25 Of The Best Christmas TV Episodes Of All-Time

Season 1, Episode 12
Original Airdate: December 19, 1969
Written By: John Fenton Murray
Directed By: Oscar Rudolph

Christmas is a time for families and all the love (and headaches) they inspire. Is there a better way to start this year’s Sitcom Advent Calendar than by spending a half hour with the grooviest family it TV history? When a bout of laryngitis knocks Carol out of commission, Mike, Alice, and the kids try to muddle along somehow. But youngest daughter Cindy makes a plan to go straight to the source for Christmas miracles: Santa Claus.

Christmas Trope Count: 8 (All About Christmas, Decorating Indoors, Santa Believer, Religion!, Regular Shopping, Mall Santa, Holy Crap This Cast Member Can Sing, Carols)

This one scores the surprisingly rare Christmas episode hat trick of visiting a mall Santa during a shopping trip. Top it off with a scene at church and the showcase for Florence Henderson’s killer IRL pipes and you’ve got a solid start to this year’s Sitcom Advent Calendar.

Christmas Carol Count: 9 (“Deck the Halls,” “Jingle Bells,” “Joy to the World,” “Silent Night,” “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” “O Come All Ye Faithful,” “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear,” “O Christmas Tree”)

A Second Helping: A Very Brady Christmas (1988)

Stream The Brady Bunch "The Voice of Christmas" on Hulu

Season 3, Episode 7
Original Airdate: December 18, 2012
Written By: Prentice Penny
Directed By: Michael Patrick Jann

There are two days that you definitely don’t want to have a birthday on: February 29, and December 25. And Christmas Day might even be worse than Leap Day, because at least those kids get a party every four years instead of having every single b’day drowned out by the jingle bells. This is the plight of Jane, who finally comes clean about her not-so-merry birthdate, which leads her pals to create the alternate holiday called Jane-mas!

Christmas Trope Count: 9 (All About Christmas, Perfect Gift, Terrible Gift, Last Minute Shopping, Someone’s a Grinch, Regular Shopping, Grumpy Stranger, Gingerbread House, Carols)

Try as they might to avoid all the holiday tropes so as to make Christmas day all about Jane, the gang still sneaks in a lot of gift-giving, gingerbread-eating, and eggnog-chugging. There’s even a hip-hop dancing Santa!

Christmas Carol Count: 3 (“Deck the Halls,” “Jingle Bells,” “Joy to the World”)

A Second Helping: Happy Endings, “Grinches Be Crazy” (Season 2, Episode 9)

Stream Happy Endings "No-Ho-Ho" on Hulu

Season 2, Episode 9
Original Airdate: December 16, 1988
Written By: Kim Weiskopf
Directed By: John Bowab

Full House got all holly and jolly in this Season 2 episode, which features a major turning point in the Tanner mythology. That’s right, this episode features Uncle Jesse and Aunt Becky’s first-ever kiss! Has a piece of mistletoe ever accomplished as much as this one, a dinky leaf strung up in front of a vending machine?

Christmas Trope Count: 12 (All About Christmas, Santa’s in the Cast, Mistletoe Joke, Santa Believer, Visiting Family, Christmas Ain’t About Presents, Religion!, Stranded Christmas, Christmas Card, Santa is Real, Grumpy Stranger, Carols)

If there’s one thing sitcom families really should not do, it’s try to travel during the holiday season. The Tanners find out why in this classic episode, which sees them spending Christmas in a small airport’s drafty baggage claim with a whole bunch of angry strangers. On the upside, it seems like Santa was grounded too?!

Christmas Carol Count: 2 (“Deck the Halls,” “Sleigh Ride”)

A Second Helping: Full House, “A Very Tanner Christmas” (Season 6, Episode 12)

Stream Full House "Our Very First Christmas Show" on Hulu

Season 2, Episode 9
Original Airdate: December 13, 2007
Written By: Tami Sagher
Directed By: Don Scardino

Leave it to a wacky show like 30 Rock to turn a wholesome holiday like Christmas into Ludachristmas, a hedonistic night of drunken debauchery. But there’s one member of the TGS staff that’s sick of all the shenanigans, and Kenneth is gonna show his co-workers the real reason for the season (hint: it’s not spiked eggnog).

