Written by Alan Pattillo and directed by Desmond Saunders, it was first broadcast on 25 December 1966 on ATV London and Anglia Television as the sixth and final episode of Series Two.
In the Christmas-themed "Give or Take a Million", a pair of bank robbers become embroiled in preparations for a hospital fundraiser in which International Rescue is to play a special role.
In collaboration with rocket manufacturer Saunders Automations and Harman's department store of New York, the hospital board devises a Christmas publicity stunt to benefit all involved: a Saunders rocket, loaded with Harman's toys and launched from the store's roof, which will overfly Coralville and parachute-drop its cargo into the hospital car park – thus providing a Christmas present for every Coralville child.
To avoid touching the vault's alarmed floor, they shoot a cable into the opposite wall and use it like a Tyrolean traverse, Straker holding the line taut while Scobie, suspended from a harness, loads the gold into a sack.
After the rocket drops its cargo over Coralville, the hospital staff open the compartment to find Scobie and Straker unconscious amid the gold and boxes of presents, having been knocked out by the g-forces.
In the episode's subplot, festive preparations on Tracy Island are under way when Brains hears Virgil expressing regret that the chances of a white Christmas in the South Pacific are extremely low.
The calendar shots, as well as moments in other episodes that point to different settings, were dismissed by Gerry Anderson and art director Bob Bell as production design errors.
The launch sequence was not the stock footage used in earlier episodes, but a newer version recycled from the feature film Thunderbirds Are Go, which was released the same month "Give or Take a Million" first aired.