The Simpsons - All 15 Christmas Episodes Ranked
9. Kill Gil, Volumes 1 & 2
Just call it
A Very Gunderson Christmas.
Gil Gunderson is the best supporting character the show has introduced in ages (though he's been around so long now, he's not really a "new" character any more). In Kill Gil, Volumes 1 & 2, he gets a rare chance to shine as the focus of the episode, in which Gil, working as a department store Santa, winds up fired and living with the Simpson clan.
Only, like many a house guest has, he winds up overstaying his welcome.
Kill Gil is actually a very solid outing from season 18, a rare bright spot in the dark ages of the show. It flubs a cameo from Elvis
Stojko (how many Simpsons fans were interested in the figure skater showing up in an episode that aired roughly eight years after his last Olympic medal?), but it got more right than wrong.
However, its ties to Christmas are pretty much just a plot device, which drops it down the list of Simpsons Christmas episodes a little.