Christmas Trope Count: 9 (Terrible Gift, Christmas Party, Visiting Family, Christmas Ain’t About Presents, Celeb Guest, Poverty Tourism, Religion!, Holy Crap This Cast Member Can Sing, Carols)

A Christmas episode is always a great time for family to show up, and this episode introduces us to Liz Lemon’s seemingly squeaky clean parents and Jack Donaghy’s domineering mother (played with Grinch-y precision by Elaine Stritch).

Christmas Carol Count: 1 (“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”)

A Second Helping: 30 Rock, “Christmas Special” (Season 3, Episode 6)

Stream 30 Rock "Ludachristmas" on Hulu

Season 1, Episode 10
Original Airdate: December 10, 1993
Written By: Susan Estelle Jansen
Directed By: David Trainer

There’s not much to be merry or bright about in this Christmas episode, at least for Shawn. When Shawn’s dad loses his job just before Christmas, his BFF Cory tries his best to make Shawn’s Christmas worthwhile. But, as Cory finds out in this surprisingly emotional episode, sometimes a pity gift is worse than no gift at all…

Christmas Trope Count: 10 (All About Christmas, Decorating Indoors, Perfect Gift, Santa’s In the Cast, Santa Believer, Broke on Christmas, Christmas Ain’t About Presents, Poverty Tourism, Mall Santa, Carols)

There are two kinds of TV characters that get ropes into the Santa’s in the Cast trope: your lovable schlubs (the Joey Gladstones and Norm Petersons of the world), and your stuffy intellectual types. Guess which category Mr. Feeny falls in? Get ready for the most erudite Kris Kringle you’ve ever seen!

Christmas Carol Count: 4 (“Jingle Bells,” “12 Days of Christmas,” “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”)

A Second Helping: Boy Meets World, “Santa’s Little Helpers” (Season 6, Episode 11)

Stream Boy Meets World "Santa's Little Helper" on Hulu

Season 6, Episode 10
Original Airdate: December 16, 1999
Written By: Brian Boyle
Directed By: Kevin S. Bright

This Friends episode does double duty by hitting two of winter’s biggest holidays: Christmas and New Year’s. The Christmas plot follows Chandler, Phoebe, and Rachel’s hunt for Monica’s surely spot-on gifts. And over on the New Year’s side, Monica and Ross indulge their earnestly geeky teenage selves by busting out their old dance routine… in public.

Christmas Trope Count: 4 (Decorating Indoors, Tree Disaster, Terrible Gift, Play/Pageant)

Okay, it’s only half a disaster since Monica didn’t let her haphazard pals lay a finger on the front of her tree. And maybe Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve isn’t a play or a pageant in the traditional sense, but you gotta admit that the Geller siblings do perform, honey!

Christmas Carol Count: 0

A Second Helping: Friends, “The One with the Holiday Armadillo” (Season 7, Episode 10)

Stream Friends "The One with the Routine" on Netflix

Season 2, Episode 11
Original Airdate: December 3, 2013
Written By: Tracey Wigfield
Directed By: Michael Spiller

You gotta love an episode title that tells you exactly what the episode is about. This is indeed a Christmas party sex trap episode of The Mindy Project, wherein Mindy tries her hardest to get Cliff’s attention by throwing a party, making him jealous, and then turning him on with a rendition of “Santa Baby.” It… does not work.

Christmas Trope Count: 10 (All About Christmas, Perfect Gift, Tree Disaster, Terrible Gift, Christmas Party, Celeb Guest, Religion!, Secret Santa, Gingerbread House, Carols)

You know what’s not counted in the tropes above but really should become a staple of the holiday season? Mindy’s bra wine. What an ingenious way to sneak a drink in during a party where alcohol’s been prohibited! What is counted amongst the tropes, however, is Danny’s perfect gift to Mindy: a perfectly executed Aaliyah dance routine.

Christmas Carol Count: 4 (“We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” “Last Christmas,” “Santa Baby”)

A Second Helping: The Mindy Project, “Josh and Mindy’s Christmas Party” (Season 1, Episode 9)

Stream The Mindy Project "Christmas Party Sex Trap" on Hulu

Season 4, Episode 13
Original Airdate: December 13, 1965
Written By: Bob O’Brien, Lila Garrett, and Bernie Kahn
Directed By: Maury Thompson

Who doesn’t love a little Lucy, especially during the holiday season? Well, everyone that gets in her path in this festive episode, that’s for sure. “Lucy the Choirmaster” drops the accident-prone redhead into three distinct seasonal scenes: a gift-wrapping disaster at work, a tree shopping excursion that leaves branches snapped, and a frantic session as a kids’ choir director.

