The episode won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual in Animation - character animation.
Abed's mom's Christmas card ends with the phrase "Wash your dupa". "Dupa" is the Polish word for "ass".
Dan Harmon explained in an interview why Abed chose the particular toys to represent his friends: 'Abed sees Jeff as a big talking head with limited practical functionality, and he sees Pierce as maybe deserving of more love than he gets, and sees Troy as a soldier, and sees Britta as a malfunctioning device, and sees Annie as a creature of grace, and sees Shirley as a big baby who feels entitled to the Christmas of her choosing."
"Community" is supposedly set in the fictional suburb of Greendale, Colorado, but this is seldom mentioned on the show. There is a subtle visual reference to the show's location in this episode. When Abed dances in the parking lot during the opening song, all of the cars have Colorado license plates.
When the group is in Winter Wonderland and Abed is warning them about the tests being dark, a snowman (presumably snowman Chang) can be seen watching them from behind a tree, then sneak back behind it.