Linda takes a temp job at the post office sorting mail, but takes it upon herself to break post office protocol and deliver a forgotten gift on Christmas Eve. While Gene and Louise tag along in hopes of finding a last-minute gift for their sister, Bob and Tina are left to deal with Linda's sister Gayle and her parents Al and Gloria.
Have Yourself a Maily Tropey Christmas:
- Accidental Nightmare Fuel: In-universe, Linda's little Santa looks really freaky. She can't see it, but Bob and especially Donna think it's horrible.
- Bait-and-Switch: It looks like Mike is just going to take the package back to the plant after Linda offers to let him deliver it... but it turns out he was going to his truck to get a device so the kid's mother could sign for the package.
- The Bus Came Back: This is Al and Gloria's first appearance since Season 3, seven years prior.
- Continuity Nod: Tina's gift for Louise is a Burobu vending machine toy.
- Gene says that with him, less is more. Seems he learned from last episode, where he initially scoffed at this idea.
- Convenience Store Gift Shopping: Played with; Gene and Louise are genuinely impressed by Tina's low-budget gifts of a tub of pink sprinkles for Gene and a vending-machine toy that Louise really wanted, and feel their own gift of new barrettes pales in comparison. In this case it's because Tina actually made an effort while Louise and Gene half-assed it (Gene was even going to give Tina one of her own barrettes).
- Cool Big Sis: Tina shows how well she understands her siblings and used her allowance as best she could to get them Christmas presents they truly love, which only makes Gene and Louise feel guilty because they halfassed their gifts.
- Creepy Doll: Linda owns a Santa doll whose face looks rather twisted.
- A Day in the Limelight: The first time Mike the mailman, a long-recurring character, has a major role.
- Everyone Has Standards: Even Linda, who tolerates her mother at her absolute worst, acknowledges that Gloria tends to say things that piss people off. Similarly, even the normally-patient Tina tries to lock herself in the bathroom like Bob did because even she can't deal with Gloria and Gayle arguing.
- Failed a Spot Check: Donna failed to notice the empty bins were stacked oddly when she was finished, which might've tipped her off that the one at the bottom had a package inside it.
- Failed Attempt at Drama: Mike the mailman keeps trying (and failing) to deliver a bad-ass one-liner.
- Good Feels Good: Linda's driven to ensure the man's nephew gets his gift simply because it's Christmas.
- Innocently Insensitive: Linda's so excited about working at the post office for Christmas she doesn't seem to realize her coworkers are frustrated by how over-the-top she's being.
- I Reject Your Reality: Linda insists that even though Bob makes a big deal about being around her parents, he loves them deep down. Gene and Louise lampshades the improbability of this.Gene: Real deep.Louise: So far deep.Gene: Puts his butt to sleep.
- Jerkass: Linda might be overdoing it on her Christmas cheer in the post office, but her superior Donna is still something of a buzzkill.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Gayle's plan to hide in the ottoman was completely stupid and poorly thought out. But she has every right to be mad when Gloria, who knew about the plan, leaves Gayle trapped in there for hours because she couldn't be bothered to look for her.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Tina comments that Gloria and Al haven't been to the apartment in a while, which references not only their seven-year absence from the show but also the fact that they haven't been to the apartment since their debut.
- Maintain the Lie: Linda warns Bob that Gayle has lied to her parents about her life, and that he might not be able to keep track of them.
- Missed Him by That Much: Linda sneaks into the main post office by waiting for a truck to leave so they can sneak through the gate. Once there, however, the postal distribution center manager informs her that the last truck for priority shipping just left.
- Nervous Wreck: Bob is understandably in a state of panic at the thought of being subjected to all three of his in-laws at the same time without Linda reigning them back.
- Never My Fault: Gloria doesn't accept the blame for failing to notice Gayle going missing for hours. As stupid as Gayle's plan to hide in the ottoman was, the fact remains that Gloria didn't even try to look for her.
- Oh, Crap!: Bob can already hardly tolerate Gayle or his parents-in-law by themselves. Having to deal with all three of them at once, without Linda to mediate? He understandably loses it.Linda: I love you very much.
Bob: No, you don't! - Oh, No... Not Again!: As Linda tries to get into the distribution center after hours, Gene says "Another Christmas Eve spent yelling through a gate."
- Only One Finds It Fun: Linda decides to hide a creepy Santa doll in the post office and give a candy cane to whoever finds it, just because it's Christmas Eve. Not only did she accidentally buy gross chocolate-flavored candy canes, but Donna understandably doesn't enjoy stumbling on that ugly doll.
- Parental Neglect: Gloria turns out to be a fairly crappy parent for this reason.
- Resolved Noodle Incident: Linda tells Bob to try and steer any conversation between Gayle and her parents away from "the ottoman incident". When Bob gets fed up with trying to deflect and gets them to talk things out, he finds out the whole story. Apparently, one Christmas Gayle planned to hide in her dad's oversized ottoman and jump out and surprise her cousin, but she got stuck inside since everyone else decided to pile their presents on top of it and she had to spend hours inside it with her dad's smelly slippers because her parents didn't think she was crazy enough to try it.
- Rousing Speech: Subverted. Bob gives a speech about family to try and make peace between Gayle and Gloria, but their relationship is just so strained that that it doesn't work. He only manages to calm them down by completely distracting them from "the ottoman incident".
- Running Gag:
- Donna, Mike, and Linda all mention people sending human poop through the mail.
- Mike's repeated attempts at a one-liner, and following it up by asking anyone nearby if he sounded bad-ass.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Linda becomes determined to deliver the gift herself when it becomes apparent that following post office protocol means it won't get there in time for Christmas.
- Shout-Out: The episode's title is a reference to "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" from Meet Me in St. Louis.
- Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids!: Linda's determined to deliver the man's gift to his nephew, despite everyone telling her she has no way of knowing what's in that box and it could probably just be human poop. She refuses to listen, and discovers there really is a small boy whom the package is meant for. Her idealism rubs off on Mike, who chooses to deliver the package despite it being against regulations.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: Gloria is much more abrasive than she was in her previous appearances, and it's here that Bob's constant complaining about her starts to make a lot more sense.
- Too Much Alike: Gloria and Gayle are pretty much no different from each other, being needy, selfish, and obnoxious. This episode reveals they don't get along whatsoever.
- The Triple: Bob's Imagine Spot about Linda's family being The Three Wise Men.Bob: One brings hurtful comments.Gloria: You go back in there and get -Bob: One brings lots of phlegm.Al: *makes a long hacking noise*Bob: And one is... Gayle.Gayle: Hi.
- The Unfavorite: Gayle is pretty clearly this for Gloria and Al.
- Ungrateful Bitch: Gayle expects Bob to go along with her ridiculous lies she tells Gloria and Al about her being rich and successful, yet regularly makes jokes at his expense like how she promises to "keep the bathroom he always stinks up" and saying Bob flirted with her boyfriend "Dirk Moneyrich."
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Donna sets off the conflict because she didn't see the package when she was stacking the empty bins.
