Plot

Holiday mishaps include Lois going ballistic after losing her Christmas cheer and Peter not being able to watch the KISS Christmas special.

Lois is doing all she can to get the Griffin household ready for Christmas, Stewie will play Jesus in the town Nativity scene, and Peter is going out to do the family's gift shopping. But along the way Peter manages to give all the presents to charity, Brian sets the house on fire, and Stewie becomes obsessed with getting plutonium from Santa Claus. Will Lois crack under the strain?—Jean-Marc Rocher <rocher@fiberbit.net>

After Lois repeatedly reminds Peter to donate a present to charity, he mistakenly donates all of the family's Christmas gifts to a needy kids' charity. Lois seems unfazed by the mistake, but insists that the entire family shop for new presents at the mall. Peter reluctantly agrees, although he only wants to watch Kiss Saves Santa on television; Brian stays behind to keep an eye on the turkey cooking in the oven. Lois encourages Stewie to star as baby Jesus in a nativity scene during the Quahog Christmas pageant. Although Stewie initially resists, he eventually plays along in hopes of pleasing Santa, who he believes is omnipotent and thereby can supply him with plutonium.

While the family is shopping, an ember shoots onto the rug from the fireplace; while Brian tries to deal with this crisis, the overcooked turkey begins to burn. Brian finds a fire extinguisher, but to his dismay it is merely a novelty item filled with plastic snakes. He curses Peter for this. The interior of the house is destroyed, but Brian escapes with minor burns. Amazingly, Lois maintains a cheerful attitude, saying that they just need to clean up a bit; but when Meg tells her that there are no more paper towels, Lois freaks out. She screams at the family about how difficult it is to ensure that Christmas happens without a hitch, then runs from the ruined house on a rampage.

Lois storms through town, berating happy people enjoying the season for their ridiculous optimism. When she reaches the town square, she begins to climb the huge Christmas tree there, bent on destroying the ornamental star on top. The rest of the family arrives and Stewie, eager to perform a good deed to earn Santa's grace, performs an extemporaneous monologue about Jesus and the meaning of Christmas. Lois, watching Stewie, has a change of heart and begins to descend the tree; at that moment the police shoot her with a powerful tranquilizer dart at Peter's urging.

In the closing scene, the Griffin family, including a heavily sedated Lois, wishes viewers a merry Christmas. Lois sits on a rocking chair, drooling.