Christmas in July: All 9 Christmas episodes of The Middle, ranked

6. The Middle Season 8, Episode 9 “A Very Marry Christmas”

In this episode, Axl gets married to April and tries to keep it a secret from Frankie after they had that big fight. The truth does finally come out and for his gift, Frankie and Mike gift Axl an annulment. This isn’t a bad episode but the storyline doesn’t really feel like it hinges on Christmas. It could easily have taken place at any other time of year, especially Brick’s subplot which is just about him becoming popular with some neighborhood kids.

5. The Middle Season 2, Episode 10 “A Simple Christmas”

Mike is 100% correct that no one should have their family around their house for 12 days straight. It’s just too much and the holiday stress makes it even more difficult! When you entertain guests, your natural routines and rhythms get thrown off. Twelve days might not seem like a lot at first, but it can feel like an eternity.

I’ve also noticed that the first three seasons have a similar formula for Mike’s storylines. It usually revolves around him trying to do something nice and having it backfire. At least in this instance, it doesn’t backfire although I’m sure Mike would have rather done literally anything else in the world than participate in the family holiday skit!

Also, the idea of a “simple Christmas” isn’t terrible, but I have to side with Frankie’s mom on this one. Christmas isn’t the time to cut back if you don’t have to! I’m known for always going overboard in my gift-giving but it’s fun for me!