"An According to Jiminy Christmas" is the first Christmas episode of the ABC sitcom According to Jim, aired as the tenth episode in the show's first season.
Synopsis[]
It's the holiday season and Cheryl and Dana's mother, Maggie, is staying over. And while Cheryl hopes to get her grandmother's pearl necklace for Christmas, the girls catch Andy dressed as Santa and believe that he is him. When Maggie visits she begins to act impossible, from requesting tomato juice to wanting to sleep in Jim and Cheryl's room instead of the girls'. She even makes Cheryl feel small by criticizing her hair and washing the dishes after she already did.
In the middle of the night, Jim, who can't sleep, goes downstairs to get something to eat. There, he finds Maggie, who too can't sleep. He is sick of her so he drops hints that he and Cheryl want her to stay at a hotel. Cheryl comes downstairs and is asked by Maggie if she wants her to stay in a hotel. Cheryl meekly answers no, even though she shares Jim's feelings.
Jim is angry at Cheryl for not only letting him take the blame for something they both agree on, but also for not standing up to Maggie. At night the next day, Maggie wants everyone to open their gifts from her because she is leaving tomorrow. While everyone opens their presents, the girls ask Andy why he's still around when it's Christmas Eve. Even though he is unaware of their suspicions, he tells them he'll leave soon and wants them to stop bothering him, a request the fearful respond to. It’s Cheryl's turn to open her gift and finds that not only did she not get the necklace but Dana got it.
Cheryl finally lets her feelings out in a burst of outrage, feeling that she didn't get that necklace because Maggie thinks that she doesn’t want her staying over, and truthfully, she doesn't because of how small she makes her feel.
The next morning, Maggie has left for the airport and Jim thinks that Cheryl, who didn't see her off, needs to finish what she started last night, having stormed off after her outburst. Among the things she says when she sees her is why she didn't get the necklace. Maggie explains that Dana doesn't have someone the way Cheryl has Jim, someone to buy her nice things and say that she's special. And after they've cleared the air about everything, Maggie takes off.
Availability[]
The episode was made available on the According to Jim: The Complete First Season DVD set, released by Lions Gate Entertainment (under license from Disney) on October 21, 2008.