Baby, it’s cold outside.
‘Tis the season and when the temperatures are low and the snow is falling, nothing is better than snuggling up on the couch, getting cozy with family and friends, and passing the time with a marathon of Christmas episodes from some of your favorite sitcoms and dramas.
Set your big screen to any of the following classic holiday television episodes and you’ll experience anything but a silent night because your home will be filled with loads of big laughs and possibly even a few tinsel-toe tears. Either way, you’ll be in for a holly jolly good night.
From “Friends” and “Modern Family” to the “Big Bang Theory” and “Downton Abbey,” here’s the ultimate nice list of great Christmas television episodes to bring you good cheer and remind you that it’s the most wonderful time of the time year.
“Friends” —”The One With the Holiday Armadillo” (Season 7, Episode 10)
When Ross (David Schwimmer) gets his son Ben for Christmas, he decides it’s the perfect time to teach his half-Jewish child about the wonders of Hanukkah. Yet Ben is all about Christmas, especially since his mother Susan dresses up like Santa every year and Santa has reindeer that can fly.
After Ross has a change of heart and plans to give his son his wish, he struggles to find a Santa costume so close to Christmas. Ross does however locate an armadillo costume and he creates a unique character dubbed the “Holiday Armadillo” that finally gets Ben excited about all of the festivities around Hanukkah. That is until Chandler (Matthew Perry) arrives in a Santa costume, Joey (Matt LeBlanc) appears in a Superman costume and chaos ensues.
“Big Bang Theory” — “The Santa Simulation” (Season 6, Episode 11)
In this festive episode of the “Big Bang Theory,” the boys decide to celebrate the holidays with a unique tradition — a spirited game of Dungeons & Dragons but the girls are not invited.
Sheldon (Jim Parsons), who is the most excited about the game, takes on the role of Dungeon Master and leads the others through an imaginary quest that involves saving Santa Claus from impending doom. Raj (Kunal Nayyar) sadly gets killed almost immediately and asks the ladies if he can join them for their Girls Night Out.
“Glee” —”A Very Glee Christmas” (Season 2, Episode 10)
“A Very Glee Christmas” brings on the cheer as The New Directions glee club decides to spread joy through the hallways of McKinley High by caroling and raising money for the local homeless shelter.
But things take a competitive turn when director Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison) declares that “this year, Glee Club is going full-out Santa” and the choir decides to participate in a tree-decorating contest that will most likely be sabotaged by their arch-nemesis — cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch).
Meanwhile at Dalton Academy, Kurt (Chris Colfer) can’t help but flirt with his gay crush Blaine (Darren Criss) with an iconic performance of “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.”
“Modern Family” —” White Christmas ” (Season 7, Episode 9)
Gloria (Sofia Vergara) is dreaming of a “White Christmas” in this episode of “Modern Family” after years of celebrating Christmas in Columbia’s tropical weather,
As the family’s matriarch, she decides to rent a log cabin up in the mountains to celebrate her first Christmas as an American citizen but things don’t go according to plan when the weather outside is rather delightful and unseasonably hot when they get there and a woman named Fig (Andrea Martin) is inexplicably residing in the cabin as well.
Meanwhile, Haley (Sarah Hyland) and Andy (Adam DeVine) continue to fool around in secret but after they get caught things take a turn for the worse when his fiancé arrives at the log cabin to surprise him.
“The Office” —”Christmas Party” (Season 2, Episode 10)
Hilarity ensues at the office of the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company when their well-meaning but idiotic boss sets up an annual Secret Santa gift exchange for the Christmas party. The employees draw names for the exchange and Jim (John Krasinski) is excited when he gets his crush Pam (Jenna Fischer).
Jim puts a lot of thought into his Christmas gift for Pam and decides to declare his feelings for her by filling a teapot with inside jokes and personal mementos.
Michael ruins Jim’s plans however when he decides to turn the Secret Santa into a “White Elephant” gift exchange, where everyone can choose to either pick a new gift or steal someone else’s, and Jim’s gift for Pam ends up in the hands of Dwight (Rainn Wilson) instead.
“New Girl” —”The 23rd” (Season 1, Episode 9)
“New Girl” Jess (Zooey Deschanel) is excited to celebrate her favorite holiday, Christmas, with her new roommates Nick (Jake Johnson), Schmidt (Max Greenfield), and Winston (Lamorne Morris).
After the gang exchanges Secret Santa gifts, Jess is thrown for a loop when her love interest Paul (Justin Long) gifts her two plane tickets to Vienna and passes for the Salzburg Music Festival. Jess frets over the expensive present because she bought Paul a very inexpensive stuffed replica of a 50-year-old non-smoker’s heart.
