After Santa lands in the Bundy's back yard, Ed O'Neill can be seen trying his best not to break character and laugh.
This episode was based on an actual event that occurred on December 16, 1932 in Mesa, AZ. A promoter named John McPhee was hoping to garner Christmas sales by having a stuntman parachute in, make an appearance and distribute toys. After planning it carefully, McPhee discovered his stuntman was at a bar, drunk just a couple of hours before the scheduled jump. He quickly came up with a backup plan where he would put a Santa suit on a mannequin, along with a self-deploying chute. Since the landing was in a remote area, McPhee could then put the suit on and finish the gig. The self-deploying chute, though, failed so many children and parents were traumatized seeing "Santa" fall to his "death." This enraged many parents. Unaware of the tragedy, McPhee showed up dressed as Santa with a police escort. He tried to explain Santa did not die because of magic. It did not placate the large number of parents, but it did have them buying many more toys to help their kids. McPhee was ruined and eventually moved to Colorado.
The boy who sits on Al's left leg (Nestor) is played by Michael Faustino, the real life younger brother of David Faustino (Bud).
The boy who plays Carl, who sits on Al's lap, later played Young Al in Season 3's episode, "He Thought He Could."
This episode was taped on December 4, 1987.