As the festive glow settles over Salem and the familiar strains of holiday cheer echo through Horton Square, Days of Our Lives is preparing to deliver yet another twisted seasonal surprise.

The 2025 holiday storyline promises warmth, nostalgia, and goodwill—but not for everyone. According to mounting spoilers, Santa’s naughty list this year reads less like harmless mischief

and more like a criminal dossier worthy of Salem’s most infamous villains. In a town where sins are inherited as often as they are committed, three younger characters have emerged

as the most controversial figures of the season. Their actions go far beyond teenage rebellion or childhood confusion. Instead, these storylines expose manipulation, emotional cruelty, and even shocking violence—forcing Salem’s residents, and viewers at home, to confront an unsettling question: when does trauma stop being an explanation and start becoming a warning sign?

Sophia Choi: Salem’s Agent of Chaos

Few characters have tested the patience of Salem quite like Sophia Choi. Long positioned as a volatile presence among the younger set, Sophia’s 2025 arc pushes her from troubled teen territory into something far more disturbing. While recent spoilers frame her false claim that Tate Black was her baby’s father as an “unintentional misunderstanding,” longtime viewers are not convinced.

In Salem, paternity confusion is practically a tradition—and Sophia knows exactly how dangerous that uncertainty can be. Whether or not she knew the biological truth from the start, she wielded the possibility with calculated precision, using an unborn child as leverage to tether Tate to her emotionally. It was manipulation disguised as vulnerability, and it set the tone for everything that followed.

What truly lands Sophia on Santa’s most unforgivable list, however, is the escalation of her behavior. Her attempt to sabotage Johnny DiMera and Chanel Dupree’s adoption of little Tate Jr. crossed a moral line that even Salem’s most seasoned schemers rarely touch. Johnny and Chanel’s journey toward parenthood has been marked by heartbreak, resilience, and hope. For Sophia to interfere—not out of concern, but out of spite—revealed a chilling lack of empathy.

Her relentless vendetta against Holly Jonas further underscores her refusal to grow. Time and again, Sophia has tried to destroy Holly’s reputation in pursuit of Tate, repeating the same destructive patterns with increasing cruelty. Yet perhaps most alarming is her manipulation of Rachel Black, an already deeply troubled child. Using Rachel as a pawn in her personal vendettas marks a new low, suggesting Sophia no longer sees people as human beings, but as tools.

Sophia Choi is no longer simply “naughty.” She is evolving into something far more dangerous—a young woman honing the skills of a future Salem villain.

Thomas DiMera: The Quiet Storm

At first glance, Thomas DiMera seems like an unlikely candidate for Salem’s holiday hall of shame. The soft-spoken son of Chad DiMera and the late Abigail Deveraux has long been portrayed as polite, reserved, and emotionally fragile. But in Salem, silence is often more alarming than noise.

Thomas has endured a level of trauma that would fracture any child. The brutal loss of his mother, the emotional instability of his father, and life inside the pressure cooker of the DiMera mansion have shaped him in unseen ways. While others externalize their pain, Thomas absorbs it—quietly, intensely, and with unsettling composure.

Recent episodes and subtle clues suggest that something has shifted. Small, unexplained mishaps around the DiMera estate—incidents dismissed as coincidence or carelessness—may not be accidents at all. Some fans believe Thomas is testing boundaries, learning how much damage he can cause without being noticed.

He possesses Abigail’s intelligence and Chad’s brooding intensity, a combination that has historically spelled disaster in Salem. Unlike his sister Charlotte, who processes grief outwardly, Thomas internalizes his rage. And in the DiMera bloodline, buried anger rarely stays buried forever.

This holiday season may mark the moment when the “DiMera switch” flips inside him. Santa may see only a quiet boy with a sad smile—but Salem’s history suggests the most dangerous villains often begin exactly that way.

Rachel Black: A Villain in the Making?

If there is one name that dominates the 2025 naughty list, it is Rachel Black. The daughter of Brady Black and Kristen DiMera has long walked a razor’s edge between victim and threat, but this year, that balance tips decisively toward danger.

While some spoilers attempt to soften her actions by emphasizing her traumatic upbringing, the sheer severity of her behavior makes such excuses increasingly untenable. Trauma may explain why someone acts out—but it cannot excuse actions that repeatedly put lives at risk.

Rachel’s most shocking moment came when she shot her uncle, EJ DiMera. Regardless of intent, the fact that a pre-teen reached for a gun and pulled the trigger is deeply disturbing. It signals a comfort with violence that cannot be ignored, echoing the darkest aspects of her DiMera lineage.

Her behavior did not stop there. From launching a pumpkin at Kat Green with a slingshot—an act that could have caused serious injury—to nearly killing Sarah Horton in what sources suggest was no simple “accident,” Rachel’s actions form a clear and escalating pattern of physical aggression.

Perhaps most unsettling are reports of her inappropriate and manipulative behavior toward her cousin Thomas. While the language surrounding these incidents is understandably cautious, the implications are troubling. Rachel appears to be mimicking the manipulative tactics she has witnessed throughout her life, particularly those modeled by her mother Kristen. It reflects a profound distortion of boundaries and relationships, and raises urgent concerns about her psychological well-being.

Rachel Black is no longer merely a troubled child. She is intelligent, impulsive, and disturbingly capable of violence—traits that have defined some of Salem’s most notorious villains.

A Holiday Reckoning for Salem

As Days of Our Lives heads into the 2025 holiday season, these three storylines converge to paint a sobering picture of Salem’s future. Sophia Choi’s calculated cruelty, Thomas DiMera’s simmering rage, and Rachel Black’s escalating violence suggest a new generation of chaos is rising—one shaped by legacy, trauma, and unchecked manipulation.

Santa may bring coal this Christmas, but Salem is bracing for something far more explosive: the realization that its next great villains may already be here, hiding behind youthful faces and heartbreaking backstories.

In true Days of Our Lives fashion, the holidays will not simply be about redemption and forgiveness—but about consequences. And for these three “devil children,” the reckoning is only just beginning.