Now that Halloween and Thanksgiving are officially over, it’s time to focus on one of the biggest holidays of the year, Christmas! You’ll find Christmas music on radio stations, cheesy Christmas movies on almost every channel, and decorations in every grocery store you walk into. As we get closer to the holidays and the spirit of Christmas sets in, it’s always nice to see something that reminds you of the big day. Christmas movies are great, especially the classics, but sometimes you have to change it up a bit and watch something shorter and less traditional. Here’s a list of the best TV Christmas episodes of all time, ranked.
7/7 It’s always sunny in Philadelphia
Entitled “A Very Sunny Christmas”, a holiday with this gang could be exactly what you’d expect. Dennis and Dee decide they are tired of the way Frank is behaving around the holidays and decide to give him a taste of his own medicine by calling up an old friend, which goes very badly. Meanwhile, Mac and Charlie discover some unsavory secrets about their childhood and Christmas, and it ends in a bloody mess between Charlie and a mall Santa Claus. The episode is twice as long as a normal episode and is full of memorable moments with the gang.
6/7 Gray’s Anatomy
This season two episode is titled, “Grandma Got Ran Over By a Reindeer,” and the doctors of Seattle Grace struggle to embrace the Christmas spirit. All except Izzie, who loves the holiday and makes her roommates actively participate in the cheers as well. Poor George is stuck with his annoying family, who come to infiltrate his life during the holiday season, and there’s plenty of drama between Christina and Burke, as they discuss whether Christmas really matters or not. The best part of the episode is when Meredith, George, and Izzie all lie together under the tree, side by side, staring up at the lights.
5/7 The office
It’s hard to pick just one Christmas episode from the series, but season two’s “Christmas Party” takes the spot on this list. For their party, Michael originally organized a secret Christmas gift exchange, buying Ryan a new iPod, which was well over the stipulated spending limit. However, when Michael receives a homemade oven mitt from Phyllis, he decides to make it a white elephant swap instead, and it leads to utter chaos. This episode is also special because viewers get to watch Pam and Jim’s relationship begin to blossom as he presents her with a thoughtful teapot filled with inside jokes and trinkets. The episode ends with a drunken Meredith exposing herself to Michael, who in return takes a picture of her with his camera and calls it the best party ever.
4/7 Seinfeld
The title of the episode is “The Strike”, but fans of Seinfeld call it “Festivus”, and it is considered one of the best episodes of the entire series, via ScreenRant. A lot happens in this one episode, such as Jerry dating a woman, who is beautiful at times and ugly at others. Frank Costanza invents his own holiday, Festivus, to get under the presents that Christmas brings, and George decides to get involved by creating a mock charity for his work to donate to during the holiday.
3/7 All in the family
It’s a good old Christmas special with the Bunkers, but Archie is in a bad mood when he discovers he won’t get his usual Christmas bonus. “Christmas Day in the Bunkers” is light-hearted and fun, even though Archie can’t shake the loss of the money his job is supposed to send him, and mostly keeps the information to himself throughout the day. The Jeffersons come for a visit, which also includes a visit from Santa Claus, aka Henry, with a black beard. The episode ends with an important message about Christmas and family.
2/7 Parks and recreation
equal to The office, Parks and recreation has a few Christmas episodes that all shine in their own way, but one remains the best. “Citizen Knope” highlights how great a boss Leslie is, as well as a friend to her colleagues and family, especially after being suspended for two weeks by Chris Traeger. When she tries to work on her campaign, her advisers insist that she relax during these two weeks and do no work, which is difficult for Leslie because she is so driven. The Parks department comes together and gives Leslie the perfect gift for Christmas, a gingerbread replica of the department. It’s a great episode full of laughter and the meaning of Christmas wrapped in one.
1/7 cheers
What could be better than working late on Christmas Eve? The answer is: a lot. But for the workers of cheersworking on a holiday isn’t the worst thing that can happen, even if it is may seem a little depressing, says Fandom. Rebecca makes everyone stay late and work the bar and they exchange gifts with each other all night, Sam panics when he realizes he doesn’t have a present for Rebecca. Norm appears in a Santa suit and the episode is very warm, nostalgic and comforting for the holidays.