What’s your favorite Christmas TV episode?
Dig into our decidedly un-ho-hum list of holiday-spiked installments
TV Features christmas
Jeremy Allen White as Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto in The Bear (Photo: Chuck Hodes/FX) Graphic: Jimmy Hasse
As December 25 fast approaches (how did that happen again, exactly?), we turn to that most essential of holiday traditions: rewatching Christmasy TV episodes while ignoring our families. Ace television shows—from The Sopranos to Lost to newbies like The Bear—dropping seasonally appropriate (and sometimes even sweet) installments is a tried-and-true tradition. So it’s high time we ask A.V. Club staffers and contributors, simply: What’s your favorite Christmas TV episode?
A version of this feature originally published in December 2022.
129 Comments
X-files had a couple of fun Christmas episodes, but I think I most liked Season 6 “How The Ghosts Stole Christmas” with Ed Asner and Lily Tomlin as guests.
That was the season where M&S repeatedly “died” in various ways — dreams, ghostly hallucinations, time loop. As such, I didn’t like that episode.The “Christmas Carol”/”Emily” two parter was good, especially the first half.
Right, that was the season with the time-looping girlfriend of the bank bomber too, “Monday”. I thought season 7 was the giant mushroom repeat-hallucination, but that was season 6 too, “Field Trip”.
All of the christmas episodes on “The Office”.
The Yankee Swap one is the most memorable for me.
WKRP easily. It’s the most memorable. May be too old for many here but I would think most of gen x saw it in reruns at least.
Cheers had a really good one too, if memory serves, honestly the first “Christmas episode” in my memory. Pretty sure it was ’87. My parents watched the series religiously, so I’m a bit nostalgic about it.
The Christmas Carol-inspired episode? Or the one where they give Jennifer a special Christmas? I can’t recall any others.
Nick at Nite, baby
So, “Noel” is on the list of things we watch every Christmas — so definitely agree there. However! Not one Christmas Special from Doctor Who on your list?I always recommend (and this is another on our list of Christmas watches) “The Husbands of River Song”. Capaldi and Kingston are just marvelous in this.
God I love that whole scene. From heartbreaking to heartwarming to hilarious in like a minute and a half.
The whole special is like that though, and not only gives Capaldi’s Doctor the push he needed after the events of the last three episodes (not spoiling for folks who may yet watch), but also closes the loop on River’s first appearance and ends on perhaps the most perfect note of any DW episode…(if only “Hell Bent” hadn’t been between “Heaven Sent” and “The Husbands of River Song” it may have been the best couple of episodes in the modern run!)
Man, “Heaven Sent” is maybe my favorite Capaldi episode (it’s certainly the one I’ve re-watched the most often) but “Hell Bent” landed with such a thud. Whatever the opposite of “sticking the landing” is… well, it’s that.
So, I’m pretty sure this is the episode that the following fact applies to: there’s a scene with the two of them, I think eating a meal, and there’s chamber music playing. The music, it turns out, is Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll. Fun fact about that music:“Wagner composed the Siegfried Idyll as a birthday present to his second wife, Cosima, after the birth of their son Siegfried in 1869. It was first performed on Christmas morning, 25 December 1870…”Fuckin’ Moffat.
That one’s solid. I would probably pick “Last Christmas” as a favorite among Capaldi’s Christmas specials and potentially the best holiday special of the series, blending sincere emotional beats and over-the-top Doctor Who whimsy, all infused with both sincere and whimsical applications of Christmas themes.
“A Christmas Carol” for me. Buries the needle on sentimentality, with a great sci-fi dilemma at its core.
My gut says there were elements of Christmas Carol that I didn’t love (true of many episodes of the Matt Smith era) but the clearest memory I have of that episode is of the very, very good twist on The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, so it’s worth it for that.