To make matters worse, Paul tries to cheer Jessica up by telling her he loves the gift but after blurting out that he loves her, all she can muster in response is a very sad “Thank you.” Yikes.
“Gilmore Girls” — “The Bracebridge Dinner” (Season 2, Episode 10)
In this enchanting episode of “Gilmore Girls,” Lorelai (Lauren Graham) invites all of the residents of Stars Hollow to the Independence Inn for the Bracebridge Dinner, an elaborate feast and gala where guests are encouraged to wear Elizabethan costumes and ride in horse-drawn carriages.
Meanwhile, Rory (Alexis Bledel) struggles to fix the rivalry between Dean Forester (Jared Padalecki), who is her first boyfriend, and Jess Mariano (Milo Ventimiglia), the town bad boy who eventually wins her heart.
“The Simpsons” — “Simpsons Roasting On An Open Fire” (Season 1, Episode 1)
Premiering on December 17, 1989, “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire” is the first-ever full-length episode of “The Simpsons” and it would become one of the series’ most beloved.
When Bart gets a tattoo on a dare, Marge spends the family’s Christmas savings to remove it only to find out that Homer also didn’t receive his Christmas bonus from work after evil Mr. Burns cancels them at the plant.
To save Christmas and make some extra money, Homer takes a job as Santa at the Mall but as he leaves work on Christmas Eve, he is devastated when he discovers that his paycheck won’t arrive until after Christmas.
In a last-ditch effort to save the holiday, Homer and Bart Homer end up at the Springfield dog track hoping to win some cash but instead of money they take home an adorable pup named Santa’s Little Helper, and as his name suggests, the dog helps save Christmas.
“Black-ish” — “Black Santa/White Christmas” (Season 1, Episode 10)
In this hilarious episode of the “Black-ish” inaugural season, Johnson family patriarch Dre Johnson (Anthony Anderson), a wealthy advertising executive at Stevens & Lido, decides to push management to feature a Black Santa at the Christmas office party. But things don’t go his way when he discovers that the honor of Santa has gone to the head of HR (Ana Ortiz).
Back at home Dre fears that the traditions of his childhood are evolving and that his family is disconnected from their cultural roots. So he pushes for the Johnsons to embrace a new, culturally-infused holiday experience.
Meanwhile Rainbow (Tracee Ellis Ross) fights with Ruby (Jennifer Lewis) over who will have the honor of cooking the big Christmas Eve dinner.
“Abbott Elementary” —“Holiday Hookah” (Season 2, Episode 10)
In the “Abbott Elementary” winter season finale, the teachers are getting ready for their winter break but before they say their goodbyes, office besties Barbara (Sheryl Lee Ralph) and Melissa (Lisa Ann Walter) celebrate with their sacred after-school dinner. But the festivities come to a screeching halt when Jacob (Chris Perfetti) crashes the party bringing bah humbug bad vibes.
After the school day ends Janine (Quinta Brunson) undergoes a slight makeover and heads over to a hookah night club where she bumps into principal Ava (Janelle James) and Gregory (Tyler James Williams). In a classic “will they, won’t they” moment, Gregory and Janine end up on the dance floor and look as if they are about to kiss.
Later in the evening, the lovebirds go outside and as snowflakes fall on Janine’s freshly pressed hair, Gregory says “Beautiful.” The beautiful moment is then ruined by Gregory’s friend, Maurice (Vince Staples).
“The Mindy Project” — “Christmas Party Sex Trap” (Season 2, Episode 11)
This hilarious episode begins with the show’s protagonist Mindy Lahiri (Mindy Kaling) dragging a Christmas tree all on her own down the streets of New York to her office at Shulman & Associates medical practice but to her dismay when she arrives her colleagues have already put up a beautiful tree without her.
When Mindy asks what that is, Dr. Peter Prentice (Adam Pally) replies with a level of political incorrectness that is seldom matched saying, “How Hindu are you? It’s a Christmas tree.” Mindy retaliates by throwing the tree out window and with that, a classic Christmas television episode is born.
Mindy then decides to host a Christmas party at her house which ends with an epic dance Dr. Danny (Chris Messina) who gifts Mindy with a Secret Santa dance performance to Aaliyah’s “Try Again” video.
It’s literally the gift that keeps on giving.
“The Bear” — “Fishes” (Season 2, Episode 6)
In the expertly crafted sixth episode of the second season of “The Bear” titled “Fishes,” family trauma unfolds as we follow the ups and downs of the Berzatto family at their Christmas Eve dinner, which is based on the Italian-American Feast of the Seven Fishes tradition.
