TV’s 25 Best Christmas Episodes of the Past 20 Years

The Christmas season is a time for honoring age-old traditions… but sometimes it’s nice to freshen things up a little, you know?

The Christmas TV episode is a small-screen tradition that dates back decades, and we’ve all seen our favorites dozens of times by now. (We can’t be the only ones who can quote Seinfeld‘s Festivus episode word-for-word.) Thanks to Peak TV, though, we’ve also enjoyed an influx of brand-new Christmas episodes over the past few years, some of which rank right up there with beloved classics from years past.

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So this year, we’re putting something new in your stocking: 25 holiday-themed TV episodes, all of which have aired in the past 20 years, that are good enough to earn an annual viewing of their own. (That said, some of these aren’t the holly-jolliest of TV episodes, though they do take place at Christmastime. But there’s no way we could leave out something as gorgeous as Euphoria‘s Rue-centric, pre-Season 2 special episode.)

Throw on an ugly Christmas sweater, grab a seat by the fire and scroll down to see which new Christmas classics, from The Bear to Ted Lasso, made our “nice” list this year, along with how to stream them. Then, drop a comment with the recent TV episodes that have become a new Christmas tradition in your house.

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30 Rock, “Christmas Special”

30 Rock, “Christmas Special”
30 Rock, “Christmas Special”

Any 30 Rock Christmas episode would be a winner here, but this Season 3 installment is our favorite, due in part to Elaine Stritch’s appearance as Jack’s impossible-to-please mom, Colleen. After Jack accidentally runs over his mother with his car, Colleen later pieces together that Jack waited eight whole minutes before calling 911 after the incident, and Stritch is effortlessly funny as Colleen confronts her son about the time lapse. (“Sixteen! Minus eight! Is eight!”) Elsewhere, Liz unintentionally ruins Christmas for a couple of kids in the city, Jack demands the last-minute production of a TGS Christmas special — and, like all the best 30 Rock outings, even the episode’s most bah-humbug moments are later smoothed over with holiday spirit.

’30 Rock’ (Season 3, Episode 6)

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American Horror Story: Asylum, “Unholy Night”

American Horror Story: Asylum, “Unholy Night”
American Horror Story: Asylum, “Unholy Night”

For those of you who like to find a few frights in your stocking, we’ve got just the creepy Christmas episode for you: this truly chilling Asylum installment, guest-starring Deadwood‘s Ian McShane as a demented serial killer who dresses up as Santa Claus. After tying up a poor family with Christmas lights and murdering them, he’s sent to Briarcliff, where he bites off the nose of an orderly wearing a Santa hat and nearly stabs a guard to death with a tree ornament. Sleep tight!

‘American Horror Story’ (Season 2, Episode 8)

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The Bear, “Fishes”

The Bear, “Fishes”
The Bear, “Fishes”

This Christmas-themed flashback from Season 2 of Hulu’s restaurant dramedy has a lot in common with Festivus, actually, with Jamie Lee Curtis — in a fantastic guest role — airing plenty of grievances as Carmy’s martyr of a mom during a chaotic holiday dinner. (And wait until you see her feats of strength.) Add in a ton of cameos (Sarah Paulson! John Mulaney!) and some keen insight into Carmy’s messed-up family life, and we have a feast worth revisiting every year.

‘The Bear’ (Season 2, Episode 6)

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The Big Bang Theory, “The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis”

The Big Bang Theory, “The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis”
The Big Bang Theory, “The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis”

Penny gifts Sheldon a napkin containing Leonard Nimoy’s DNA. In return, Sheldon gifts Penny the greatest gift of all — a hug! — cementing their unlikely friendship for years to come. As Leonard declares, “It’s a Saturnalia miracle!”

‘The Big Bang Theory’ (Season 2, Episode 11)

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Big Mouth, “A Very Big Mouth Christmas”

Big Mouth, “A Very Big Mouth Christmas”
Big Mouth, “A Very Big Mouth Christmas”

Definitely put the kids to bed before flipping on this X-rated Xmas special, as Netflix’s hilariously raunchy sex comedy puts a naughty spin on classic holiday tales like the birth of baby Jesus and Santa’s workshop of elves. (Let’s just say the special promises to show us Santa’s, um, candy cane… and it delivers!) The giddy mix of animation styles and live-action puppetry gets us into the Christmas spirit almost as quickly as a sip of Connie the Hormone Monstress’ homemade Jangle Juice.

