After a failed Black Friday shopping spree, Marge is determined to fix Christmas; Homer and the kids surprise Marge with a vacation to a Florida resort.
This episode contains examples of:
- Aesop Amnesia: After previously having to deal with Gil being a terrible human for an entire year, Marge yet again lets herself be victimized by Gil, causing her to get injured and lose the tv she wanted for Black Friday.
- All for Nothing: Marge gives up the TV to help Gil get a futon bed for his granddaughter out of sympathy, only for him to sell it moments later.
- Biting-the-Hand Humor: The female hotel manager tells Bart and Lisa how their resort can't compete with rival resorts, she mentions how Disney is laying grounds for a new Family Guy World, and it cuts away to the construction going on with walkaround versions of the Griffin family posing for a photo, referencing Disney's recent (at the time) purchase of 20th Century Fox.Stewie character: "I was the 'It-boy' of 2006!"
- Child Hater: The female hotel manager.
- Christmas Episode: Overlapping with Vacation Episode when the family go to Florida.
- Cross-Referenced Titles: To Tis The 15th Season.
- Dreaming of a White Christmas: As per usual, Springfield and surrounding areas seem to be the only place in the USA where it snows at Christmas. The snow even starts to come down on Thanksgiving night. This is also played with, when the family leaves Springfield there isn't any snow anywhere else, not even when we see the family driving through Tennessee. And then on their way home from Florida, they see what looks like snow coming down and assumes they are getting closer to home, but it's actually flakes from an asbestos plant.
- Handy Feet: Marge is temporarily reduced to this due to her frozen hands.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Moe throws a Community Christmas Dinner in his tavern, claiming it's the one nice thing he does.
- Retail Riot: As soon as the doors open, everyone rushes in and goes berserk.
- Right on Queue: Marge stays overnight at the line to the store to be first in line when it opens on Black Friday. Homer was supposed to join her later, but his scarf gets caught in the door and is knocked out, and poor Marge was left to deal with the mayhem alone.
- Sanity Ball: Homer is more competent than usual here, actually preparing to take an early shift at the line and organizing a vacation for Marge. Both fail due to external circumstances, not his typical carelessness or self-centeredness.
- Shout-Out: The horse head on the bed scene from The Godfather is spoofed, with Bart leaving the animatronic heads from the Hall of Vice-Presidents in the manager's bed.
- Slipping a Mickey: Homer and the kids get Marge to go along with their vacation by slipping sleeping pills into her tea.
- Take That!: In-Universe The female Hotel Manager writes an apology letter to Bart, requesting him to tell his sister (by whom, she means Maggie, not Lisa) she's pretty.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Homer treats Bart and Lisa as such after Marge fails to get the expensive Smart TV they wanted.
- Vacation Episode: Overlapping with Christmas Episode when the family go to Florida.
- Would Hurt a Child: The female hotel manager sprays both Bart and Lisa in the face with ammonia when they confront her about the sham hotel.