I love “A Christmas Carol” and “The Husbands of River Song,” but “Last Christmas” is the only one that has Faye Marsay
“A Christmas Carol” is imho the best Doctor Who Christmas special. We watch it as a family every year
I’m a sucker for Christmas episodes that are set on Christmas but not really anchored in Christmas themes, so I always go straight to “The Unquiet Dead.” That, and I love a good Christmas ghost story.
the scene where Capaldi gets to pretend to see the inside of the TARDIS for the first time is an all-timer
Let’s be honest, a lot of things about Capaldi in that special are an all-timer!
yeah, true. it might be his all-round best performance in the role. I love that you see in real-time the acerbic Doctor he started as melting away and he fully becomes the lovable curmudgeon professor that he is for his final season
This was an absolutely top notch episode, and River reuniting (uniting?) with 12 was perfect. I bawled my eyes out at the e d. More relationships need to aim for “they lived happily” and ignore the ever after but. River needs to be with every Doctor on screen, even with just dodgy CGI. It will always be disappointing she never got meet 13.
Going to double-feature “Noel” with “In Excelsis Deo” this week.
Nothing gets me in the holiday spirit like stabbing cannibalistic pagan gods to death with Christmas tree branches.
I love that episode. It’s so violent and funny. Peak early SPN.
The West Wing, Noel is an excellent episode, no clue the epi names but E.R. usually had really good christmas episodes also.Black Mirror, White Christmas is easily my favorite. While it’s not a feel good x-mas episode of TV, it’s a FANTASTIC episode of Black Mirror. On the comedic side, Freinds, the Holiday Armadillo episode was great.
Good call on ER, since hospitals have to be staffed on Christmas just like every other day.
I lean more towards Noel as my favorite West Wing Christmas episode, but In Excelsis Deo is my wife’s pick. I find it a little too mawkish in places, but Mrs. Landingham’s scene with Toby admonishing him for arranging the homeless veteran’s funeral, followed by saying she’d like to go along, that just gets to me every single time.
First no Pangs in the list of best Halloween episodes. Now no Amends… Next thing you know The Body will get snubbed in a ‘best episodes in which mothers die’ list.
“Amends” is low-key one of my favorite episodes of the series.
Amends deserves to be left of every best of list ever because of Buffy’s atrocious bangs.And Pangs is very explicitly about Thanksgiving, not Halloween.
Last part is true. Which reminds me, why wasn’t Halloween and/or Fear Itself not on the Halloween list?! (was there a Halloween list?)
Invader Zim: “The Most Horrible Christmas Ever.”
I got a lot of problems with this list, and now you’re going to hear about it……..
Glaring omission.
“Regional Holiday Music” (Community) has my favorite Christmas song, so probably that
Boopy doopy doop boop…. sex?
“Baby Boomer Santa”?
“Acapella Holiday Re-Re-Re-Remix” obviously!
Abed’s wig and mustache during the 70’s verse is pretty enticingBut I’m not a boomer, so I’m immune to that song’s overall voodoo
Boomers invented music, how could that not be the best song?
Does the song eventually hit diminishing returns?
Came here to comment similarly. Community is a good choice, but wrong choice of Christmas special from Community.
Why don’t we let Britta sing her awkward song?
“You know, you eventually hit a point of diminishing returns on the sexiness thing”“Whassa dimmini-muh returhhhhnn”
Obviously the Christmas rap, you pervsAnnie’s pretty young, we try not to sexualize her
I was not expecting to see Blackadders Christmas Carol here , and was getting ready to put a clip of it in the comments , it really is fantastic.
“We used to wrap his presents in lead foil so he couldn’t peek!”…Remembering the lead balloon MythBusters episode, that line raises more questions than answers now.
Justice League Episode was great. So was A very Supernatural Christmas.When I was a teen I loved the Growing pains where the girl ben brought home who was homeless stole all of their gifts.
As much as I love J’onn and Clark’s Family Christmas, the B and C stories are also great – Flash thanks the Ultra-Humanite with a PBS donation in his name for bringing Christmas cheer to the kiddies, and GL and Hawkgirl go bar-brawlin’ in space.
