The film is based on John Grisham's book "Skipping Christmas". The original title is seen in the newspaper article after the tanning-salon incident. The title was changed to avoid confusion with Wie überleben wir Weihnachten? (2004). Both movies were holiday comedies released the same year, and both were received poorly by critics.
During filming, it was reported that the cast and crew had ingested over 10 pounds of fake snow.
The music score that plays when Luther Krank adds up digits on his calculator, "The Typewriter", was made famous in Der Ladenhüter (1963), starring Jerry Lewis.