On the 14th day of Christmas, Sarah Marie got a visit from blogger Laura Cardi! Laura is an expert on all things How I Met Your Mother, so it only makes sense she would take over for the December 16^th post.

Take it away Laura…

It’s Christmastime in the city for the gang! And in How I Met Your Mother’s nine seasons, the Holiday episodes were some of the best.

Lily and Ted get in a huge fight in “How Lily Stole Christmas,” when Lily finds out that Ted called her a “Grinch” after she left Marshall and moved to San Francisco for a Summer. When Ted won’t apologize, Lily moves the Christmas wonderland she’s created from Ted and Marshall’s apartment into her own. Meanwhile, Barney is sick or as he likes to put it, his “nose is overflowing with awesome”. Robin takes care of him and shows her maternal side by drugging him when he gets too whiny. The whole gang makes up and happily saves Ted from his religious family so they can all spend Christmas together.

Even our favorite gang gets homesick during the holidays.  In “Little Minnesota,” Robin is feeling a little homesick for the great white north, so Marshall brings her to his favorite Minnesota bar. The rest of the gang is busy keeping Ted’s wild, little sister from Barney. If you’re a fan of Canada jokes, this is the Christmas episode to watch, and there is even a Robin Sparkles appearance.

Babies freak everyone out in the “False Positive”. When the whole group thinks Lily and Marshall are pregnant, they have collective panic attacks about the trajectory of their lives. After they find out Lily’s pregnancy was a false alarm, they all settle back into their poor choices and Ted has to talk them into doing the right thing again. Highlights include, Barney’s diamond encrusted suit and Ted’s Christmas themed movie snack (a gingerbread house).

Now that Lily and Marshall have their own house on Long Island, Marshall wants to create the best Christmas light show in the tri-state area in “Symphony of Illusion.” He enlists his teenage neighbor, Scott, for help and treats him like the son he is about to have, but Scott is a tad more mischievous than Marshall would hope for his own son. Meanwhile, Robin is in the slums because she found out that she can’t have kids. She keeps this from the gang, explaining her depression by telling them her dream of being an Olympic Pole Vaulter has been crushed. Ted, knowing more is wrong than just the pole vaulting nonsense, decorates the entire apartment in a light show to cheer her up.

Pics and gifs courtesy of http://www.tumblr.com.