GL and Hawkgirl was so great because it leads you to see what is about to happen with them.And Flash is so much the heart of that series and your right, that gave the Ultra-Humanite a time to shine. So much packed in a one part 30 minute episode.
The Simpsons has several good Christmas episodes, even recently. There’s the very first episode, of course. But my favorite is “Marge Be Not Proud”, where Bart steals a video game, is caught by Lawrence Tierney, ruins the family Christmas portrait, gets left out of the family snowman build, and ultimately redeems himself with a new portrait. Classic Simpsons — hilarious, with just enough sentimentality and character growth that it gets a little dusty by the end.
I’ll go with the first episode. The Bart shoplifting one makes me too uncomfortable as I too was caught stealing video games as a wee lad :p
Ow! Quit it.Ow! Quit it.
The one where Bart burns down the Christmas tree, blames a burglar, they get thousands of dollars of free stuff (including cash) from the other people of Springfield only for him to be found out, is still the best. The very first episode set the template for the show’s tone but this one really highpointed the personalities of each character and threw in a nice pinch of cringe as well.
That one’s good too, but for me it goes off the rails by the end. I like the video game one because it stays grounded, other than the hilarious golf game epilogue.
Same here. “Marge Be Not Proud” is my favorite Christmas episode of The Simpsons and one of my top 10 for both Simpsons episodes and Christmas episodes of television in general.
Happy to see “The Constant” here, as it was the first thing to come to mind. I rewatched it by itself around this time last year. It’s not overtly Christmassy, and it really doesn’t showcase enough of Desmond and Penny as a couple for the payoff to work especially well when viewed out of context, but nonetheless it’s a beautiful episode and I’d agree that it’s one of the show’s best.
As much I would have loved LOST to give us some holiday themed episodes, (Valentines’ Day on the island! Halloween with Hurley!) The Constant is as close as we could get.
Hello, and welcome to Lee Corvalo’s Putting Challenge. I am Corvalo, now choose a club.
After this list, The Bleaken is definitely going to steal your presents.
I won’t say it’s the correct answer, since it’s all subjective really, but the best answer is “all of American Dad’s Christmas episodes”.
Every episode of that show is awful.
Rapture’s Delight FTW.
How are any of them not on the list? One year my friends and I had contest to see who could suck candy canes into weaponry the fastest. I won.
That damn Dennis!!
It only aired a few weeks ago, but the most recent Bob’s Burgers Christmas episode (“The Plight Before Christmas”) is an all-timer. It starts off with a classic Bob’s Burgers low-stakes tale and builds to a moment so touching, I found myself getting choked up.
It’s an all-time great. Need some time, but it might be my favorite episode of the show beating out “Wagstaff Broadcast News” with Li’l Bob and The Mad Pooper.
You mean The Buttler.
Oh, let me guess: it’s the one where Bob is trying to make a nice holiday dinner for the fam but then he doesn’t have enough money to pay the rent. Right?
Incorrect on all counts. Snark fail.
I know absolutely no one else is watching it, but The Great North put out an extremely strong Christmas special this year as well, and has been all-around killing it for at least two and a half seasons now. With exceptions like the extremely strong last two episodes, I’d say Bob’s Burgers has been falling behind it pretty strongly in my estimation.
I’ll have to check it out. I watched about a dozen episodes of The Great North, but just couldn’t get into it. Maybe this episode will change my mind.
My favorite episode of the show thus far has been Pride and Prejudance Adventure. Not a Christmas episode, but I found the messaging about not straight-washing history for the sake of convenience really moving.
“I was a lesbian. For men. Especially lumberjacks, I was very lesbian for lumberjacks.”
“We actually call it ‘gay’ now, when it’s two boys-”
“Too late Judy, I’m dead.”