Christmas Trope Count: 7 (All About Christmas, Tree Disaster, Choir, Mistletoe Joke, Broke on Christmas, Regular Shopping, Carols)

You wanna know how good this episode is? It actually turns “12 Days of Christmas,” unquestionably the most tedious carol of them all, into a silly romp thanks to Ball’s quirky charades and the exasperated Gale Gordon’s singing.

Christmas Carol Count: 5 (“Deck the Halls,” “Jingle Bells,” “12 Days of Christmas,” “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” “Good King Winceslas”)

A Second Helping: The Dick Van Dyke Show, “The Alan Brady Show Presents” (Season 3, Episode 13)

Stream The Lucy Show "Lucy the Choirmaster" on Hulu

Season 2, Episode 12
Original Airdate: December 19, 1997
Written By: Charlie Tercek
Directed By: Kenneth R. Koch

When your sitcom’s baseline reality involves witchcraft and a talking cat, you can really cut loose in the Christmas episodes. For instance, Santa Claus is 100% real in this corner of TGIF–and he needs a substitute! Here comes Sabrina Claus and Salem the Sharp-Tongued Cat/”Deer” to the rescue!

Christmas Trope Count: 9 (All About Christmas, Decorating Indoors, Tree Disaster, Mistletoe Joke, Christmas Ain’t About Presents, Celeb Guest, Christmas Morning Present-Fest, Santa Is Real, Carols)

My personal favorite Christmastime trope is seeing sitcom actors don Kris Kringle’s red and white suit for a half hour. This time around, the man filling Santa’s black boots is Cheers veteran John Ratzenberger. Perfect casting is perfect.

Christmas Carol Count: 1 (“O Holy Night”)

A Second Helping: Cheers, “Christmas Cheers” (Season 6, Episode 12)

Stream Sabrina the Teenage Witch "Sabrina Claus" on Hulu

Season 5, Episode 12
Original Airdate: December 16, 1989
Written By: Tom Whedon
Directed By: Terry Hughes

Christmas is more than just a time of giving and getting–and the girls spend the first half of this one fretting about who’ gonna get a Secret Santa gift from Rose. But after a trip to a soup kitchen, they learn that giving is always more important than getting.

Christmas Trope Count: 10 (All About Christmas, Perfect Gift, Santa’s in the Cast, Terrible Gift, Broke on Christmas, Poverty Tourism, Religion!, Secret Santa, Fruitcake Joke, Carols)

Christmas is the time of year when sitcoms often take aim at real issues, and this one’s no exception. Just wait until you hear what a priest has to say about Ronald Reagan in this one!

Christmas Carol Count: 2 (“Deck the Halls,” “Jingle Bells”)

A Second Helping: The Golden Girls, “‘Twas the Nightmare Before Christmas” (Season 2, Episode 11)

Stream The Golden Girls "Have Yourself a Very Little Christmas" on Hulu

Season 7, Episode 11-12
Original Airdate: December 9, 2010
Written By: Mindy Kaling
Directed By: Rainn Wilson

The Office has a real streak of holiday winners, but none of them are as #classy as “Classy Christmas.” It’s right there in the title! When Michael Scott’s erstwhile crush Holly (played by celeb guest Amy Ryan) returns in time for the Dunder Mifflin Christmas party, the regional manager goes above and beyond to class up the joint and sweep her off her feet. There’s just one catch: Holly has a boyfriend! Meanwhile, a snowball fight between Dwight and Jim draws blood.

Christmas Trope Count: 10 (All About Christmas, Perfect Gift, Santa’s in the Cast, Terrible Gift, Christmas Party, Visiting Family, Celeb Guest, Someone’s a Grinch, Christmas Card, Carols)

This is maybe the only episode on this entire list where “Someone’s a Grinch” refers to a character playing a literal grinch, which is a role a coat-covered Andy fills in an attempt to entertain Darryl’s bored daughter. And since we know you could probably watch the staff’s Christmas card fail on repeat, we got you a GIF for Christmas.

