Plot
After attending the Springfield Elementary School Christmas pageant, the Simpsons prepare for the holiday season. Marge asks Bart and Lisa for their letters to Santa. Lisa requests a pony, and Bart requests a tattoo. The next day, Marge takes the kids to the mall to go Christmas shopping at a department store in the mall. Bart slips away to the tattoo parlor and attempts to get a tattoo that reads "Mother". With the tattoo partially completed, Marge bursts in and drags Bart two doors down to the dermatologist to have it removed. Counting on Homer's Christmas bonus, Marge spends all of the family's holiday money on the procedure. Meanwhile, at the power plant Homer's boss, Mr. Burns, announces that there will be no Christmas bonus this year.
Homer, discovering there is no money for Christmas presents and not wanting to worry the family, takes a job as a shopping mall Santa Claus at the suggestion of his friend Barney Gumble. On Christmas Eve, Bart goes to the mall and harasses Santa, exposing Homer's secret. After Homer is paid less than expected for his Department Store Santa work, he and Bart receive a hot dog racing tip from Barney.
At Springfield Downs, Homer, inspired by an announcement about a last-minute entry named Santa's Little Helper, bet all his money on the 99-1 long shot. The greyhound finishes last. As Homer and Bart leave the track, they watch the dog's owner angrily attempt to disown him for losing the race. Bart pleads with Homer to keep the dog as a pet, and he reluctantly agrees. When Bart and Homer return home, Homer attempts to come clean to the family, but all is forgiven with the arrival of Santa's Little Helper who is assumed to be a Christmas present for the whole family.
Read more about this topic: Simpsons Roasting On An Open Fire
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“The plot was most interesting. It belonged to no particular age, people, or country, and was perhaps the more delightful on that account, as nobody’s previous information could afford the remotest glimmering of what would ever come of it.”
—Charles Dickens (1812–1870)
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They carry nothing dutiable; they won’t
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—Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924)