‘SpongeBob SquarePants’ 8 Greatest Holiday Episodes, Ranked

Any episode of SpongeBob SquarePants from its first few seasons can be such a blast to watch that it already feels like a little holiday. But there are holiday episodes from that time, too, and the combination of SpongeBob madness with whatever holiday it’s about creates a particularly special atmosphere. They didn’t have to be about the specific days of the year that we air-breathers celebrate; this show was so epic that it occasionally made up its own holidays.

Granted, this Nickelodeon powerhouse has been around for so long that viewers have to go way back to the first two seasons to find the entries that bring festive cheer (instead of undermine it). In this writer’s opinion, there aren’t many worthy episodes that focus on a holiday. “Employee of the Month” won’t count here, unfortunately, as it happens once a month and is just an award thing (rather than a celebration for everybody). That same episode hints at an Annoy Squidward Day (on the 15th!), which would be a delight if the show explored further. Oh, well. The following episodes are about more proper holidays, and they’re all worth revisiting when it’s that time of year. Ranked by how much they lean into their respective holidays, how funny they are, and the strange nuances they bring, these episodes should be regularly observed.

8

“Life of Crime”

Season 2, Episode 7

SpongeBob (Tom Kenny) and Patrick (Bill Fagerbakke) learned from Mr. Krabs (Tom Clancy) that borrowing isn’t stealing so long as you bring back what you took. However, Mr. Krabs neglected to mention that you need to ask permission to borrow something first, which the sponge and starfish don’t do as they take a balloon from a vendor when he’s not looking. They also don’t give it back; it pops.

This launches the conflict of Season 2’s classic “Life of Crime,” in which SpongeBob and Patrick run away from home out of the assumption that they’re wanted men. As they run away, however, the audience learns that it’s National Free Balloon Day. After SpongeBob and Patrick serve about one second’s worth of jail time, the police laugh in their faces. Along with Patrick’s hysterical “I think I’ll eat it now” bit, this holiday demonstrates that stealing can make you look both immoral and ignorant.

7

“Bubble Buddy”

Season 2, Episode 3

“Hinga-dinga-durgen!” That’s right—Lief Erikson Day totally counts here. While the concept of it merely bookends the “Bubble Buddy” classic, it’s featured extensively enough in the beginning for us to have a loose understanding of what it entails. SpongeBob dressed in a Viking costume and paddling his mattress around like a boat? Fantastic. But this is also the framing device for the narrative: when SpongeBob can’t find anyone to celebrate with, he makes up his own.

Tired of Columbus Day? Well, apparently a Norse explorer set foot in North America roughly half a millennium before Christopher Columbus did. Yes—he was a real guy, America has a federal holiday for Leif Erikson (on October 9th), and somehow SpongeBob is aware of this man’s existence. How often is an obscure holiday presented in a way that makes millions of children grow up thinking it’s totally fake? That’s a SpongeBob education for you.

6

“Opposite Day”

Season 1, Episode 9

It’s Squidward’s (Rodger Bumpass) birthday! Oh, it’s not? Too bad, because SpongeBob and Patrick are going to make their neighbor play Pin the Tail on the Seahorse anyway. It’s hilarious how Squidward just silently accepts his fate throughout that totally random celebration. The way the expression on his face changes from surprised to angry to neutral gives him an amusing emotional arc for this opening montage alone.

That party is the last straw; Mr. Tentacles wants to move out immediately, and he’s willing to invent a holiday to make sure it happens. He calls it Opposite Day, designed to make SpongeBob act like a good, quiet neighbor when the real estate lady comes by. It’s a good plan at first, but the sponge and his best pal soon take a wildly different approach. The shenanigans that unfold totally ruin Squidward’s escape, showing how some games need very strict rules to make sure they don’t get out of hand.

5

“Scaredy Pants”

Season 1, Episode 13

Halloween in Bikini Bottom! SpongeBob has never cleaned the dishes faster, breaking them all in the process. He is the easiest citizen of Bikini Bottom to scare, which Squidward and Mr. Krabs take full advantage of. But SpongeBob is determined to get back at them, get back at everybody, and Patrick helps him accomplish that in outstanding fashion. When it comes to the show’s plot twists, the end of this episode is among the most shocking.

