and what you're looking forward to on Days of Our Lives during the week of 12-14-20,

Want to chat about already-aired episodes of Days of Our Lives? Check out our Days of Our Lives reviews and Days of Our Lives Round Table discussions.

Days of Our Lives continues to air on NBC on weekday afternoons. Check your local listings for airtimes.

Jack Ori is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. His debut young adult novel, Reinventing Hannah, is available on Amazon. Follow him on X.