If it’s the holiday season, then it must be time for bingeing some episodes of your favorite shows.
There have been hundreds of them through the years, so even limiting our choices to the last three decades is ambitious. But we dug deep to bring you some essential episodes from both sitcoms and dramas that are worth putting at the top of our watchlists. Some are typical week-to-week outings, others are classics.
So, in honor of the 12 Days of Christmas, here are a dozen essential holiday episodes, listed in order of air date, and where you can stream them.
The Simpsons: “Marge Be Not Proud” (Season 7)
Airdate: December 17, 1995
Where to Watch: Disney+
When Bart is caught shoplifting a video game just before Christmas, Marge starts to worry that she has lost touch with her son. “Marge Be Not Proud” is an especially heartfelt Simpsons episode — the first Christmas episode since the pilot — and it was based on a real holiday experience of writer Mike Scully.
The X-Files: “How the Ghosts Stole Christmas” (Season 6)
Airdate: December 13, 1998
Where to Watch: Hulu
Lily Tomlin and Ed Asner (pictured above) guest star as the playful — but murderous — ghosts who inflict their version of A Christmas Carol upon an unsettled Mulder and Scully at Christmastime. Both actors were big fans of Chris Carter’s show, which led to their guest-star casting. Their performances are some of the most memorable in the entire series’ run, as the spirits they play put Mulder and Scully through a clever but haunting gauntlet to teach the veteran FBI Agents that there is more to life than just conspiracies and half-truths. And some trivia: This episode, with its four person-only cast, is the smallest ensemble of any X-Files episode.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: “Amends” (Season 3)
Airdate: December 15, 1998
Where to Watch: Hulu
The only Christmas-themed episode in Buffy’s seven-season run, “Amends” reveals why David Boreanaz’s suicidal Angel was released from Hell (to kill Buffy, not fall in love with her).
Despite the episode’s dark beginnings, it ends on a surprisingly tender and heartfelt note, and a fan-favorite: When a snowstorm thwarts Angel’s attempt to destroy himself by walking into the sunlight, he and Buffy instead take their first walk together during the day. Who knew Sunnydale and its Hellmouth could be both scary and heartwarming?
Seinfeld: “The Strike”
Airdate: December 18, 1997
Where to Watch: Netflix
Any show that introduces a word into the vernacular gets extra credit. Even more so when that word becomes its own holiday for grinches. Take, for instance, Festivus, which made its debut in this episode in the midst of the legendary sitcom’s final season. The bare metal pole and airing of grievances are now a holiday staple for many.
Friends: “The One with the Holiday Armadillo”
Airdate: December 14, 2000
Where to Watch: MAX
Could this episode be any cuter?! Ross (David Schwimmer) wants to share Hanukkah with his young son, but through a series of classic Friends farcical events, Ross is forced to don an armadillo costume to do so. In the process, Chandler (the late Matthew Perry) dresses as Santa — much to the delight of Monica (Courtney Cox). And Joey (Matt LeBlanc) puts on a Superman costume (because Joey) to round out this absurd but hilarious holiday outing from the iconic cadre.
The O.C: “The Best Chrismukkah Ever”
Airdate: December 3, 2003
Where to Watch: Hulu
What “Festivus” was for Seinfeld, “The Best Chrismukkah Ever” was for FOX’s The O.C. The episode, which recently celebrated its 20th anniversary, was a milestone in both the series’ run and in the character development of Chrismukkah’s inventor, Seth Cohen (Adam Brody). Seth’s holiday offering provides his friends — especially Summer (Rachel Bilson) and Ryan (Ben McKenzie) — a unique holiday experience by mixing his Jewish dad’s heritage with that of his Christian mom in an effort for himself and his family to feel seen.
The Office: “Christmas Party” (Season 2)
Airdate: December 6, 2005
Where to Watch: Peacock
Michael Scott (Steve Carrell)’s good intentions can’t help but go awry at Dunder Mifflin, especially when the Scranton branch’s Secret Santa plan goes sideways. Soon, the Christmas party goes bust and Michael decides to spice if up by breaking corporate policy and buying alcohol. “Christmas Party” captures the all-too-real cringe factor that sometimes hangs over holiday festivities with our cubicle buddies, but it also imbues it with earnestness — especially when it comes to Jim (John Krasinski) and Pam (Jenna Fischer)’s burgeoning romantic relationship. That teapot Jim gifts Pam in the episode? Krasinski took it home with him as a keepsake.
Lost: “The Constant” (Season 4)
Airdate: February 28, 2008
Where to Watch: Hulu
Widely considered to be a landmark episode of Lost, “The Constant” did not air during the holidays, but it does feature a brief Christmastime pitstop as Desmond (Henry Ian Cusick) struggles to find a way to stop shifting back and forth through time. His heartstring-tugging attempt to anchor himself in the time stream earned the series its highest-rated episode ever. “The Constant” is an outside-the-box pick for holiday viewing, but it’s definitely worth revisiting.
Community: “Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas” (Season 2)
Airdate: December 9, 2010
Where to Watch: Hulu
Community fans turned this charming stop-motion episode into a TV holiday classic, where Danny Pudi’s Abed wakes up to find that reality has changed and is now completely in stop motion, à la classic Rankin-Bass Christmas specials. With his friends reduced to frame-by-frame animated versions of themselves, they help Abed (and themselves) learn the true meaning of Christmas. The episode, which won an Emmy for its animation, took 18 weeks to complete, whereas a normal one would only require six or seven days to shoot.
Doctor Who: “A Christmas Carol” (2010)
Airdate: December 25, 2010
Where to Watch: MAX
Doctor Who’s stirring take on the classic Dickens tale features Matt Smith as the titular time traveler in one of his, and the long-running BBC show’s, finest hours. This episode has everything: crashing spaceships, monsters, and the late Michael Gambon as a Scrooge with a soul in desperate need of saving with the help of a Timelord.
Downton Abbey: “Christmas at Downton Abbey” (Season 2)
Airdate: December 25, 2011
Where to Watch: Peacock/Prime Video
After two seasons of teasing Downton Abbey fans with their “will they, won’t they” courtship, Matthew Crawley (Dan Stevens) and Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) finally get engaged as snow gently falls around them. This special Christmas episode is one of two Downton episodes to be set during the holidays, though there was a key scene filmed on a warm September night where Lady Mary didn’t wear a coat but should have. Creator Julian Fellowes was so aggravated by this narrative gaffe that he wrote a scene into a later season to explain why Mary would be outdoors in December with bare shoulders.
Black-ish: “Black Santa/White Christmas” (Season 1)
Airdate: December 10, 2014
Where to Watch: Hulu
The first of many Christmas episodes for the popular ABC sitcom, “Black Santa/White Christmas” finds Dre (Anthony Anderson) wanting Black Santa to appear at his office Christmas party, which leads him to put on the costume himself as he deals with the funny and poignant results of that choice. In addition to being one of Black-ish’s signature first season episodes, “Black Santa/White Christmas” is also notable for introducing the younger version of Dre, played by Isaac Ryan Brown. Young Dre and Brown would end up appearing in 28 episodes.
