Thanksgiving with Marshall's family is stressful because Lily thinks she may be pregnant. Robin, Barney, and Ted spend the holiday volunteering.
This episode provides examples of:
- Bait-and-Switch: Ted meets a stripper named Tracy.Ted: And that, kids, is the true story of how I met your mother.Kids: WHAT?!Ted: I'm kidding!
- The Big Guy: The entire Eriksen Family (including the wives) are all freakin' tall, to the point Marshall is considered "the runt" at 'only' 6'4" (1.9 meters). Lily is accordingly freaked out at the prospect of giving birth to a 7 kg. (15 lb.) Eriksen baby.
- Calvinball: "Bask Ice Ball," the hockey/basketball hybrid that Marshall's family plays. Presently, Lily asks Marshall what the rules are, and he admits that there are none; they just whale on each other.
- Cordon Bleugh Chef:
- For Lily, the Eriksen women are this, since the "Eriksen traditional salad" is made of potato chips, gummy bears and 16 cups of mayonaise.
- Also, Barney is the inventor of the "Thankstini", which consists of cranberry juice, potato vodka, and a bouillon cube.
- Foreshadowing: The first hint about the mother's identity: the Bait-and-Switch ending. The kids only freak out over the prospect of their dad marrying a stripper after she states her name is Tracy.
- Gargle Blaster: Barney's Thankstini. It successfully evokes the taste of a Thanksgiving dinner, but it leaves everyone with a wicked hangover.
- Hidden Depths: Robin and Ted find Barney at the soup kitchen. The manager tells them he's there every Sunday and he's their best volunteer. They then find out that he's there on a court mandate. But he points out that he is volunteer of the year and works hard even if it was mandatory.Robin: Barney, what are you doing here?Barney: Oh, just the Lord's work.Ted: But you're Satan.
- Holiday Volunteering: Robin is Canadian and Ted has to work the day after Thanksgiving so neither will be going home for the holiday. They decide to spend the day volunteering at a soup kitchen. Lampshaded when the manager tells them it's the biggest volunteer day of the year and he has no use for them.
- Hypocritical Humor: Robin complains to Ted about how America is the world's leader in handgun violence. Robin is a Gun Nut herself as shown in later episodes.
- Jerkass Has a Point: The food shelter people are obviously wrong to be stealing higher quality food like portabello mushrooms and truffles, but it is true that shelters, especially at the holiday time, will get a surge in donations and some things, especially perishable food, can go to waste if not used quickly enough. Had they been keeping extra heads of lettuce or expired cans of food it likely wouldn't have been as big of a deal.
- Pregnancy Scare: Lily is five days late and just threw up...
- Thanksgiving EpisodeRobin: Thanksgiving in November. Weird...
- The Maiden Name Debate: Marshall's family is horrified to hear that Lily won't be taking Marshall's name. And they had just given her the lovely Mrs. Eriksen apron.