‘Big Mouth’ (Season 5, Episode 8)

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Chuck, “Chuck Versus the Santa Suit”

Chuck, “Chuck Versus the Santa Suit”
Chuck, “Chuck Versus the Santa Suit”

Leave it to disgraced CIA agent-turned-Ring operative-turned-Intersect host Daniel Shaw to nearly destroy a Bartowski family Christmas. The episode, in which Sarah is held hostage in Castle, culminates in an epic showdown between Chuck and his mortal enemy, and affords Ellie the chance to save the day and knock her father’s killer out cold. This Season 5 gem also features an unlikely kiss between Chuck and General Beckman, and a cameo by Marvel mastermind Stan Lee.

‘Chuck’ (Season 5, Episode 7)

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Community, “Regional Holiday Music”

Community, “Regional Holiday Music”
Community, “Regional Holiday Music”

Some might prefer Season 2’s Claymation outing “Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas,” but we’re partial to Season 3’s savage Glee parody, with the study group gradually getting indoctrinated by Greendale’s glee club. (Pierce’s confused refrain: “What the hell are Regionals?”) Taran Killam is terrifyingly peppy as the glee club director, and the original songs are actually pretty catchy, highlighted by Annie’s instant-classic ditzy-girl plea, “Teach Me How to Understand Christmas.”

‘Community’ (Season 3, Episode 10)

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Doctor Who, “The Husbands of River Song”

Doctor Who, “The Husbands of River Song”
Doctor Who, “The Husbands of River Song”

“Hello, Sweetie.” Doctor Who has gifted us a stocking full of memorable Christmas specials, but nothing warms our hearts like Twelve’s whispered reveal to River Song. The impossible man she loves has been by her side all along, just wearing a new face! Peter Capaldi and Alex Kingston convincingly build epic romantic chemistry in a single episode, culminating in their Christmas dinner date on the planet of Darillium. It’s the couple’s long-dreaded final night together, and River makes an emotional plea for more: “Happily ever after doesn’t mean forever, it just means time.” And that’s just what The Doctor delivers with his final holiday surprise: One night on Darillium lasts 24 years! Cue all the tears. And they both lived… happily.

‘Doctor Who’ (Season 9, Episode 13)

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Downton Abbey, “Christmas at Downton Abbey”

Downton Abbey, “Christmas at Downton Abbey”
Downton Abbey, “Christmas at Downton Abbey”

Season 2’s Christmas special catches the elegant PBS drama at its creative peak — i.e. before the main characters started dropping like flies — and delivers the holiday goods with a slew of happy endings. Bates gets his death sentence reduced to life in prison… and Lady Mary kicks her jerk of a fiancé to the curb. It ends with the series’ most swoon-worthy moment: Matthew proposing to Mary on a perfectly romantic snowy evening.

‘Downton Abbey’ (Season 2, Episode 9)

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Euphoria, “Trouble Don’t Last Always”

Euphoria, “Trouble Don’t Last Always”
Euphoria, “Trouble Don’t Last Always”

In the same way that Joni Mitchell’s “River” winds up on holiday music playlists for its wintry, rip-your-heart-out sentiment, this pre-Season 2 installment of the HBO drama gives us something to sob about while wrapping gifts and addressing cards. Rue spends Christmas Eve at a diner with her sponsor, Ali. She’s high. She’s despondent. She’s missing Jules and contemplating the end of her own life. The performances, by Zendaya and Colman Domingo, are sublime. The mood is dark — because what’s holiday cheer without a little holiday despair to offer contrast?

‘Euphoria’ (Special Episode #1)

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Ghosts, “A Very Arondekar Christmas”

Ghosts, “A Very Arondekar Christmas”
Ghosts, “A Very Arondekar Christmas”

The CBS comedy topped itself with Season 4’s Christmas special (which just aired Dec. 19!), featuring a hilarious double possession by Nancy and Pete, the touching introduction of Jay’s parents and a surprise twist that temporarily allowed Sam’s hubby to see and interact with the ghosts. While we wouldn’t wish for Jay’s spirit to permanently leave his body (or for a zombified Jay), it sure was a lot of fun for an hour.

