This episode marked the last appearances of a handful of characters:

Jo Marie Payton
Telma Hopkins
Rosetta Lenoire
Bryton McClure

Plus, 3 out of the 4 were credited towards the end of the credits.

Bryton got the "Special Guest Star" credit while Rosetta and Telma got the "Guest Starring" billing. It was also a treat though to see Telma after not seeing her on the show for well over 2 1/2 years.

Jaimee Foxworth was gone from the show already.

This show did go in a different direction. There were still some elements that remained but it was different from what we saw in the beginning.

Yeah I know what you mean, in fact the only reason why I like this Christmas episode was because it was so good to see Telma Hopkins (Rachel) after all that time. She may not have been the funniest character, but watching FM in reruns I realize that her character was very likeable, underrated, and bought alot to the show itself.

I liked watching the Christmas episode because of Telma Hopkins as well. She is the element that helped to make the show complete for me.

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It was great to have everybody, but it would've been nice to see Judy.

I've never seen that episode, but knowing that it was the last time, that we saw those four characters, must be sad indeed.