# How We Met That Grinch | S2E11 "How Lily Stole Christmas"

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/how-we-made-your-mother-7198017/how-we-met-that-grinch-s2e11-how-lily-stole-christmas
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/how-we-made-your-mother-7198017/how-we-met-that-grinch-s2e11-how-lily-stole-christmas.md
Podcast: [How We Made Your Mother](https://stenobird.com/podcast/how-we-made-your-mother-7198017)
Published: 2026-01-12T05:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://pdst.fm/e/pscrb.fm/rss/p/prfx.byspotify.com/e/tracking.swap.fm/track/v9Uiw3bGr54f6BVZKSyc/traffic.megaphone.fm/CAD4517910838.mp3?updated=1767681178
Audio file: https://pdst.fm/e/pscrb.fm/rss/p/prfx.byspotify.com/e/tracking.swap.fm/track/v9Uiw3bGr54f6BVZKSyc/traffic.megaphone.fm/CAD4517910838.mp3?updated=1767681178
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/how-we-made-your-mother-7198017/episodes/how-we-met-that-grinch-s2e11-how-lily-stole-christmas
Duration seconds: 3326

## Resource

Josh Radnor and Craig Thomas revisit Season 2, Episode 11, “How Lily Stole Christmas,” the show’s first real Christmas episode—and one of its most emotionally honest. They talk about the fallout from Marshall and Lily’s breakup, especially Ted’s complicated position as best friend to both of them, and how the episode hinges on a single censored insult (the infamous “Grinch”) caught on an answering machine—an extremely 2006 plot device. The conversation digs into what a best friend actually owes you after a breakup, why Ted’s anger at Lily is about more than just defending Marshall, and how that confrontation ends up being about friendship, hurt feelings, and chosen family. Along the way they shout out Barney’s sickness subplot, Christmas movie influences like A Christmas Story and Love Actually, and reflect on why this episode still hits hard for fans who return to it every holiday season as a comfort watch. CONNECT WITH THE SHOW: Official Website (Send us your audio and written messages) Instagram READ JOSH’S MUSELETTERS ON SUBSTACK: Subscribe HERE. CRAIG’S BOOK IS AVAILABLE! Head over to CRAIG’S WEBSITE to order your copy of THAT’S NOT HOW IT HAPPENED. SUPPORT PEDIATRIC CONGENITAL HEART DISEASE RESEARCH: Click HERE to learn more and donate today. FOLLOW THE OFFICE LADIES: Check out "Office Ladies" at ⁠https://officeladies.com/ ⁠or wherever you get your podcasts! Follow on Instagram: OfficeLadiesPod⁠ Follow on ⁠TikTok⁠ AND MORE: Josh’s Official Website Josh on Spotify Craig’s Official Website (with links to his published writing) Alek’s “Dead Fathers Society” on Substack To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/how-we-made-your-mother-7198017/episodes/how-we-met-that-grinch-s2e11-how-lily-stole-christmas/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/how-we-made-your-mother-7198017/how-we-met-that-grinch-s2e11-how-lily-stole-christmas.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.