The Most Rewatchable Holiday Episodes Ever
Well, the holidays are here and like literally everything else this year, they’re weird. We’re not going home to see our families, we’re not getting business drunk at the office party, we’re not cramming into stores to find gifts that don’t scream “I got this at the verry last minute.” What we are doing is watching a shitload of TV. So we thought it might be fun to put together a little playlist featuring what we think are the best holiday episodes of all time. And let us tell you, revisiting these festive gems was a super-fun distraction from this hellscape (turns out forgetting to cancel our CBS All Access subscription was a great move). From dead homeless teens to wasps pretending to be Jews, these are the throwback episodes that are making our season bright. Happy Haystack holidays—and merry Chrismakkuh—everybody!
“So Called Angels” My So-Called Life, 1994
Ok, so this episode is tackling a lot. Child abuse, teen homelessness, homophobia, lapsed Catholicism, GHOSTS (!)—it’s all in there, wrapped in a very ‘90’s plaid bow. Rickie gets beat up–and kicked out of his house—presumably for being gay, and has to take shelter in an abandoned warehouse that’s filled with teen runaways and the ghost of Juliana Hatfield. Angela’s mom balks at letting him stay with them, citing his makeup use as one of her reasons (jesus christ, get it together Patty), but has a change of heart after chatting with Juliana’s ghost. Heavy handed? You bet your Doc Martens! But it’s also got a moral that feels pretty relevant even 26 years later: don’t be a classist homophobe, do listen to ghosts. Also the b-plot with Rayanne and Sharon manning a holiday helpline that Brian Krakow calls because he’s sad about being, uh, Jewish I guess, is just perfect. —JM
Where to watch: Amazon Prime
“The Best Chrismakkuh Ever” The O.C., 2003
Long live Chrismukkah! The combined-faith occasion was popularized in The O.C.’s smash-hit first season by Seth Cohen and famously entails “8 days of presents, followed by 1 day of many presents.” The faux-liday is still celebrated today (the proof is in the merch), and is arguably as integral to the show’s legacy as Chanel bags and Death Cab for Cutie. In the episode, there’s lots of gift wrapping, stocking hanging and putting Ryan on the spot approximately 50 times about his abusive childhood Christmases. But, this being The O.C., there is also So. Much. More. Marissa shoplifts, gets mad at her parents for being mad at her for shoplifting, drinks too much at a party (duh), cries (also duh) and meets Oliver (!) in her therapist’s waiting room. Anna and Summer duke it out for Seth’s affections, the former with a custom Mr. Oats comic book and the latter dressed as WONDER WOMAN. Seth friend zones both of them in a dizzying scene that involves swirling cameras, cross-cutting and The Goonies. Also, Grandpa Caleb does something illegal with land. It’s classic O.C.—completely amazing, and 100% insane. —JG
Where to watch: HBO Max
“The Office Christmas Special: Parts 1 and 2” The Office (UK), 2003
I’ll come right out and say it: I’m one of those assholes who thinks the original British version of The Office is better than the American version. Whatever, get mad about it. But then, please watch it if you haven’t. Even Ricky Gervais’s current garbage persona can’t dampen my enthusiasm for it. And the series’ two-part Christmas special is sublime. The plot is simple: three years after the documentary about the paper company aired, the film crew checks in to see how everyone is doing. Spoiler: they’re not doing great. The majority of the special is agonizing as we watch each character try to put a positive spin on their uniquely devastating circumstances. David Brent is a despised D-list celebrity. Dawn is living illegally and unhappily in the U.S. (and not just the U.S., but Florida). Tim is still at the office, only now Gareth is his boss. It’s miserable, and somehow manages to out-cringe every episode that’s come before it. But that’s what makes it amazing, because in the end each character finds a version of redemption—David has a successful date, Dawn and Tim kiss, the whole crew poses for a cute photo. Sure, those may sound like small victories, but the show meted out sweetness and hopefulness so sparingly throughout its three-season run, so to experience such a relatively whopping dose of it feels like the greatest Christmas present ever. —JM
Where to watch: Hulu
“Christmas Party” The Office (US), 2005
The Office (the American version, sorry purists...and Jayna) has maybe the best library of Christmas episodes of any show. But season two’s was the first and, I think, most classic of the bunch. Jim’s love for Pam is still unrequited, and he finally has her for office Secret Santa. His very thoughtful present—a teapot stuffed with inside jokes—is intercepted when Michael turns Secret Santa into White Elephant out of fury after Phyllis gifts him a hand-knit oven mitt (Michael overshot the $20 budget and bought Ryan a $400 iPod). The episode is packed with so many good Office-y things—Michael’s obsession with Ryan, the party planning committee, Creed being weird, Dwight in elf ears and, of course, Jim and Pam marinating in all their will-they-won’t-they sweetness. It’s the show at its very best: warm, fuzzy and hilarious. —JG
Where to watch: Netflix (but hurry! The Office stops streaming on 12/31.)
