People share how this iconic, 5-year-old SNL Christmas sketch ‘changed’ their holidays forever
Six years ago, one of the most iconic Christmas sketches ever aired on Saturday Night Live. It’s called simply, “Christmas Robe,” and it depicts an average American family excitedly waking up on Christmas morning, running to the tree, and opening their presents. In song form, each member of the family takes turns rapping about their own gift haul: A hat, a drone, a pinball machine…
Except for poor mom, played perfectly by Kristen Wiig, who only got a robe, that was 40% off. Things only get worse for Mom as she discovers that her stocking is also empty and she must now go make the family breakfast while everyone plays with their new gifts.
If you haven’t seen it, here it is. It’s well worth watching in its entirety:
The sketch got a lot of laughs and resonated deeply with people who watched it, especially moms.
Why the sketch hit so many people so hard
It’s no big secret that moms are the primary makers of Christmas magic in most Western families. While they get joy out of making the holidays special for their families, it’s a lot of exhausting work, made worse when it goes unnoticed and unappreciated. It’s implied, of course, that Kristen Wiig’s character bought everyone their presents while no one in the family bothered to think of her at all.
Jessica Cushman Johnston writes for Motherly: “[Making Christmas magic] is not something my husband or my kids put on me, it’s my own deal. It’s also a tinsel-covered baton handed down from generation to generation of women. As a kid, I just thought the warm fuzzy feelings I felt on Christmas morning ‘happened.’ Now I know that the magic happens because someone is working hard, and now that someone is me.”
Kristen Wiig’s character beautifully says it all with the dead-inside expression as she feigns excitement over her lonely robe. In just two and a half minutes, the cast and writers managed to capture........