Bob’s Burgers does have a number of great holiday specials. My favorite is still the Bleakening 2-parter, but this year’s was very sweet. The kids and the show itself are getting so noticeably emotionally mature now that it makes me wonder if they’re gradually preparing to end the show on a high note, or at least to let time finally move forward somehow.
The Twilight Zone – Night of the Meek gets me every time.
First thought is “In Excelsis Deo.” West Wing is my favorite show and it’s a top episode overall. Mrs. Landingham gets me every time.But we just witnessed a new contender in the Christmas canon. Bob’s Burgers most recent episode is the Belchers at their best. “The Plight Before Christmas” puts Bob and Linda in a spot of trouble until Tina saves the evening. All heart (even Louise!) with loads of laughs to boot.
I think I enjoyed every Christmas episode of The Middle, but the “A Simple Christmas” is my favorite. Painfully true-to-life, but funny.
I’d add 30 Rock’s “Secret Santa” to this list – classic 30 Rock style of having separate plot lines (writers weaseling out of Secret Santa by inventing a fake religion to fool Kenneth, Liz trying to get a Christmas present for Jack, Pete trying to get revenge on Jenna, Jack trying to spend time with his high school crush) finally tie all together in a crazy climax.
Futurama had a couple good Xmas episodes, as I recall.
Zoidberg Jesus aside, I’ve always found ‘A Tale of Two Santas’ rather meh. ‘Xmas Story’, on the other hand, is a freaking Swiss watch. The clock gag alone is just plain genius.Just as it was for Encanto’s Bruno, we don’t (or shouldn’t) talk about the ‘Holiday Spectacular’.
I didn’t realize The Constant was a Christmas episode. That’s one of the best hours of TV ever.I know it’s unpopular, but I love The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis episode of The Big Bang Theory. And the original Mr. Hanky episode of South Park.
Do the kids that run the AVClub these days not know the greatness that is the Venture Bros Christmas episode “A Very Venture Christmas”?I feel like this was ground zero for many people learning about the Krampus for the first timeEdit: Jesus Christ, I just looked it up and that episode is 18 years old! I feel so fucking old
I assure you that I do know about it. The Venture Bros. are a college dorm favorite of mine. It was second only to “Arnold’s Christmas”. But I had to pick one, so “Arnold’s Christmas” had to be my top pick.
I think you got the wrong episode of “The West Wing,” though. S1E10 “In Excelsis Deo:”
Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, MST3K (granted, I actually prefer the riffing a little bit in the season 5 ep “Santa Claus,” but it’s a less watchable movie and this ep has Crow singing “A Patrick Swayze Christmas”).
I love the Grimm episode with Krampus, one of the rare supernatural creatures on the show that even freak out other Wesen
no American Dad “Rapture’s Delight” or the grand daddy of them all…Legends of Tomorrow “Beebo God of War?!”
Noel and The Constant are two of my favorites – not just of Christmas, or of their respective shows, but all-time favorite television episodes.Another personal favorite is Marge Be Not Proud from The Simpsons. It’s such a lovely story about how Bart isn’t as ready to grow up as he thinks he is – and more specifically, how he’s not ready to stop being his mom’s Special Little Guy. Marge is the only consistent adult for whom Bart cares what they think, and I love the way the episode explores their relationship. It’s also my favorite Simpsons episode that I enjoy less for the jokes and more for the sweet story at its core.
No love anywhere for the It’s Always Sunny Christmas episode makes me sad.
Moonlighting’s two Christmas episodes (“Twas The Episode Before Christmas” and “It’s A Wonderful Job”) are perennial faves of mine. Though, I realize Moonlighting has practically disappeared from the U.S. collective consciousness. Yes, quality went down, but the first two seasons are dynamite. I got the UK box set and ripped it for our Plex server.
The Bob Newhart Show’s first season Christmas episode “His Busiest Season” and the second season’s “I’m Dreaming Of A Slight Christmas” are both up there for me. The first is very relatable as a childless couple.
