Christmas is right around the corner! With winter settling in, it’s the perfect time to head outside and enjoy the snow while it lasts. But for those not in the mood to brave the cold, or simply want to hibernate indoors and recharge, you can still get into the holiday spirit by watching some of TV’s best Christmas episodes.
Christmas looks different for everyone. Sometimes there’s last-minute chaos, an uncooked turkey, or even forgotten presents. Other times, some people don’t have the luxury of being home at all. These TV shows highlight the many ways people spend the holidays, whether you’re all about the tradition or simply a fan of the festive vibes. Without further ado, here are the TV shows that are keeping the annual holiday episode alive.
1
‘Ghosts’ (2021–)
Haunted houses are usually reserved for Halloween. But in Ghosts, the Arondekars celebrate Christmas with a full cast of wandering spirits. Sam (Rose McIver) and Jay (Utkarsh Ambudkar) initially find them to be an inconvenience, but they learn to befriend the unseen over time. Though most of these ghosts spend their days aimlessly, they know how to have fun when Christmas rolls around. In “A Very Arondekar Christmas,” the couple gets the shock of their lives when Jay’s notoriously hard-to-please parents, Champa (Sakina Jaffrey) and Mahesh (Bernard White), show up for the holidays, and a leaky water heater quickly escalates into a major disaster.
Ghosts doesn’t heavily tap into the jolly spirit (pun intended). What it makes up for in festive cheer is the refreshing paranormal element to it.Following a fix-up gone wrong, Jay and Sam are electrocuted, only to wake up in Nancy (Betsy Sodaro) and Pete’s (Richie Moriarty) bodies. It sounds like a holiday disaster. But every cloud has a silver lining. Jay finally gets to see and talk to all the mansion’s spirits, like his wife, while Nancy’s delirious antics unironically charm Champa.
2
‘Bob’s Burgers’ (2011–)
Remember folks, never buy a Christmas tree the day after Halloween. It’s always an adventure with the Belchers — even when it’s Christmas.Bob’s Burgers is nothing short of chaos. From Bob’s (H. Jon Benjamin) obsession with his restaurant, his youngest Louise’s (Kristen Schaal) inappropriate adult jokes, there’s never a boring day in the family. The holidays only intensify the madness. For instance, in “Christmas in the Car,” the Belchers almost crash their car with a massive candy cane truck when their last-minute tree shopping goes sideways.
But Bob’s Burgers goes for the heartwarming route in their Season 13 Christmas episode. In “The Plight Before Christmas,” all three Belcher kids have a Christmas performance held on the same day, at the same time. Bob and Linda try their best to attend all three shows, even if it means almost getting bitten by a dog. It’s touching that the typically compromising Bob and panicky Linda would go through such lengths for their children.
3
‘Abbott Elementary’ (2021–)
School’s out for the holidays in Abbott Elementary— but not before the students’ festivities are wrapped up. Christmas can be chaotic in elementary schools, especially for teachers. Not only do they spend after-school hours organizing holiday events, but they also have to make Christmas memorable. That’s the case for senior kindergarten teacher Barbara Howard (Sheryl Lee Ralph), who is in charge of putting on a nativity play. However, when she learns that one of her students cannot participate due to her faith, Barbara completely overhauls the play overnight, ensuring that literally every child can take part.
Outside the school hallways, the Abbott staff knows how to bring the holiday chaos. In “Winter Break,” Melissa Schemmenti (Lisa Ann Walter) and Jacob Hill (Chris Perfetti) head to Melissa’s annual family Christmas dinner. Of course, it goes hilariously off the rails when one of her older relatives seemingly passes away mid-meal. Meanwhile, even the usually overconfident principal shows a softer side, proving the holidays can get lonely for anyone. Surprisingly, she’d rather spend the season with her not-so-favorite teachers, Janine Teagues (Quinta Brunson) and Gregory Eddie (Tyler James Williams).
