First Christmas

"First Christmas" originally aired on NBC in the United States on December 7, 2011. The episode was viewed by an estimated 4.95 million viewers and received a 1.9 rating/6% share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49.^[7][8] This means that it was seen by 1.9% of all 18- to 49-year-olds, and 6% of all 18- to 49-year-olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. This marked a 20% percent rise in the 18-49 demo from the previous episode, "Week Off" which aired as a special, while it only rose slightly from the previous regular episode, "Hiring and Firing".^[7][9][10] The episode ranked fourth in its timeslot and was able to beat only a rerun of The CW reality series, America's Next Top Model which received a 0.5 rating/1% share in the 18–49 demographic.^[7] Up All Night became the second highest-rated program on NBC that night, finishing with a higher rating than a rerun of this series and Harry's Law, but a lower rating than Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.^[7]

Since airing, the episode has received mixed reviews from critics. The A.V. Club reviewer Erik Adams wrote that the episode felt like a pilot for new viewers and also wrote that it proved the series had found its footing.^[11] Despite this, he also noted that previous episodes worked better as an introduction to the series for new viewers.^[11] He called the Reagan plot the best executed plot of the episode while he called the Chris plot sloppily made compared to previous similar plots of the series.^[11] He ultimately gave the episode a C+.^[11] Paste writer Adam Victavage complimented the writers for being able to use a sitcom staple and make it seem original and "semi-realistic" and called it one of the few believable NBC comedies.^[12] He also complimented the "pleasant twist" to the Ava-Kevin subplot which featured Ava spying on Kevin.^[12] He ultimately gave the episode a 7.9/10, calling the episode "commendable".^[12]

• "First Christmas" at Internet Movie Database