Curb Your Enthusiasm’s “Mary, Joseph, and Larry” is sacrilicious, literally. “You ate the baby Jesus and his mother Mary!”
Speaking of shows that disappeared from the collective consciousness, my top five Christmas episodes definitely includes Northern Exposure’s in which Maurice the resident conservative discovers his Korean family, Holling, the septuagenarian barkeep turns the local Unitarian church into a full-throttle Catholic mass for his wife who misses her childhood Christmas, and Joel, the Jewish doctor, fails in his attempt to experience Christmas, but gets a First Nations Raven Christmas pageant instead.
I watch MST3K “Santa Claus Conquers The Martians” every year, and some of my more indulgent relatives watch it with me every other year.
Imagine writing a piece on Community without mentioning Alison Brie and Joel McHale
A couple years back I probably would’ve said Buffy’s Amends, but given I can’t quite look at that show the same anymore… I dunno, maybe Doctor Who – A Christmas Carol?Community had some absolute bangers for Christmas though. the Glee parody is probably my favourite, but the Brittabot song in Uncontrollable Christmas always turns me into a sobbing wreck
– Festivus- Space Ghost Christmas- Black Mirror: White Christmas
It’s always going to be “So-Called Angels” from My So-Called Life. It wasn’t the first time such a grounded show got a little surreal (that would be Halloween) but here, musician Juliana Hatfield guest stars as a homeless girl who may or may not exist. Even for a drama, this was a Very Special Episode, but its too much of a downer to be made fun of for the cheese. After a domestic abuse incident, Rickie has either been kicked out of the house or run away from home, and so much of it is unspoken, as TV’s first openly gay character, its remarkably heavy for its time.
That one gets bonus points for being the main inspiration for the plot of Clone High’s Snowflake Day episode
https://youtu.be/665PDdvzJX4
I have to give a little love to “Merry Christmas, Johnny Rose” from Schitt’s Creek. The cold open that flashes back to The Number and their flashy parties is great and then it gets sentimental at the end when the family, who has been awful to Johnny, gets it together to throw a party for him in their motel room.
That’s such a good episode. But it doesn’t make anyone emotional, no, they just ran out of red wine.
Oh no, it’s just the lack of red. For sure.
Father Ted’s A Christmassy Ted is my absolute favourite Christmas special. I’m rather partial to A Woodland Critter Christmas, too.
As much as I love “Noel,” the callback to the well story at the beginning of “Bartlet for America” is what always makes me tear up.
No Bob’s Burgers means this list is invalidatedJingle in the Jungle or we riot
Twilight Zone’s “Night of the Meek”. Yes, it’s syrupy and maudlin, but I’m old, and somewhat syrupy and maudlin myself, so sue me. And Merry F***ing Christmas!, btw.
St. Elsewhere’s 4th season Christmas episode was incredible. Almost too painful to watch with a tipsy William Daniels finally showing grief over the death of his son earlier in the season.
The Waltons had a few too. That show gets far too little love among us hipster Gen Xers.
I’ve always been partial to the Frasier episode “Frasier Grinch.” For whatever reason, that’s the Christmas episode I gravitate to when I just want a random comfort food Christmas episode. But I think the best classic Christmas episode in sitcom history is the Andy Griffith Show episode “Christmas Story.”
Merry Christmas, Johnny Rose from Schitt’s Creek is great. And two episodes from the OG Frasier, “Merry Christmas, Mrs. Moskowitz” and “Frasier Grinch” are also great.
“Merry Christmas, Johnny Rose” came to my mind as well. And my contribution (that I can’t believe no one else mentioned in the slideshow or in the comments as far as I can see) is this: “Carol of the Bells” from Ted Lasso season 2. Unapologetically sweet, surprisingly touching, with the feel of a British TV show’s corny Christmas special. It came out in 2021, and we watched it for Christmas that year, last year, and again this year. It’s so heartwarming.
