TV 28 of TV's best Christmas episodes 'Tis the season for holiday specials! Whether you're in the mood for a Secret Santa disaster on "The Office" or celebrating Festivus on "Seinfeld," these episodes are the greatest gifts TV has to offer. By Mary Sollosi Mary Sollosi Mary Sollosi is the former assistant features editor at Entertainment Weekly. She left EW in 2022. EW's editorial guidelines Updated on November 27, 2023 07:26AM EST Close Photo: BBC; Jordin Althaus/FOX; Paul Drinkwater/NBCU Photo Bank/GETTY IMAGES When the weather outside is frightful, watching TV is so delightful! In celebration of this festive season, we've rounded up the best Christmas episodes, from the holly jolly on Friends to the downright heartbreaking on Lost. Check out our yuletide picks ahead! 01 of 28 Friends, "The One With the Holiday Armadillo" (Season 7, Episode 10) NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Images Friends celebrated more than just Thanksgiving! If you can make it through the Hanukkah lesson from the Holiday Armadillo (a.k.a. David Schwimmer's Ross) all the way to the arrival of Superman (Matt LeBlanc's Joey) without once dissolving into a pile of Christmas giggles, you're stronger than we are. Where to watch Friends: Max 02 of 28 Mad Men, "Christmas Waltz" (Season 5, Episode 10) AMC It was fun when Roger (John Slattery) wore a Santa suit, but Mad Men's best yuletide hour had to be this bittersweet season 5 entry. Nobody wears heartache quite so gorgeously as Don (Jon Hamm) and Joan (Christina Hendricks) at a bar — or in a Jaguar — at Christmas. Where to watch Mad Men: AMC+ 03 of 28 The Office, "Christmas Party" (Season 2, Episode 10) Paul Drinkwater/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images The Office's Dunder Mifflin had its fair share of memorable Christmases, but between an inappropriate iPod gift and some classic Jim-Pam (John Krasinski–Jenna Fischer) romantic tension, nothing tops season 2's Secret Santa gone awry. Where to watch The Office: Peacock 04 of 28 Ted Lasso, "Carol of the Bells" (Season 2, Episode 4) Apple TV+ Ted Lasso boldly dropped its season 2 Christmas episode in the middle of the summer, but the polarizing installment is packed with enough wholesome holiday sweetness (including a handful of 2003's Love Actually references) to convince anyone it's cold outside. Where to watch Ted Lasso: Apple TV+ 05 of 28 How I Met Your Mother, "How Lily Stole Christmas" (Season 2, Episode 11) NBC Second only to "eating a sandwich" among narrator Ted's (Josh Radnor) various sanitized revisions of his younger days is his tale of the time he called Alyson Hannigan's Lily a "grinch" (decide for yourself what word he really used) at Christmastime. Where to watch How I Met Your Mother: Hulu 06 of 28 Gilmore Girls, "The Bracebridge Dinner" (Season 2, Episode 10) The CW Snowy Connecticut! A hyper-specific Stars Hollow event hosted by Lauren Graham's Lorelai! Richard and Emily (Edward Herrmann and Kelly Bishop) drama! Sneaky, snarky, flirty Jess (Milo Ventimiglia)! What more could you possibly want from a Gilmore Girls Christmas? Where to watch Gilmore Girls: Netflix 07 of 28 Doctor Who, "A Christmas Carol" (2010) BBC The classic novella has gotten plenty of small-screen adaptations, but none more singular than Doctor Who's version — which was somehow very clearly Dickensian but also distinctly, unquestionably, entirely Doctor Who. Where to watch Doctor Who: Max 08 of 28 Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, "My Mom, Greg's Mom and Josh's Sweet Dance Moves!" (Season 1, Episode 8) Greg Gayne/The CW Well, you can take your snow and shove it. We couldn't possibly leave Crazy Ex-Girlfriend's season 1 holiday ep off the list if only 'cause this is California, and we do Christmas right! Where to watch Crazy Ex-Girlfriend: Netflix 09 of 28 Lizzie McGuire, "Xtreme Xmas" (Season 2, Episode 20) Disney Although we love the Aaron Carter Christmas episode in season 1 (which has been on everyone's minds, including Hilary Duff's, since Carter died in November 2022) — the most Xtreme holiday on Lizzie McGuire had to be season 2's Steven Tyler-assisted Xtravaganza. Where to watch Lizzie McGuire: Disney+ 10 of 28 The X-Files, "How the Ghosts Stole Christmas" (Season 6, Episode 6) Fox After dealing with a tricky pair of older married ghosts, Mulder and Scully's (David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson) Christmas gift exchange makes for one of The X-Files duo's all-time greatest moments. Where to watch The X-Files: Hulu 11 of 28 New Girl, "The 23rd" (Season 1, Episode 9) Fox New Girl's first Christmas episode brought hilarity (oh, Schmidt) and heart (Candy Cane Lane!) in equal measure, making for a high point of the sitcom's earliest season. Where to watch New Girl: Hulu 12 of 28 It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, "A Very Sunny Christmas" (Season 6, Episode 13) Patrick McElhenney/FX Always Sunny's holiday episode at the end of season 6 had to be twice as long to fit so much Christmas spirit into it. Where to watch It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: Hulu 13 of 28 The Real Housewives of New York City, "December: Berkshires County" (Season 8, Episode 9) Bravo Dorinda decorated. She cooked. She made it nice. Where to watch The Real Housewives of New York City: Peacock 14 of 28 Boy Meets World, "A Very Topanga Christmas" (Season 5, Episode 11) Buena Vista Television Can you imagine a better Ghost of Christmas Anything than Boy Meets World's Mr. Feeny (William Daniels)? Where to watch Boy Meets World: Disney+ 15 of 28 Black Mirror, "White Christmas" (2014) Hal Shinnie/Netflix Black Mirror does Christmas! And it's exactly what that sounds like! Where to watch Black Mirror: Netflix 16 of 28 Lost, "The Constant" (Season 4, Episode 5) ABC Forget just being one of the best Christmas episodes — Lost's indelible time-travel masterpiece ranks among the greatest TV episodes ever, period. Where to watch Lost: Hulu 17 of 28 Community, "Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas" (Season 2, Episode 11) NBC We all grew up watching Christmas stories in stop-motion on TV, so it only feels right that Community went the Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town (1970) route for its season 2 holiday episode. Where to watch Community: Netflix 18 of 28 Seinfeld, "The Strike" (Season 9, Episode 10) Columbia Pictures Television We apologize for referring to "The Strike" as Seinfeld's Christmas episode. Happy Festivus, everyone. Where to watch Seinfeld: Netflix 19 of 28 Glee, "A Very Glee Christmas" (Season 2, Episode 10) Justin Lubin/FOX "Baby, It's Cold Outside" has, in recent years, been reappraised as a particularly problematic holiday song. Forget that for a minute and just listen to Chris Colfer and Darren Criss as Kurt and Blaine singing it on Glee. You're welcome. Where to watch Glee: Hulu 20 of 28 Will & Grace, "Jingle Balls" (Season 4, Episode 12) Chris Haston/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Images The spirit and the glamour of Christmas are on full display in this Will & Grace episode, wherein Grace (Debra Messing) selflessly plays Santa Claus for Jack (Sean Hayes) by designing a gorgeous holiday window display at Barneys. Where to watch Will & Grace: Hulu 21 of 28 The Mindy Project, "Christmas Party Sex Trap" (Season 2, Episode 11) Jordin Althaus/FOX Who knew Danny Castellano (Chris Messina) and Aaliyah were such a perfect match? Where to watch The Mindy Project: Netflix 22 of 28 Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "Amends" (Season 3, Episode 10) 20th Century Fox Buffy's only Christmas episode is a low point for a memory-haunted Angel (David Boreanaz), who plans to kill himself by standing outside as the sun rises, that turns into one of the most touching scenes of his and Buffy's romance: When the sun is blocked by snowfall, he and Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) take a daytime walk through Sunnydale together for the very first time. Where to watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Hulu 23 of 28 Downton Abbey, "Christmas at Downton Abbey" (2011) PBS Downton's second season ended with a perfectly elegant Christmas special — which itself ended with a perfectly romantic marriage proposal in the snow. Where to watch Downton Abbey: Peacock 24 of 28 The O.C., "The Best Chrismukkah Ever" (Season 1, Episode 13) WB Season 1's episode surrounding Seth Cohen's (Adam Brody) favorite holiday really was "The Best Chrismukkah Ever"! Where to watch The O.C.: Max 25 of 28 Black-ish, "Black Santa/White Christmas" (Season 1, Episode 10) Adam Rose/ABC/Getty Images Black-ish took on the "Black people can't be racist" argument in its first season's Christmas episode, in which Dre (Anthony Anderson) insists that his office Christmas party needs a Black Santa (specifically him). Where to watch Black-ish: Hulu 26 of 28 30 Rock, "Christmas Special" (Season 3, Episode 6) Kent Eanes/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Images What better subject for a Christmas TV show than the making of a Christmas TV show? And what better way to spend Christmas than with family? And what better family than Jack's (Alec Baldwin) mom (Elaine Stritch)?! Where to watch 30 Rock: Hulu 27 of 28 Abbott Elementary, “Holiday Hookah” (Season 2, Episode 10) Christopher Willard/ABC Winning three Emmys and three Golden Globes in its debut season, Abbott Elementary is the gift that keeps on giving. This season 2 installment sees how Abbott's faculty kicks off their winter break — from Jacob (Chris Perfetti) crashing Barbara (Sheryl Lee Ralph) and Melissa's (Lisa Ann Walter) sacred after-school dinner with his Scrooge-like tirades to Ava (Janelle James) effortlessly sidestepping the hookah club queue because she doesn't "speak line." Plus, Janine (Quinta Brunson) and Gregory (Tyler James Williams) have a tension-filled moment on the dance floor. (As the wise Barbara would say, "Sweet Baby Jesus and the grown one too!") —James Mercadante Where to watch Abbott Elementary: Hulu 28 of 28 The Bear, “Fishes” (Season 2, Episode 6) Chuck Hodes/FX At a Berzatto Christmas, the only things getting unwrapped are layers of family trauma. Set five years prior to the show’s main timeline, this yuletide episode of The Bear finds Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) attending a family dinner based on the Feast of the Seven Fishes, where forks are weaponized. Prepare yourself for a star-studded festivity, featuring guest appearances from Jamie Lee Curtis, Sarah Paulson, John Mulaney, Bob Odenkirk, and Gillian Jacobs. —J.M. Where to watch The Bear: Hulu