Carrie, Shannon and Denise make their annual trek to view the nativity scene outside the church, but when Denise breaks the head off the baby Jesus while they're taking a picture of Conner in the crib, the women are horrified and swear each other to secrecy, while the town of Gloucester is convinced that a hate crime has taken place; later Denise realizes she has the head in her purse. When Mike and Kathy are called to Florida to be with Mike's seriously ill brother, for the first time in her life Carrie has to deal with being without her family at Christmas. To Marge's dismay, Jesse, who's just gotten his driver's license after eleven tries, tells her he's driving to Baton Rouge to see his dad for Christmas. True to family tradition, Kurt spends hours constructing an enormous Christmas display in his apartment. And after insisting that Shannon plan a big Christmas celebration for himself and Bethany, Scott announces that he has reconciled with his estranged wife. Kurt takes Carrie to

Carrie, Shannon and Denise go to have their navels pierced, but Denise is the only one who goes through with it; when she finally shows Ryan, he hits the roof. When Carrie can't keep her movie ""date"" with Kurt, she persuades him to take Shannon instead. Shannon and Kurt go out for drinks after the movie; they dance and have a great time, and when he drops her off, Shannon gives Kurt a kiss goodnight. Denise's piercing gets infected and she's afraid Ryan will gloat, but instead he's very concerned and takes her to the emergency room. When Carrie finds out about the kiss, she confronts Shannon who wishes Kurt would just forget it ever happened, but Shannon tells Carrie she should get clearer about what her feelings for Kurt really are. Kurt is angry with Carrie for getting involved in his business; Carrie tries to explain that her feelings for Kurt are very complex, but Kurt says it feels as if he's wasting his life pursuing someone who will never be his.