4
‘The Simpsons’ (1989–)
The Simpsons nail their Christmas episodes with a simple trick: they show the absolute worst things that could happen during the holidays. The situation starts off believable, but the chaos that follows quickly gets over-the-top. In “Skinner’s Sense of Snow,” Springfield Elementary decides to stay open during a snowstorm, and the students get trapped by the strict Principal Skinner (Harry Shearer). Bart (Nancy Cartwright) goes on a rebellion, burying Skinner in a pile of snow and even putting a bucket of pee on his head, much to everyone’s delight.
Their Christmas specials get surprisingly introspective, too. In “She of Little Faith,” Homer (Dan Castellaneta) accidentally destroys a church with a rocket, which is then rebuilt into a corporate megachurch thanks to Mr. Burns (Shearer). Lisa (Yeardley Smith), usually the most religious of the family, has a crisis when she sees how commercialized her place of prayer has become. It’s funny to take a child’s existential crisis seriously, but the episode also reminds adults to respect others’ ways of embracing other faiths and allowing them space to celebrate Christmas, whether religious or not.
5
‘St. Denis Medical’ (2024–)
Despite only being two seasons in, St. Denis Medical knows how to win its viewers’ hearts by keeping up with the annual Christmas episode tradition. First premiering in 2024, the hospital sitcom follows the underfunded and understaffed, but it’s bursting with heart. Executive director Joyce (Wendi McLendon-Covey) aims to make the hospital a place where patients get the care they need, regardless of insurance or finances. Meanwhile, the overworked staff wrestles with long hours, low pay, and medical emergencies. Despite it all, this scrappy little hospital is also a hub of hope and humor in between the rotating shifts.
Their current Christmas episode, “Ho Ho Hollo,” is a bit of a medical doozy. But these folks mean well. Alex (Allison Tolman) and Ron (David Alan Grier) treat Bob (David Paymer), who faked having cancer to get closer to his family. While Alex pushes for honesty, Ron emphasizes that it is, until a fake death and a GoFundMe pop up. Although Bob’s in the wrong, he’s merely doing it for a second chance with his family.Meanwhile, Joyce and Serena (Kahyun Kim) try to make the hospital go viral, which includes a hilariously heartwarming lip-sync TikTok featuring the whole staff.
6
‘Family Guy’ (1999–)
Christmas is supposed to be a time for togetherness, but in Family Guy, everyone has their own agenda. The Griffins are far from a picture-perfect family. They constantly frustrate and sabotage each other, sometimes pushing things way too far.In one of the show’s early Christmas episodes, “A Very Special Family Guy Freakin’ Christmas,” all Lois (Alex Borstein) wants is a flawless holiday with her family. Of course, nobody cooperates. One disaster leads to another until the house literally goes up in flames, sending Lois into a full breakdown.
Still, the Griffins aren’t hopeless. Some Christmas episodes actually give even the most selfish characters like Peter (Seth MacFarlane) a chance to grow. In “Don’t Be a Dickens at Christmas,” a play on the classic tale, Peter is visited by the ghost of his past, present, and future — and he’s not thrilled with what he sees. Thankfully, the experience knocks some sense into him. He stops being egotistical and manages to give his family a Christmas that’s far from perfect, but full of sincerity.
Family Guy
- Release Date
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January 31, 1999
- Network
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FOX
- Directors
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Peter Shin, Pete Michels, John Holmquist, Greg Colton, Brian Iles, Julius Wu, Joseph Lee, Joe Vaux, Mike Kim, Steve Robertson, Dan Povenmire, James Purdum, Dominic Bianchi, Dominic Polcino, Bob Bowen, Monte Young, Zac Moncrief, Michael Dante DiMartino, Bert Ring, Seth Kearsley, Scott Wood, Chuck Klein, Brian Hogan, Gavin Dell
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Seth MacFarlane
Peter Griffin / Brian Griffin / Stewie Griffin / Glenn Quagmire / Tom Tucker (voice)
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Alex Borstein
Lois Griffin / Tricia Takanawa / Loretta Brown / Barbara Pewterschmidt (voice)
