The only Christmas episode of the entire series.
In the cell, during the "Away in a Manger" sing-a-long, when the camera pans up to Ben, the initials "R S" can be seen. This was done by Reggie Smith, the show's prop master.
Will Wright makes his first of three appearances here as stubborn old 'Ben Weaver.' Previously, Wright had appeared as 'Mr. Johnson' in The Danny Thomas Show episode "Danny Meets Andy Griffith," the episode that led to The Andy Griffith Show (1960).
When Ben brings Sam in, he says to Andy, "I'd like to see how forgiving you'd be if you owned a store that sold spirits and half the county was cutting in on your profits by making their own." It has always been well-established that Mayberry was located in a "dry county," so Ben wouldn't have been able to sell liquor, either.
Bess Muggins is portrayed by actress Margaret Kerry. One of her previous roles was the character model for Tinker Bell in Disney's 1953 animated film, Peter Pan.