Thanksgiving finds the Heck family in turmoil when Axl tries to figure out the perfect time to tell his parents that he dropped three out of his four college classes. Frankie's dad, Tag, admits to Mike that he lost a lot of money gambling online and won't be able to take his wife Pat on a planned cruise. Sue is hiding a shocking secret from her discount shopping excursion with Frankie, Dr. Goodwin and Uncle Rusty's wife and kids show up unannounced for Thanksgiving dinner, and Brick goes to extreme measures to have lime green jello salad during the feast.

When Axl comes home from college for Christmas vacation but would rather spend time with his friends over family, he and Frankie must come up with a time management agreement that will satisfy both of them, Meanwhile, Sue's severe allergic reaction to the Christmas tree threatens to ruin her holiday, and after it's discovered that Brick lied to the school about his Christmas wrapping paper sales, he finds himself running a mini Ponzi scheme in an attempt to pay back the debt.