‘Ghosts’ (Season 4, Episodes 8 and 9)

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Grimm, “Twelve Days of Krampus”

Grimm, “Twelve Days of Krampus”
Grimm, “Twelve Days of Krampus”

Give Santa ram’s horns and a violent streak, and you’ve got an idea of the kind of Wesen Nick & Co. face in the Season 3 holiday episode. Krampus hoots, “You’ve been naughty!” as he approaches those he deems coal-worthy, and it’s all campy fun until he starts ripping them to literal pieces. (It’s OK. They deserved it.) On the warm-n-cozy side: We also witness Monrosalee’s first, and on-brand quirky, Christmas as a couple.

‘Grimm’ (Season 3, Episode 8)

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Happy Endings, “Grinches Be Crazy”

Happy Endings, “Grinches Be Crazy”
Happy Endings, “Grinches Be Crazy”

Any day with the Happy Endings gang is a holiday to us, but things get extra joyful in this seasonal Season 2 episode. (It kicks off with the pals chugging eggnog at the bar, after all.) Max reluctantly gets a dose of holiday spirit working as a mall Santa — complete with electric jiggling belly — while Dave cashes in several years of Alex’s homemade gift coupons all at once. It somehow ends with the gang sipping tropical drinks at an indoor beach to the strains of “Kokomo”… you know, as Christmas should.

‘Happy Endings’ (Season 2, Episode 9)

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Lost, “The Constant”

Lost, “The Constant”
Lost, “The Constant”

It’s always nice when loved ones ring you during the holidays, but Desmond’s Christmas Eve call to long-lost love Penny was literally a lifesaver. Mentally transported from 2004 to 1996, Desmond (with help from a young Faraday) cured his amnesia with a blast of electromagnetic energy, but needed a “constant” to save him from an eventual, fatal aneurysm. Luckily, 1996 Penny heeded her ex’s unusual plea and remembered to take his call eight years later, ensuring Demond’s survival.

‘Lost’ (Season 4, Episode 5)

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Mad Men, “Christmas Comes But Once a Year”

Mad Men, “Christmas Comes But Once a Year”
Mad Men, “Christmas Comes But Once a Year”

This Season 4 gem sees Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce throw the ultimate office Christmas party to entertain a crucial client, complete with “gifts, girls and games,” plus Joan in a red dress that Roger says “makes you look like a present” — and even an honest-to-God conga line! But of course, this being Mad Men, there’s a melancholy tint to all of it, as a recently divorced Don grumbles: “I don’t hate Christmas. I hate this Christmas.”

‘Mad Men’ (Season 4, Episode 2)

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The Mindy Project, “Christmas Party Sex Trap”

The Mindy Project, “Christmas Party Sex Trap”
The Mindy Project, “Christmas Party Sex Trap”

Mindy throws a building-wide holiday bash as a ploy to snag a Christmas smooch from cute attorney Cliff — and, of course, her plan falls apart in spectacular fashion. (Maria Menounos, of all people, ends up stealing her thunder.) But the indisputable highlight is Danny’s Secret Santa gift for Mindy: a surprisingly smooth dance to Aaliyah’s “Try Again.”

‘The Mindy Project’ (Season 2, Episode 11)

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NCIS, “What Child Is This?”

NCIS, “What Child Is This?”
NCIS, “What Child Is This?”

A newborn of mysterious origin. Torres and Bishop getting cozy/each pondering parenthood while pulling sitter duty. Gibbs bringing out Kelly’s bassinet. Sloane warmly checking the socials of the little girl she put up for adoption years ago. This holiday outing was a gift that fit everyone.

‘NCIS’ (Season 16, Episode 10)

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New Girl, “The 23rd”

New Girl, “The 23rd”
New Girl, “The 23rd”

The sitcom’s first-ever Christmas episode is an absolute disaster for Nick. He accidentally tells Paul that Jess is not in love with him, then is forced to suffer through their breakup when all three of them get locked out on a balcony at Schmidt’s office Christmas party. Nick ultimately makes it up to Jess by missing his flight home and yelling at the residents of Candy Cane Lane to turn on their festive light displays in the middle of the night.

