At Christmastime, television can be rife with schmaltz. It can be tough to find anything worth watching, especially if you’re not a fan of holiday-themed programming.
We’re happy to report that not all Christmas episodes are turkeys. Over the past several decades, some TV series have managed to churn out funny, sweet and yes, even well-written holiday episodes.
Here are some of the greats.
The Simpsons, Marge Be Not Proud
This was in the earlier days of The Simpsons, and one of the finer Christmas episodes of the series. What a touching surprise it was — and still is now — when Bart surprises Marge with an unexpected, thoughtful Christmas gift after being caught stealing at a department store. It brings a tear to the eye.
Seinfeld, The Strike
We have one word for you: Festivus.
The Wonder Years, Christmas
Always an emotional, nostalgia-heavy show, The Wonder Years delivers with this Christmas episode, which features Winnie coming to terms with her brother’s death in Vietnam. She gifts Kevin a four-leaf clover, a poignant cap to the episode.
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Christmas Show
Considering this episode is still funny, it easily fits into the category of “best.” The Banks family and their relatives go on a ski trip and are robbed blind, leaving them with nothing but each other for company. The jokes are endless, and it’s the first time we ever witness “The Carlton.”
Roseanne, No Place Like Home for the Holidays
A snowstorm separates the Conners — Roseanne, Bev, Jackie and Nana Mary at The Lunchbox, Dan and D.J. at home, Darlene and David at his mother’s house — but ends up bringing them all closer together. David’s abusive home life comes to light, and Roseanne decides it’s the right time for David to move into the Conner household.
Arrested Development, Afternoon Delight
The office Christmas party goes deliciously awry when Michael and Maeby sing the sex song Afternoon Delight. From there, in this show’s typical fashion, everything goes off the rails: Buster drops Gob from a crane and Lucille runs over Tobias. Good times.
30 Rock, Ludachristmas
What starts off as noble ends up as classic 30 Rock selfishness (and ridiculousness). When everyone decides to throw away their Christmas gifts and prepare for the annual Ludachristmas party, Kenneth locks them in for a night of refugee-children videos and Bible verses. Despite the attempt at a lesson, they all get drunk and try to cut down the Rockefeller Christmas tree. At least they tried?
Will & Grace, Jingle Balls
Aside from the clever title, this episode makes the list because of Grace and Jack’s plotline. (Guest star Parker Posey, as always, brings the funny too.) Jack gets Grace’s dream job — setting up the Christmas display window at Barney’s — and manages to screw it up. Grace fixes it without telling him and makes it look like Santa Claus actually intervened. She doesn’t take any credit, leaving Jack to believe St. Nick saved the day.
Friends, The One With the Holiday Armadillo
Ross wants to teach his son about his Jewish heritage, so instead of celebrating Christmas, he goes all-out on Hanukkah. With no Santa-like figure associated with the Jewish holiday, Ross finds the only costume available: a gigantic armadillo, which then becomes the Holiday Armadillo. This is one for the ages.
South Park, Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo
A talking piece of feces hardly seems like an appropriate Christmas character, but hey, it’s South Park. Mr. Hankey appears only to poor Kyle, who’s Jewish and can’t reconcile his feeling of ostracization about Christmas. To everyone else, he’s just carrying around a piece of excrement, but to Kyle, Mr. Hankey is alive. Towards the end, Mr. Hankey comes to life for everyone to see, and the whole town discovers the real meaning of Christmas.
The Office, Christmas Party
It’s the office Christmas party to end all office Christmas parties. A holiday gift exchange goes totally awry when Jim’s personal gift to Pam ends up in Dwight’s hands. Also, Dwight wears a delightful elf hat in the episode. Who can say no?
Frasier, Merry Christmas, Mrs. Moskowitz
In this episode, Frasier meets a new woman, and he tells her he’ll pretend to be Jewish so as to not offend her mother. Of course, that lie is exposed, and when Frasier witnesses the woman and her mother make up, he tries to mend fences with his father in a similar fashion. Needless to say, it doesn’t work, but somehow the pair ends up in tears and closer than they ever were before.
The Simpsons, Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire
It’s OK to have two Simpsons episodes in here, right? A true classic, it’s the first time we ever meet the Simpsons. Out of money, Homer tries to win big at the dog racetrack (of all places) so he can buy his family gifts. Instead, he ends up coming home with the best gift of all: Santa’s Little Helper.
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Happy holiday viewing, dear readers!
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