How the Ghosts Stole Christmas episode. Carter agreed to meet her and the two discussed possible ideas for futures episodes. After several years of thinking, Carter decided to write "How the Ghosts Stole Christmas" largely as a vehicle for her. Originally, Carter wanted Bob Newhart to play the part of Maurice. However, Newhart was not interested, and so the production team approached Ed Asner, who readily agreed to take part in the episode. The production for the episode was bare-bones, making use of only a few sets. Because of this, "How the Ghosts Stole Christmas" was the cheapest sixth season episode; however, the reduction in
The Fight Before Christmas Matthew Schofield. Similar to the show's "Treehouse of Horror" episodes, this episode features several segments. Since all four of them are set during Christmas, the episode was originally broadcast in December 2010. There have been many Christmas episodes on "The Simpsons" ever since the first episode of the series, the 1989 holiday special "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", and "The Fight Before Christmas" was not the first time a Christmas episode was divided into segments. Several parts of the episode were inspired by popular culture. The train that appears in the first dream segment references the train featured in