The episode's title is a play on Home Alone (1990). David M. Stern's brother Daniel Stern had starred in the movie as Marv Merchants, one of the main antagonists. In addition, Homer mimics the poster when he notices that Maggie is missing.
David M. Stern noticed that most of the writers were pitching stories about Bart and Homer, and he thought a "deeper vein of comedy" could be reached by having Marge suffer from a nervous breakdown. James L. Brooks immediately approved the idea.
This is the third time a case of an ironic musical hold has caused a Simpsons character to burst into tears. The first was in Stark Raving Dad (1991) when Marge dialed Calmwood Mental Institution and was placed on hold while "Crazy" by Patsy Cline played. The second time was in Saturdays of Thunder (1991) when Homer dialed the National Fatherhood Institution.
The scene at the train station where Marge leaves for Rancho Relaxo includes a brief cameo appearance of a character modeled after director Jim Reardon. Reardon dislikes flying, and took trains whenever possible, so the animators always tried to include him in scenes at a train station.
The man who rudely turns down the lube job and bluntly tells the Squeaky-Voiced Teen "Do not touch me" was the same man in When Flanders Failed (1991) who was rude to Ned Flanders when Ned validated his parking ticket without having to buy anything from The Leftorium.