See the 10 best Christmas TV episodes and how to stream them
See the 10 best Christmas TV episodes and how to stream them
Nearly every popular TV show has at least one Christmas episode to its name, but which are the best?
There’s a holiday feeling in the air, which should come as no surprise considering we’re mere hours away from Christmas. Even the most festive of holidays can leave viewers feeling a little worn out, and if you need to recharge with a little TV without getting out of the spirit of the season, nearly every TV show has at least one great Christmas episode in its inventory.
I’ll run you through the list of 10 best — or at any rate, 10 of my favorite — Christmas episodes available now, and where you can stream them on-demand!
The 10 best Christmas episodes available to stream now
‘The Bear’: Season 2, Episode 6 | ‘Fishes’
There’s only one Christmas episode worth mentioning on “The Bear.” This flashback show takes viewers back to the Berzatto home for Christmas, five years before the main storyline of the series. It’s a funny, frightening tale of the perils of family, with all the personality clashes, drunken ancillary characters, and tense moments that make the holidays authentic.
The Bear
Carmy, a young fine-dining chef, comes home to Chicago to run his family sandwich shop. As he fights to transform the shop and himself, he works alongside a rough-around-the-edges crew that ultimately reveal themselves as his chosen family.
‘Community’: Season 2, Episode 11 | ‘Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas’
“Community” delivered its six promised seasons, and allegedly a movie is on the way as well. This Christmas episode is one of the best of the entire series, however; it takes viewers inside the head of the TV-obsessed Abed, who not only imagines his fellow characters as animated, but also as eager participants in his own little Christmas musical.
Community
Follow the lives of a group of students at what is possibly the world’s worst community college in the fictional locale of Greendale, Colorado.
‘Downton Abbey’: Season 2 Christmas special | ‘Christmas at Downton Abbey’
It’s Christmas 1919. Downton Abbey is hosting a lavish Christmas party, yet despite being the season of goodwill, tensions are rife at the expansive home. Nevertheless, the episode ends with a moment fans had been waiting patiently for: Matthew’s romantic and emotional proposal to Mary.
Downton Abbey
A chronicle of the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants in the post-Edwardian era—with great events in history having an effect on their lives and on the British social hierarchy.
‘Friends’: Season 7, Episode 10 | ‘The One with the Holiday Armadillo’
Spend your holiday with the most famous six Manhattan residents in TV history. In this “Friends” episode, Ross has his son Ben for the holidays but wants to teach him about Chanukah and his Jewish heritage. Unfortunately, his lateness in seeking a costume leaves him stuck with an armadillo outfit, while Chandler tries too hard to help by bursting onto the scene as Santa Claus.
Friends
Six young people from New York City, on their own and struggling to survive in the real world, find the companionship, comfort and support they get from each other to be the perfect antidote to the pressures of life.
‘The Office’: Season 2, Episode 10 | ‘Christmas Party’
As another show that went on for more than seven seasons, “The Office” has more than one Christmas episode to choose from. This particular episode sees Michael insist on a White Elephant gift exchange, which predictably puts everyone in the office in a sour mood. In order to rectify the situation, he injects a little vodka into the equation, with predictable results.
The Office
The everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company.
‘Rugrats’: Season 4, Episode 1 | ‘A Rugrats Chanukah’
In a holiday season that’s all about Christmas for most, “Rugrats” decided to roll out a Chanukah episode for the ages. As told from the perspective of Tommy Pickles, the kids find themselves thrown back thousands of years to the very first Chanukah, into the role of the “Maccababies.”
Rugrats
Focuses on a group of toddlers, most prominently Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, Lil, and Angelica, and their day-to-day lives, usually involving common life experiences that become adventures in the babies’ imaginations. Adults in the series are almost always unaware of what the children are up to; however, this only provides more room for the babies to explore and discover their surroundings.
‘MASH’: Season 9, Episode 5 | “Death Takes a Holiday”
This “MASH” episode hits all the notes that the series does best. It follows two main storylines: Hawkeye, B.J., and Margaret’s efforts to keep a wounded soldier alive so that his family doesn’t remember Christmas as the day he died, while Major Winchester tries to keep a very generous gift to local orphans a secret.
M*A*S*H
The 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital is stuck in the middle of the Korean war. With little help from the circumstances they find themselves in, they are forced to make their own fun. Fond of practical jokes and revenge, the doctors, nurses, administrators, and soldiers often find ways of making wartime life bearable.
‘Seinfeld’: Season 9, Episode 10 | ‘The Strike’
Every “Seinfeld” fan knows this episode and knows it probably shouldn’t even be listed as a Christmas episode. It’s more of a cultural touchstone, thanks to the introduction of the Festivus holiday by George’s disgruntled father. A counterreaction to the commercialization of Christmas, Festivus features the stark, barren aluminum pole, the feats of physical strength, and the airing of grievances that make the holidays so special.
Seinfeld
A stand-up comedian and his three offbeat friends weather the pitfalls and payoffs of life in New York City in the ’90s. It’s a show about nothing.
‘The Simpsons’: Season 1, Episode 1 | ‘Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire’
This is the very first “Simpsons” episode, showing the harsh realities of Christmas as well as the more romantic side of the holiday. When Homer’s Christmas bonus is canceled, he has to find a way to deliver Christmas magic to the family, even without the traditional money for presents the bonus delivers.
The Simpsons
Set in Springfield, the average American town, the show focuses on the antics and everyday adventures of the Simpson family; Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie, as well as a virtual cast of thousands. Since the beginning, the series has been a pop culture icon, attracting hundreds of celebrities to guest star. The show has also made name for itself in its fearless satirical take on politics, media and American life in general.
“The Simpsons” was ranked the best sitcom of all time by Rolling Stone in 2021.
If you’ve never seen it, “The Simpsons Movie” pulled together some of the series’ best writers for a wild ride.
‘Ted Lasso’: Season 2, Episode 4 | ‘Carol of the Bells’
This “Ted Lasso” episode has a little of everything the show does best. When Ted misses his family at Christmas, Rebecca drops by to save him from himself. Meanwhile, Roy and Keeley have to help Roy’s niece Phoebe solve a stinky dilemma, with a little skewering of the movie “Love Actually” throughout the episode.
Ted Lasso
Ted Lasso, an American football coach, moves to England when he’s hired to manage a soccer team—despite having no experience. With cynical players and a doubtful town, will he get them to see the Ted Lasso Way?