‘New Girl’ (Season 1, Episode 9)

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The Office, “A Benihana Christmas”

The Office, “A Benihana Christmas”
The Office, “A Benihana Christmas”

As is often the case at Dunder Mifflin Scranton’s Christmas celebrations, Michael Scott’s personal drama — this time, his breakup with girlfriend Carol — sets the tone for the office party. But hey, we’re not his coworkers, so his sadness is hilariously pathetic to behold, and it only gets more entertaining when his long lunch at Benihana results in a cringey rebound with a young waitress. Meanwhile, Pam and Karen bond while throwing a more successful Christmas party than the one Angela’s got planned, leading to an impassioned karaoke performance of Alanis Morissette from accountant Kevin.

‘The Office’ (Season 3, Episodes 10 and 11)

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Parenthood, “What to My Wondering Eyes”

Parenthood, “What to My Wondering Eyes”
Parenthood, “What to My Wondering Eyes”

Warning: Make sure to ask Santa for a fresh supply of Kleenex before watching this five-hankie holiday chestnut. A cancer-stricken Kristina has to be rushed to the hospital and clings to life… on Christmas Eve, no less. (If you don’t tear up when Adam watches Kristina’s video message to her kids, your heart might be two sizes too small.) But the spirit of the season can’t be dimmed: As Zeke says, “Santa is real… and Christmas is magic. Christmas brings miracles.”

‘Parenthood’ (Season 4, Episode 11)

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Pose, “Giving and Receiving”

Pose, “Giving and Receiving”
Pose, “Giving and Receiving”

In this early Season 1 episode, the annual Snow Ball is a winter wonderland of fierce fashions, and the House of Evangelista bands together to celebrate the season — even the cynical Angel, who has a very good reason for hating Christmas. The final scene, with Blanca and her kids exchanging gifts in a Chinese restaurant, is a tear-jerking triumph.

‘Pose’ (Season 1, Episode 3)

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Schitt’s Creek, “Merry Christmas, Johnny Rose”

Schitt’s Creek, “Merry Christmas, Johnny Rose”
Schitt’s Creek, “Merry Christmas, Johnny Rose”

In arguably the sweetest special since A Charlie Brown Christmas, Johnny’s loved ones don’t realize until it’s too late that he isn’t trying to throw a party like the ones they’d had when they were rich — those had always ended with him alone. Luckily, his family gets wise in time to glue the branches back on his tree and deliver a gathering that’s so warm and wonderful that it borders on miraculous — especially without David mood-boarding a color scheme!

‘Schitt’s Creek’ (Season 4, Episode 13)

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Supernatural, “A Very Supernatural Christmas”

Supernatural, “A Very Supernatural Christmas”
Supernatural, “A Very Supernatural Christmas”

It’s Christmas as only Supernatural can do it: Dean and Sam spend the holiday investigating Pagan gods of solstice who are pulling tributes up chimneys. The cheery performances of Merrilyn Gann and Spencer Garrett as the gods, who have assimilated as a 1950s-esque couple fond of the phrase “Oh fudge!”, are a delight. Meanwhile, a series of touching Christmas flashbacks reveal that it was little Sammy who gifted his brother with his amulet necklace.

‘Supernatural’ (Season 3, Episode 8)

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Ted Lasso, “Carol of the Bells”

Ted Lasso, “Carol of the Bells”
Ted Lasso, “Carol of the Bells”

The standalone Season 2 outing sees Ted and Rebecca sub in for Santa and deliver toys to tots. Meanwhile, Roy and Keeley traverse Roy’s posh neighborhood in search of a dentist for Phoebe, whose extraordinarily bad breath puts the kibosh on our favorite couple’s “Sexy Christmas.” The installment culminates in Hannah Waddingham getting a chance to show off her powerhouse vocals, as Rebecca belts out “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home).” We imagine this performance inspired the executives at Apple to give Waddingham her very own Christmas special.

‘Ted Lasso’ (Season 2, Episode 4)

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This Is Us, “Last Christmas”

This Is Us, “Last Christmas”
This Is Us, “Last Christmas”

Little Kate’s appendectomy goes fine! Dr. K reconnects with the Pearsons! Jimmi Simpson doesn’t exit Randall’s company holiday party via swan dive! It seems like what Rebecca says in the past timeline — “Nothing bad happens on Christmas Eve” — must be true… and then Toby has a major cardiac event in the living room.

‘This Is Us’ (Season 1, Episode 10)

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