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How I Met Your Mother

The Christmas season is here and that means one major thing for TV devotees: re-watching all of your favorite festive sitcom episodes! In celebration of the season and the tradition of TV comedies getting all holly jolly for one episode a year, Decider presents our very first Sitcom Advent Calendar. Every day leading up to Christmas, Decider’s resident sitcom elf Brett White will share one holiday-themed sitcom episode for you to stream to make your days merry and bright.

Decider’s Sitcom Advent Calendar Day 2

How I Met Your Mother, “How Lily Stole Christmas”

Season 2, Episode 11
Original Airdate: December 11, 2006
Written By: Brenda Hsueh
Directed By: Pamela Fryman

All Marshall wants is to spend the holiday in his annual Christmas Eve Winter Wonderland, but there’s just one hiccup: Ted kinda sorta called Lily a grinch (except he didn’t say “grinch”) and she is not happy about it. Will Lily and Ted make amends, or is that too big of a Christmas Eve miracle?

Christmas Trope Count: 9 (All About Christmas, Decorating Indoors, Perfect Gift, Carolers/Choir, Tree Disaster, Someone’s A Grinch, Religion!, Visiting Family, Carols)

This is the only time that the “Someone’s A Grinch” trope actually means something else entirely, but it is a crucial plot point! And Future Ted kicks off the episode with narration about his Christmas options, including his “super religious cousin Stacy and her family,” a family that (*gasp*) doesn’t believe in presents!