Yes, that is a lovely episode. I particularly like the dynamic between Ted and Rebecca.
Holiday Party (I Did A Little Cocaine Tonight) is in my rotation of christmas music, it’s a staple.
“A Very Sunny Christmas” from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is worth a mention. Frank crawling out naked from inside the couch is a highlight of course, but my favorite bits are Mac and Charlie’s scenes together, particularly when they both recount their respective childhood Christmas experiences and slowly realize how fucked up their families were.
discussion over
Married With Children’s You Better Watch Out.The show ran far too long and is now vastly dated, but what made particularly good in 1987 is that television just didn’t do truly cynical comedy like that.Amanda Bearse’s shaking Marcy (“Oh my God!”) nails what all reasonable people should be thinking when Santa goes splat in your backyard and the dog hauls in a shoe but the show celebrates that anyone laughing along with the absurdity is probably not in that category – and it’s ok! Al just doesn’t give a damn (reasonably so, since his bonus got wiped out by the new mall, with insult added to injury by the mall’s rep tearing up a check), and ultimately everyone wins with the motherlode of gift certificates in his bag at the end.It skewers the holiday in a way that is just very, very funny and rarely gets aired.
Is Blackadder’s Christmas Carol here? Check. OK, this list has legitimacy.
The Mary, Joseph and Larry episode of Curb is one of my favorites — if only for Larry ordering takeout for the nativity actors.
Animated: “Comfort and Joy”, Justice League. Carl Lumbly singing as J’onn hits you in the feels.“Christmas With The Joker”, BTAS. Mark Hamill singing “Jingle Bells, Batman Smells” makes the grinchiest Grinch laugh out loud.Sci-fi TV: “O Little Town” and “Do You See What I See?”, Eureka. The town has heart in spades and these episodes are just fun to boot.“Secret Santa” and “The Greatest Gift”, Warehouse 13. One gives you a scene stealing Judd Hirsch as Artie’s dad, Paul “Harry Dresden” Blackthorne, and the Christmas Armistice of WWI. The other is It’s a Wonderful Life, Pete Lattimer… and what a difference he makes.All six are re-watchable family Christmas Day traditions at our house.
My favorite is the original Mr. Hankey episode of South Park. I love that talking, singing turd!
British Television produces some of the bext Christmas episodes:The League of Gentlemen Christmas Special (2000), 2x The Royle Family Christmas Specials (1999 & 2000), Vicar of Dibley: The Christmas Lunch Incident (1996), The Office Christmas specials (2003)The Snowman (1982) (which includes the David Bowie intro).
Seperate topic, but Hustlers (2019) is now a Christmas watch, after they have that 1 scene set on Christmas Day, lol
I suspect no one is ever going to see this comment added to a slideshow first published a year ago, but I’m just going to chime in anyway with a couple of my favorites, Wander Over Yonder’s “The Gift” + “The Gift 2: The Giftening” and Adventure Time’s “Holly Jolly Secrets”.
The West Wing is my all-time favorite show. And while there are a few better episodes (aforementioned Noel, Hartsfield Landing, Two Cathedrals), In Excelsis Deo has great work from Kathryn Joosten / Mrs. Landingham when she talks about her twin boys (“… they needed their mother …”) and then when she’s all bundled up in her coat to go with Toby to Arlington. Guess I know what I’m watching tomorrow.
Not a single American Dad Christmas episode? Come on.
No Mr. Hankey’s Holiday Classics? List is clearly defective.That’s the one that’s all Christmas carols; easily some of my favorite versions of those songs. I’m going to assume I made the same comment last year, but I don’t feel like checking. This little rant will be my new holiday tradition!
By far the greatest is the Britcom The Good Life (remade as Good Neighbors in the US I believe) from around 1977. Especially the home made crackers…“The ooh-aah bird is so called because it lays square eggs.”
Married With Children.
The season 2 premier of Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Child. Virgin birth!