5 Christmas Episodes of Popular TV Shows to Get You in the Holiday Spirit
It’s that time of the year again when characters from our favorite TV shows have traded their usual antics for some holiday-themed episode. Whether it’s a heartwarming family reunion during Christmas, a funny disastrous holiday party, or the usual wrong gift switcheroo, Christmas episodes always bring the festive feels. So, wear your most comfortable plaid pajamas, grab your hot cup of cocoa with little marshmallows floating on top, and let’s dive into the best Christmas episodes of TV shows that will make you laugh, cry, and maybe even call your brother and tell them that you forgive them for eating all the Yule log cake many, many years ago.
Christmas Episodes of Popular TV Shows
Friends
Episode Title: The Holiday Armadillo (S07E10)
No list of Christmas episodes would be complete without including Ross dressing up as the “holiday armadillo,” Chandler dressing as Santa Claus (which Monica digs) and Joey as Superman. In this episode, Ross tries to teach his son Ben about Hanukkah, but since it’s an episode of Friends, the result is holiday chaos but, of course, with a touching lesson.
The Office
Episode Title: Christmas Party (S02E10)
What’s Christmas without a little office drama? The Office’s Christmas episode during season 2 is about the office having a simple Secret Santa gift exchange. But Michael being Michael, turned it into a high-stakes game of a Yankee Swap free-for-all because he received a handmade oven mitt from Phyllis while he splurged for a $400 iPod. The episode perfectly captures how awkward sometimes holiday parties can be, especially when your boss is as childish as Michael Scott.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Episode Title: Yippie Kayak (S03E10)
Since Jake’s favorite movie is Die Hard (seriously, there’s a reference to Die Hard in almost every other episode), it came as no surprise when the sitcom had an episode inspired by the movie. However, it’s not Jake who relives Bruce Willis’ “Die Hard” moment, but his best friend and colleague, Boyle, who hilariously bungles the catchphrase “Yippee Ki Yay, mother—” into “Yippie Kayak, other buckets!”—because Fox Studios didn’t allow the profanity to be bleeped during editing.
Supernatural
Episode Title: A Very Supernatural Christmas (S03E08)
If your Christmas tastes lean toward a little more Krampus than Santa Claus, Supernatural’s “A Very Supernatural Christmas” will hit the spot. Of course, any excuse to see Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki, and we’re on board. In this Christmas episode, we see Sam and Dean Winchester investigating a series of gruesome deaths, which led them to a pair of pagan gods torturing their victims before eating them. Yum.
The episode also has touching moments during the flashback scenes between the brothers and how they still choose to celebrate Christmas in a less-than-traditional way.
Bonus: Hearing Dean replace swear words with “fudge” is funny and adorable at the same time.
The Big Bang Theory
Episode Title: The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis (S02E11)
In this episode, Sheldon, being the poster boy for social awkwardness, tries to find a Christmas gift for Penny after discovering she has a present for him. He panics because how can he possibly determine the exact value of her gift so he can buy one of equal value? The solution? Buy multiple gifts, give her the one with the price tag closest to what she spent on him, and return the others! The episode had us giggling and saying “Awww” at Sheldon’s over-the-top reaction to Penny’s gift.
There’s something comforting about watching heartwarming family and friends moments during Christmas, even if they’re fictional. So, this holiday season, curl up on the couch and binge-watch these episodes. You can even start a holiday tradition of spending Christmas with your favorite TV characters.