Set five years before the series’ main timeline, the flashback episode includes a slew of guest star appearances from Oscar winner Jamie Lee Curtis playing the rapidly deteriorating alcoholic family matriarch Donna Berzatto to Sarah Paulson who shows up to feast on the family drama as cousin Michelle.
John Mulaney also drops by for dinner playing a weird in-law while Bob Odenkirk stars as Uncle Lee, the disturbing member of the clan who is ready to get violent and throw some elbows.
All in all, the entire one-hour drama is simply delicious.
“Family Guy” — “Road to the North Pole” (Season 9, Episode 7)
In “Road to the North Pole,” Stewie convinces Brian to take him to the mall in Rhode Island to meet Santa so he can rattle off his present wish list.
But when the encounter with the fake Santa leaves a bad taste in his mouth, Stewie convinces Brian to join him on a quest to the North Pole to teach Santa about the true meaning of Christmas.
Things however take a sinister turn when they arrive at the North Pole, after blowing up a truck, to find that Santa’s workshop is a disgusting place filled with toxic waste and inbred elves creating gifts sweatshop style.
“Schitt’s Creek” — “Merry Christmas, Johnny Rose” (Season 4, Episode 13)
Twas the night before Christmas Eve, and patriarch Johnny (Eugene Levy) has a lovely dream about the lavish parties of Christmas past his family used to host before they went broke.
Inspired by his slumber, Johnny decides to throw a old fashioned Rose Christmas party filled with lots of glitz and glamour at the Rosebud Motel.
With only 12 hours to get everything done, their plans go hilariously awry when the guest list gets fumbled and the only Christmas trees available in town are ridiculously overpriced.
Still, when all hope seems lost, Johnny finds that the true meaning of Christmas can not be bought.
“Downton Abbey” — “Christmas at Downton Abbey” (Season 2, Episode 9)
It’s 1920 and in this very special 90-minute episode, the Crawley family and the Downton Abbey staff gather to celebrate the holidays inside the Highclere Castle grand estate.
In one of the series’ most memorable moments, after four years of secret longing, Mary (Michelle Dockery) and Matthew (Dan Stevens) finally get engaged as snowflakes dance around them.
During the servants’ ball, Mary confesses that her past is less than desirable to Matthew which she assumes will cause him to run away but instead, he runs towards her and proposes saying, “You’ve lived your life and I’ve lived mine. And now it’s time we lived them together.”
“Seinfeld” — “The Strike” (Season 9, Episode 10)
Who needs Christmas or Hanukkah when you can celebrate Festivus?
That is the question George Constanza (Jason Alexander) ponders when he tries to get the day off for Festivus, a holiday his father Frank (Jerry Stiller) invented to celebrate instead of Christmas.
Created to dodge the pandemonium of shopping for Christmas presents, the holiday also includes a Festivus pole and gratuitous displays of one’s strength.
But George lands himself in hot water when he hands out donation cards for “The Human Fund” to his co-workers instead of buying them presents and his boss Mr. Kruger discovers that the charity is fake. George then reveals that he celebrates Festivus instead of Christmas, and invites Kruger to dinner to prove that the holiday is real.
“The O.C.” — “The Best Chrismukkah Ever” (Season 1, Episode 13)
In “The Best Chrismukkah Ever,” “The O.C.,” introduces the iconic holiday of Chrismukkah.
The mash-up of Christmas and Hanukkah was created by Seth Cohen (Adam Brody) after waving a menorah and a candy cane in the air. Although Jewish, he celebrates Christmas with his adoptive family, the Cohens, which includes his Jewish dad Sandy Cohen (Peter Gallagher), and Catholic mom Kirsten Cohen (Kelly Rowan).
Later at Seth’s annual “Chrismukkah” party, Marissa (Mischa Barton) gets drunk after getting arrested for shoplifting and Summer and Anna confront Seth with a “very special gift” after realizing he has been dating them both.
“Ted Lasso” — “Carol of the Bells” (Season 2, Episode 4)
It’s Christmas time in Richmond and everyone at the AFC Richmond locker room is in a festive mood after exchanging Secret Santa gifts.
Ted (Jason Sudeikis) plans to spend Christmas Day face timing with his son Henry, but his hopes are dashed when Henry decides he rather play with the expensive drone he received as a gift then chat with his dear old dad.
Feeling like he failed, Ted plans to drown out his sorrows with some whiskey and a viewing of “It’s a Wonderful Life,” but when he bumps into Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham), she invites him to deliver presents to underprivileged children and discover the spirit of Christmas.
