The gang from It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia isn’t the first group of people you’d think to look to for a little inspiration this holiday. In fact, we’ve even made the argument that they’re quite possibly the last group of people you’d want to celebrate Christmas with. Despite all that, the gang’s tendency to be indulgent, along with their willingness to go to great lengths to have a good time makes them the ideal inspiration for this time of year. From their innovative ideas on presents, their love of life’s simple pleasures, and their constant intake of alcohol, here are all the ways that the Always Sunny gang can help inspire your own holiday cheer.
Gift-Giving (And Taking)
Okay, so lets get this out of the way: breaking into peoples’ houses is wrong, and so is stealing their presents. However, if you step back and look at the situation through the eyes of a young, naive Mac (Rob McElhenney), the idea of going house-to-house to grab a present and assuming that everyone in the neighborhood is doing the same at your house… well, it might seem like a neighborhood-wide game of Yankee Swap.
These days, our conventional approach to gift-giving is overdone, and the mountain of presents crammed under the tree often casts too big of a shadow over the spirit of the holiday itself. Again, we’re not advocating anyone grab presents from someone else’s home in a reckless free-for-all, but why not get a little adventurous when planning out your Christmas shopping this year? Trade names on your list with friends or family. Buy gifts for your enemies. Heck, buy gifts for complete strangers. If you’re serious about letting the gang serve as the blueprint for your Christmas, convention is the first thing to go.
Liquid Merriment
The fact that alcohol will be a necessity this time of year doesn’t really need to be said, but considering that the gang’s love of booze is inseparable from just about every other aspect of their life, it’s bound to be a big factor over the holidays. While you probably won’t have the pleasure of hanging out at Patty’s Pub ponying up to the bar and sitting on the joke stool with a nail sticking out of it, do the next best thing and spike your eggnog, Irish up your coffee, or just start guzzling booze straight from the bottle. It’s Christmas time, after all. But fair warning: you’ll want to pencil in a couple days so you can tend to your hangover in late December, after Christmas, but before New Year’s Eve.
Stocking Stuffers!
Stockings are the perfect place for all the little trinkets that you’ve bought that don’t necessarily warrant their own wrapping paper, and despite it being an all-too-brief endeavor, no one had a more inspired collection of trinkets than Patty’s Pub. So, be it a pair of Patty’s Pub underwear, one of Frank’s green hard-boiled eggs, or Charlie’s (Charlie Day) legendary kitten mittens, Patty’s Pub is home to all the stocking-ready merchandise that no one ever would’ve asked for. Point being, don’t be afraid to go a little weird this holiday and fill the stockings of those closest to you with some absolutely absurd white elephant gifts. I mean, there’s bound to be someone on your Christmas list that would love a gun that shoots tequila into their mouth.
The Seasonal Redemption
After a lifetime of torturing his family on Christmas (and most of the other days, too), Frank’s (Danny Devito) kids — Dennis (Glenn Howerton) and Dee (Caitlin Olsen) — join forces to mount a holiday offensive and teach their father the meaning of Christmas. Once the two of them track down his old business partner, Eugene Hamilton (David Huddleston), they try to create A Christmas Carol-like journey through his Christmas past and present. While Eugene covers the past, and a hollowed-out couch helps show him the present, it isn’t until Frank almost wrecks his brand new Lamborghini Countach that he’s shown a particularly grim future if he doesn’t start being a better person.
Of course, in true Dickensian fashion, Frank has a change of heart (hallucinating the California Raisins burning you in effigy will have that effect), and with a renewed view of life, he vows to start treating everyone better. Remember, it’s not really the holidays until someone has this kind of life-affirmation. Whoever experiences it, hopefully, they stick with the whole ‘being a good person’ thing longer than Frank did, which was over by the time the credits rolled.
Take Joy In The Little Moments
It’s a Christmas tradition that goes back as far as Mac and Charlie can remember, and after all the stealing, squabbling, and excessive drinking, they can still go down to the railroad tracks and throw some rocks at the passing trains. When all the stress from Christmas time starts to feel overwhelming, it’s important that you take advantage of the simple joys in life. They are what makes the holidays memorable, and you should do so as often as you can. You will have to scrounge up your own rocks, though.
Eat, Drink, And Be Merry
This is the season to eat, drink, and be merry, and there’s no better way to do all three at once than with a nice, juicy holiday rum ham.
