The Savage family discovers that yet another housekeeper has quit and, while the boys see this as their dad's opportunity to hire a cute French maid, Nick decides it's time his boys learn how to take care of themselves. Stunned, the boys decide that they need a plan to change their dad's mind.

It's Halloween, and the Savage boys are trying to figure out what to do for their annual prank. Kyle feels he's too old for trick or treating this year, leaving Nick and T.J. to go it alone. When Chris is forced to dissect a frog in class, he gets the idea – via a spooky visit from the ghost of the late class frog – of just what to do for their prank this year.

Nick is excited to spend Thanksgiving – his favorite holiday – with his family, but much to his disappointment, Sam decides to spend it with his girlfriend Angela's family, whom he considers more "civilized." Plans are interrupted, though, when Nick and Jimmy are unexpectedly called away on a fire, so the boys decide to surprise Nick by making Thanksgiving dinner on their own. In looking up the proper way to cook a turkey online, they find a video of Thanksgiving safety tips hosted by none other than Officer Cox. However the stores are now sold out of turkeys, so they resort to buying a live one – and get more than they bargained for. Meanwhile, Sam soon learns that there's more to Angela's seemingly perfect family than meets the eye.

The boys administer their own form of CPR – complete with bicycle pump and toilet plunger – on Old Lady Riley when she has a heart attack on their doorstep, and are then wrongfully lauded as heroes. But when they're awarded the "Caring Kid Award," it's just too much to take for one onlooker who happens to know the truth.