“Scaredy Pants” also does a great job of presenting The Flying Dutchman’s origin story. Though it’s Halloween-themed, this story has plenty of laughs too. Patrick’s impressive display of shoe-craftsmanship is baffling, given the fact that he apparently can’t tell the difference between a square head and a round one. A trio of trick-or-treaters are absolutely brutal this evening, Sandy’s costume is brilliant in this undersea setting, and the jellyfish who tags Patrick for no good reason is hilarious. In the end, we get an iconic balance of frights and humor.

4

“Valentine’s Day”

Season 1, Episode 16

The first thing SpongeBob does when he opens his door is wish Bikini Bottom a Happy Valentine’s Day. This sponge has a lot of love to give, especially to Patrick. But it seems that Mr. SquarePants’ plan for his best friend was too ambitious; he’s got Sandy (Carolyn Lawrence) riding a giant chocolate bubble balloon so that it arrives when he and Patrick are at the top of the Ferris Wheel.

Anyone who has tried to do something this elaborate can already tell this is going to go wrong. “Valentine’s Day” soon turns into something of an action-adventure race against time. Poor Patrick was so ready to kick everyone out of the carnival, but he was also ready to accept anything other than SpongeBob’s Plan B. The bar was so low. Watching SpongeBob have his buddy jump off a cliff is priceless, and the story has one of the greatest closing lines in Season 1. This emotional rollercoaster is about friendship—what we do when we express it, the danger of having no backup plan, and what can happen if expectations aren’t met.

3

“I Was a Teenage Gary”

Season 1, Episode 13

While it doesn’t take place on a holiday, “I Was a Teenage Gary” is part of the show’s first Halloween special. While the title is a reference to I Was a Teenage Werewolf from the ’50s, the transformation sequence depicted here clearly pays homage to the legendary one in An American Werewolf in London. Thanks to Squidward’s neglect and an amusingly squeamish doctor, Squidward eventually winds up injecting SpongeBob with snail plasma—turning the sponge into a snail. It’s pretty intense.

Thus begins a nightmarish scenario that Mr. Tentacles totally deserves: getting chased by a SpongeBob who can only say “Meow.” The result only makes the problem worse, but the ending late-night singing session is actually quite peaceful. With one more great gag to boot (get it?), the narrative lands on its feet (unlike Squidward). Using body horror tropes to create a scenario of chaos and hilarity, “I Was a Teenage Gary” proves one of Season 1’s most unforgettable episodes.

2

“Fools in April”

Season 1, Episode 19

April Fools’ Day is SpongeBob’s favorite holiday, which Season 1’s “Fools in April” makes abundantly clear. He fools Gary into thinking they’ll only be eating clam shells for the rest of their lives, he holds up a tiny mirror and says “April Fools” to himself, he tricks Squidward into coming to work, and he even makes a Krusty Krab patron believe that something terrible was done to his drink. All this stranger wanted was some ice, and the guy’s reaction was so dramatic.

SpongeBob pulls even more pranks, and he is having the time of his life. It’s non-stop with Mr. SquarePants, so Squidward sets out to prank him back. What he does is much more cruel than silly, though, leading to more than one of Squidward’s best quotes in the show. The mixture of pathos and consistently hysterical moments makes “Fools in April” a must for anyone who cares about April 1st, or SpongeBob in general.

1

“Christmas Who?”

Season 2, Episode 28

Taking up the entire half-hour, the all-time greatest SpongeBob SquarePants special is quite possibly “Christmas Who?” Sandy teaches SpongeBob about Christmas, which prompts him to write a letter to Santa Claus so that he can visit Bikini Bottom. In the process, the holiday spirit spreads to just about everybody. Although this is the first time everyone has heard of Christmas, they trust SpongeBob enough to believe it anyway.

That contraption they use to send letters to Santa is both impressive (as it manages to shoot those bottles all the way up to the surface) and ridiculous (the messages just wind up floating on the waves). Meanwhile, Squidward clearly and angrily doesn’t believe a word about this “jolly prowler,” which leads to a wonderful character arc for him. SpongeBob’s present to his next-door neighbor brings a tear to the eye, both in the obvious care with which it was made and the heartbreaking scenario in which it’s shown. “Christmas Who?” doesn’t rely on holiday vibes to lazily coast through a half-hearted story. This episode is surprisingly touching, very funny, and even features a catchy song in the middle. For those who want to watch something that can put them in the holiday spirit, they need look no further than this iconic mix of disaster, selflessness, and wonder.