That night, after being made to sleep on the couch by Marge, Homer watches Mr. McGrew's Christmas Carol and after imagining seeing his name in the show, realizes that he must change his ways.

Now more charitable, Homer apologizes for his mistakes, donates his old clothes to the homeless shelter, gives Marge the last porkchop at dinner, and builds a public skating rink in his backyard, as well as giving Lenny a decent Christmas present to make up for the Secret Santa: a cube made of photographs of Lenny and his friends.

At church, Ned Flanders becomes jealous of Homer's position as the new nicest person in town and sets out to buy gifts for everyone to regain the title.

Flanders calms them by reciting a Bible verse, while Homer shows a Christmas star, which actually is a distress flare fired by Hans Moleman, before he and Ned give everyone back their presents and everybody sings "Hark!

The episode was written by Michael Price, who has cited "Homer's summation of what Christmas means" as his favorite contribution to the show.

While reviewing the DVD, Brian James of PopMatters wrote that "'Tis the Fifteenth Season" is "hardly a masterpiece, but it does feature a talking astrolabe and the phrase 'double-bacon genius-burger,' two elements that deserve a spot in Simpson Valhalla.

It's a shame that such entries don't come as fast and furious as they did a decade ago, but that The Simpsons does offer a few belly laughs now and then, rather than being a complete embarrassment this late in the game is a bigger accomplishment than anyone gives it credit for.

Club praised the episode for "strik[ing] a nice balance between sharp satire and real heart.