[1] In this episode, an angry Marge kicks Homer out of the house when he comes home late on Christmas Eve.

The episode begins with Comic Book Guy and Kumiko Albertson watching the Cosmic Wars Special, with Comic Book Guy expressing shock and outrage that the special actually gets worse the more he watches it, and Kumiko stating he has every right to be angry.

Homer learns that Moe had the clock 2 hours behind on purpose, and when he finally gets home, Marge is enraged and kicks him out, saying she does not want him in the house on Christmas.

Homer ends up at the miserable local movie theatre to watch a depressing Life is Beautiful-type of film alongside other lost souls like Kirk Van Houten, the Crazy Cat Lady, Groundskeeper Willie, and Gil.

[3][4] The episode received an audience of 6.52 million, making it the most watched show on Fox that night.

Club gave the episode a B−, saying "The moderate pleasure to be gleaned from ‘I Won’t Be Home for Christmas’ comes from a show trying to wring some heart and laughs from a quarter-century of well-trod territory.