Plot summary
It's Christmas and AFC Richmond is celebrating in different ways.
Roy's (Brett Goldstein) and Keeley's (Juno Temple) plans for "Sexy Christmas" are put on hold when Roy's surgeon sister is called in to perform an emergency procedure and leaves her daughter Phoebe to stay with her uncle Roy. Phoebe is distraught because a classmate mocked her for bad breath, which Roy and Keeley smell and confirm, reassuring Phoebe her breath is so bad something must be wrong medically.
Meanwhile, Higgins (Jeremy Swift) hosts a Christmas party at his house with his family, inviting the players who can't travel home for the holiday, something he does annually. Although their invitation is usually accepted by only a few players, Higgins and family are joined first by Sam (Toheeb Jimoh), then Dani (Cristo Fernández) and most of the other players, all of whom bring traditional foods to the dinner.
Ted (Jason Sudeikis) spends Christmas Day video-calling Henry and Michelle (Andrea Anders), but the expensive drone Ted bought for his son causes Henry to run outside to play with it. Michelle awkwardly wishes him a Merry Christmas and hangs up, making Ted feel he failed. He is preparing to spend Christmas drinking and watching It's a Wonderful Life, when Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham) appears outside his apartment. Aware that this is the first Christmas after his divorce, she invites him to join her in delivering gifts to underprivileged children in Richmond. His spirits lifted, he thanks Rebecca for her help.
Roy and Keeley go door to door through Richmond trying to find a dentist who can help with Phoebe's bad breath. As night falls, they find a woman, Dr. Rogers (Claire Skinner) who can help them. She explains that the bad breath is due to Phoebe's new antihistamine, prescribed because she is allergic to her new cat Dauphine. After receiving a prescription to fix her breath, Phoebe goes to the home of the boy who mocked her and, in a play on a scene from Love Actually, tells him she felt hurt by his comments, that he should know better, but that she forgives him, prompting him to apologize. Later, as Higgins celebrates with the club at his house, they find Ted and Rebecca outside singing " Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) " with a street band. Everyone joins outside the house to sing and dance.
Credits
Adapted from Wikipedia contributors, Carol of the Bells (Ted Lasso). Paragraphs and formatting adjusted; illustrations, reference markers, block quotations and non-story material omitted.