“To Save Us All From Satan’s Power” The Sopranos, 2001
It’s really hard to isolate any one Sopranos episode for discussion, only because the fictional world of Tony and his inner circle is so rich and complex and utterly complete. So talking about a Christmas episode feels a little like bringing your too new boyfriend home for the holidays—there’s just so much backstory they don’t have access to. The show had multiple holiday episodes, but this one gets our vote if only because there’s just a ton of really good Sopranos shit going on. So much of the show was about being haunted—by your past, by your family, by your secrets—and in this episode the ghost giving everyone agita is Big Pussy, who is sleeping with the fishes after committing the cardinal sin of wearing a wire. Pussy always played Santa during the annual Christmas party, and this is the first year without him, which is clearly weighing heavily on Tony, who suffers a panic attack that sends him back to Dr. Melfi for advice. He’s also dealing with running into Meadow’s boyfriend at a strip club, Janice threatening to cook a Christmas goose (lol, ew) and having to pick up last-minute presents like a normal dad. No other show managed to highlight the unique pathos of suburban life quite the way the Sopranos did, and when Tony opens his Christmas gift to find one of those singing fish that were weirdly super popular in the early aughts, the metaphorical ramifications are just (chef’s kiss) bellissimo. —JM
Where to watch: HBO Max
“Merry Christmas, Mrs. Moskowitz” Frasier, 1998
Confession: this is the one and only episode of Frasier I have ever seen. It came out in 1998 but I watched it years later one night in high school when I couldn’t sleep and stumbled upon the rerun. The episode’s premise is simple: On Christmas Eve, the Cranes (Frasier, his brother Niles and their dad) pretend to be Jewish to stay on the good side of the mother of the woman Fraser is dating (a super stressed-out Amy Brenneman). Antics ensue, Frasier fake roasts a brisket, a lot of “oys!” and Jesus jokes are thrown around. It’s very The Birdcage-esque, except with goyim instead of gays. I remember laughing hysterically. Like, maybe the hardest I’ve ever laughed at any TV show ever. I recently streamed the episode (CBS All Access, baby!) and had, admittedly, a wayyyy less uproarious reaction (was I maybe stoned the first time?). But still, it’s always comforting to watch 90s Must-See TV at its most festive. —JG
Where to watch: CBS All Access
“A Rugrats Chanukah” Rugrats, 1996
“A Maccababy’s gotta do what a Maccababy’s gotta do!” – Tommy Pickles.
I think I learned more about Judaism from the Rugrats than I did from all 7+ years of Hebrew school. The Nickelodeon cartoon was the odd series to commemorate and inform about Jewish holidays, namely Passover and Chanukah. In this episode, the story of the festival of lights is told through a senior citizen reenactment play starring Tommy’s Jewish immigrant grandpa, and historical re-imaginings, with the babies as Maccabean warriors. It’s all very cute and educational, and probably the reason most ‘90s kids picture Judah the Maccabee as a bald infant. —JG
Where to watch: CBS All Access
