The Young and the Restless: Four characters who deserve good gifts from Santa this year

With Christmas approaching, we're reflecting on which of The Young and the Restless characters deserve love from Santa this year. Which ones deserve goodies under their tree and in their stocking? Here are four characters we're singling out who we feel have earned Santa's love:

Sally Spectra on The Young and the Restless

For months on The Young and the Restless, all Sally (Courtney Hope) has wanted has been to get Abbott Communications up and running with Billy (Jason Thompson). Cane (Billy Flynn) cancelled the first launch party without their permission. Then, after she and Billy successfully got the second launch party off the ground, Victor (Eric Braeden) had all the guests' phones pinging after he ordered Adam (Mark Grossman) to publish a hit piece on Jabot's shutdown.

Will Abbott Communications be negatively impacted by Victor's attack? We sure hope not. Sally is bright, ambitious, and confident in her abilities. She deserves a chance to shine! She's the kind of character we want to root for, and we're rooting for her to have that chance in the upcoming year. Go, Sally!

Chelsea Lawson

Chelsea (Melissa Claire Egan) had a major lightbulb moment after Jack (Peter Bergman) tore into her and Adam for publishing that hit piece (which she never even had a chance to give her approval on). His words made such a huge (and possibly life-changing) impact on her that they brought her to tears. She spent the rest of the episode asking Adam how they could have put out that hit piece on one of their own friends.

"I don't want Victor to own our souls," she told Adam. She wondered what good it's doing either of them to remain in jobs where they are constantly doing Victor's bidding, using Newman Media as a weapon against Jack and Jabot. "We're better than that," she said.

We need to give Chelsea some well-deserved cheers for all the good points she made. She reminded Adam that they need to set a good example for their son, Connor (Judah Mackey), and they aren't doing that. She told Adam, "You've come so far from being that angry, bitter man who always wanted to lash out and hurt people." Heck, even Adam looked like he was on the verge of tears. Will Jack's impassioned words motivate Chelsea to quit working at Newman Media? Let's hope so, because this is the Chelsea we want to see in 2026.

Billy Abbott

Billy (Jason Thompson) has made great strides these past few months on The Young and the Restless. He's finally letting go of his obsession with getting revenge against Victor, and he's concentrating on building Abbott Communications with Sally. He successfully talked Phyllis (Michelle Stafford) into striking a deal with the Abbotts to save Jabot from Victor. Billy seems more at peace with himself, and we like seeing this side of him.

On Monday's episode of Y&R, he had a meaningful conversation with his nephew, Kyle (Michael Mealor). He and Kyle haven't always seen eye to eye, but on Monday, Kyle told Billy he's been noticing a change in him and he admires him for it. He's impressed that Billy's been stepping up for the family, doing whatever he can to help save Jabot. "You've had a calming effect on my dad," Kyle said, "which is what he needs right now."

Billy said it's important to him to be there for Jack, since Jack has always been his biggest supporter. The most significant lines from Billy came at the end of the conversation when he said, "In a crazy way, I'm actually grateful to Victor and my mom [Jill]. If they didn't bring me to my knees, I don't think I'd be walking the positive path I am right now." Can we please have more of this Billy?

Jack Abbott

Last but certainly not least, we want Santa to be extra good to Jack. Victor has put him through the ringer this year on The Young and the Restless by ordering Adam to publish the hit piece on Jabot. We feel for Jack, because we know how much he admired Jabot's founder -- his father, John Abbott (Jerry Douglas). John Abbott was a good and decent man. Perhaps we could call him the anti-Victor? We know how much Jack loved and admired John.

Remember when John's ghost used to visit Jack and gave him advice? We loved those episodes, because they had heart. We know what Jabot means to Jack. It isn't just a company. It represents John Abbott's legacy, so Jack is determined to do everything in his power to save it from Victor.

When Jack read Adam and Chelsea for filth for publishing the hit piece, we all wanted to stand up and do a happy dance. It was great seeing and hearing Jack get fired up and remind Adam that he did this to a longtime friend. We especially loved that Jack pointed out how the article may cause many Jabot workers to lose their jobs. Losing a job is bad enough, but losing one during the holiday season is absolutely devastating, especially when the worker has a family to support.

We want Jabot to continue to thrive, and we want Santa to put even more presents under Jack's Christmas tree this year. Jack deserves every one of them.

Catch all-new episodes of The Young and the Restless weekdays on CBS and Paramount Plus.

Edited by Leigh Richdale

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