Eddie informs Jessica that he wants to spend Christmas with Nicole in New York, and starts rebelling when she refuses. Louis and Evan do their best to help an overwhelmed Emery decide on which one of his numerous friends to invite to the family's Christmas Eve dinner.
- Christmas Episode: The events of the episode take place during the winter holidays.
- Good Old Ways: The main plot is Jessica stubbornly sticking to the family's old Christmas traditions, including refusing to let Eddie go away for the holidays, and Eddie rebelling against her. Ultimately, it turns out that Jessica fondly remembers Eddie's first Christmas as an infant and doesn't want to risk ruining those memories, having to gradually accept that things have to change now that Eddie's growing up.
- Holiday Volunteering: Eddie uses this to rebel against Jessica, getting out of family activities by volunteering and inviting a local homeless person to their Christmas dinner, which Jessica can't refuse (despite obviously being frustrated) without looking horrible.
- Reflexive Response: One of the reasons Eddie hates the Christmas plays that Jessica always forces the family to attend is because he always ends up falling asleep midway through. In the climax, Jessica relates a story about how he kept crying as an infant until they attended a play and he fell asleep in Jessica's arms, and Eddie realizes it might be this and not necessarily the plays' content that makes him so sleepy.
- Sibling Team: Emery eventually realizes that the reason he's never been able to settle on a "best" friend to bring to family engagements is because the person he most enjoys spending time with is his brother Evan.
