Our take
A standard Christmas episode dressed up as a 25th-anniversary special, with a pleasingly daft heist and a surprisingly sweet change of heart in the middle. The office gift exchange plot is solid, and the subplot about getting off Santa's naughty list gives the youngest Griffin real growth. It ends on a pitch-black joke that will either make you howl or wince. Middle of the pack, but festive throughout.
What happens
Stewie writes his letter to Santa, but Brian tells him he is almost certainly on the naughty list, so Stewie sets out to be good in time, throwing away his weapons and paying everyone compliments, even Meg. At work, Peter's boss, Preston Lloyd, announces a mandatory White Elephant gift exchange that will count towards Peter's annual review. Peter forgets until the night before and grabs a Christmas tree brooch from the bedroom closet, which turns out to be Lois's treasured family heirloom. When Peter's boss gives the brooch to his elderly mother, Peter tries every trick to get it back, and finally recruits Cleveland, Quagmire and Joe to break into her nursing home disguised as exterminators. Meanwhile Stewie accidentally vaporises Meg with one of his discarded guns and tries to cover it up before Santa hears. On Christmas Eve he gives up asking for presents and asks only for Meg's return, and after a magical overnight snowfall she is back under the tree, legs on backwards. Peter returns the brooch and confesses, and when the family takes it back to the old woman as a kindness, the ending turns very dark indeed.
Can the kids watch it?
Not for children: it is adult animation with drug jokes, a character vaporised by a gun and a darkly comic death at the end.
Cast and crew
Starring
- Seth MacFarlane as Peter Griffin, Stewie Griffin, Brian Griffin and Quagmire
- Alex Borstein as Lois Griffin
- Seth Green as Chris Griffin
- Mila Kunis as Meg Griffin
- Arif Zahir as Cleveland Brown
- Patrick Warburton as Joe Swanson
Guest stars
- Peter Macon as Preston Lloyd
Director
- Jerry Langford