Miracle on Evergreen Terrace

"Miracle on Evergreen Terrace" is the tenth episode of Season 9.
==Synopsis==
Bart accidentally destroys the family's Christmas presents and blames the disaster on a burglar, resulting in the rest of the town opening its hearts and wallets for them, but when Santa's Little Helper finds the melted wreckage and Bart confesses that he lied, the town shuns and harasses the family.
==Full Story==
Homer and Marge are in the car driving to the Try-N-Save, and Homer complains about the car's heater. He bangs on it and liquid squirts out and soaks Marge. Later at the store, Marge asks Homer why he waits until to do his shopping. Inside the store, frenzied shoppers are quickly snatching the holiday season's most popular toys. Homer, posing as a store , announces the opening of a new lane, where he manages to sneak away with several toys for his kids.
At home, the family makes its last-minute Christmas preparations. At bedtime on Christmas Eve, Marge tells the family that no one may open presents until 07:00, just to make sure there is no cheating or unfair advantage, she confiscates everyone of the .
However, Bart (relying on an old Indian trick) drinks twelve glasses of in order to wake up early to use the bathroom and get an early look at his presents. He wakes at 05:04 and (after a quick use to the bathroom) unwraps his gifts. One of those presents is the coveted Inferno Buster 3000, a fire truck. Bart has fun playing with the truck, until he accidentally crashes it into the Christmas tree and the remaining presents setting it on fire. The flames immediately engulf the plastic and all of the presents beneath it. Bart manages to extinguish the fire before it spreads, and while wearing boots, he hides the burned evidence outside beneath the snow in the front yard.
When rest of the family come downstairs at 07:01 and discover that their Christmas tree and presents are gone after Bart closed the door, Marge asks Bart what has happened. Bart lies to them by making up a story about how he witnessed a burglary in progress, the suspect having made off with the tree and all of the family's presents. The police investigate, and Kent Brockman decides to do a on what he believes is the Simpsons's yuletide misfortune.
As a result of Kent's report, all in Springfield show their community spirit by giving them a new Christmas tree and $15,000. With the donations, Homer buys a new car (which the dealer marked up from $12,000 just for him), which he promptly drives into a lake, causing the car to blow up.
The following morning, Bart's conscience finally gets to him, and he finally admits the truth to his family. However, Lisa, Homer and Maggie were not sympathetic to him as they selfishly strangle him and Marge tries to break them up. Soon, Kent and the Channel 6 news crew conveniently arrive to do a followup story. Homer slaps on a plastic smile and tells the "burglar" that he will be caught, but the story quickly unravels when a cameraman, with help from Santa's Little Helper, finds the burnt remains of the Christmas tree. The family is forced to explain, but it is too little, too late for the viewers, who feel they have been . The citizens demand the Simpsons pay back the $15,000, lest they be treated as outcasts.
Marge chooses that the only alternative is to get another Christmas tree and the same presents, so she becomes a contestant on . However, Marge performs very poorly scoring -$5200. Eventually, everyone in Springfield (including Alex Trebek, who has finally got an idea), having grown tired of waiting for the debt to be repaid, plans to steal everything in the family's house to sell (including Snowball II and Santa's Little Helper); on the bright side, everyone forgives the Simpsons for their lies. In the end, the family playfully fight over a tattered washcloth, the only thing they have left.
==Broadcast History==
===United States===
Broadcast date(s)	Channel aired
*December 21, 1997
*December 25, 1997
*December 13, 1998	
*December 25, 2020	
===United Kingdom===
Broadcast date(s)	Channel aired
*December 23, 2020
*December 23, 2021	
*February 9, 2022	
==External Links==
* at the Christmas Specials Wiki
fr:Un Noël d'enfer
pl:Miracle on Evergreen Terrace
pt:Milagre de Natal
Category:Bart episodes
Category:Christmas
Category:Simpson Family Are Pariahs episodes
Category:Santa's Little Helper episodes
Category:Winter Episodes
Category:Kent Brockman episodes
Category:Homer episodes
Category:Marge episodes
Category:Lisa episodes
Category:Maggie episodes
Category:Episodes on DVD
Category:Holiday episodes
Category:Episodes with a alternative Gracie Films logo
Category:Episodes with alternate end credits
Category:Christmas Episodes
Category:Written by Ron Hauge
Category:Directed by Bob Anderson
Category:Poorly-received episodes
Category:Episodes where Homer chokes Bart
Category:Episodes with mixed reviews
Category:Episodes Where Bart cries
Category:Episodes Where Homer cries
Category:Sequels
Category:Episodes without Movies
Category:Maude Flanders Episodes