Christmas Carol Count: 4 (“12 Days of Christmas,” “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” music from “The Nutcracker”)

A Second Helping: The Office, “Christmas Party” (Season 2, Episode 10)

Stream The Office "Classy Christmas" on Netflix

Season 2, Episode 12
Original Airdate: December 16, 1992
Written By: B.K. Taylor
Directed By: John Pasquin

Christmas time at the Taylor household means two things: Tim’s gonna go nuclear with his holiday decorations, and Brad and Randy are gonna do something criminally stupid! The fantastic “I’m Scheming of a White Christmas” does not disappoint on either count, as the Taylor boys spend the season grifting from a charity and Tim risks blinding the entire neighborhood.

Christmas Trope Count: 9 (All About Christmas, Decorating Indoors, Carolers, Mistletoe Joke, Cops & Crime, Celeb Guest, Poverty Tourism, Decorating Outdoors, Carols)

If you’re not blinded by Tim’s Christmas lights, you’ll surely be blinded by the guest star-power in this one. The Manhattan Transfer stop by Tool Time to belt out some a capella Christmas tunes! If you don’t know who the Manhattan Transfer are, I guess you could say they’re Pentatonix for your parents.

Christmas Carol Count: 4 (“Deck the Halls,” “Sleigh Ride,” “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear,” “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”)

A Second Helping: Home Improvement, “Yule Better Watch Out” (Season 1, Episode 12)

Stream Home Improvement "I'm Scheming of a White Christmas" on Hulu

Season 3, Episode 10
Original Airdate: December 14, 2016
Written By: Steven White
Directed By: John Fortenberry

If you think your dad puts a lot of pressure on Christmas being absolutely perfect, just wait until you see the lengths Dre goes to when he realizes it’s their last year with eldest daughter Zoey under the roof. And while Dre’s digging old handmade ornaments out of the garage, Junior’s tasked with keeping Jack and Diane from running amok because that elf on a shelf ain’t working anymore.

Christmas Trope Count: 9 (All About Christmas, Decorating Indoors, Tree Disaster, Terrible Gift, Mistletoe Joke, Santa Believer, Visiting Family, Celeb Guest, Carols)

When it comes to tree disasters, the Johnson’s suffer quite possibly the worst one you can imagine. It’s not ugly and it doesn’t get knocked over. Those tree wrecks would be salvageable. Nope, the Johnson tree pretty much explodes.

Christmas Carol Count: 4 (“Deck the Halls,” “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” “The Christmas Song,” “This Christmas”)

A Second Helping: Black-ish, “Black Santa/White Christmas” (Season 1, Episode 10)

Stream Black-ish "Just Christmas, Baby" on Hulu

Season 2, Episode 12
Original Airdate: December 9, 2016
Written By: Kate Spurgeon
Directed By: Dave Coulier

It’s Christmas time at the Fuller/Gibbler/Tanner house and that means one thing: romance! Santa gives DJ, Stephanie, and even kids Jackson and Max a whole lot of love and drama for Christmas. Save that for Valentine’s Day, dude!

Christmas Trope Count: 7 (Santa’s in the Cast, Mistletoe Joke, Play/Pageant, Christmas Morning Present-fest, Christmas Card, Gingerbread House, Carols)

If watching Kimmy Gibbler crash the stage at Ramona’s musical and turn The Nutcracker into a revue of ’90s dance moves hasn’t become a holiday tradition for you yet, it needs to.

Christmas Carol Count: 5 (“Deck the Halls,” “Jingle Bells,” “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” music from “The Nutcracker”)

A Second Helping: Fuller House, “Oh My Santa” (Season 4, Episode 1)

Stream Fuller House "Nutcrackers" on Netflix

Season 1, Episode 15
Original Airdate: December 23, 1972
Written By: David Davis and Lorenzo Music
Directed By: Peter Baldwin

Mental health doesn’t take a holiday! That’s what Dr. Hartley finds out in this episode when he invites his group therapy patients over for an impromptu Christmas party. Can a room full of depressed people possibly have a good time?

Christmas Trope Count: 6 (All About Christmas, Christmas Party, Choir/Carolers, Mistletoe Joke, Last Minute Shopping, Carols)

The Bob Newhart Show is one of the very few shows that illustrate what a married couple without kids gets up to on Christmas. But then again, Bob and Emily do have Howard just across the hall, and he’s just as much of a handful as twin toddlers.

Christmas Carol Count: 5 (“Deck the Halls,” “Joy to the World,” music from “The Nutcracker,” “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear”)

A Second Helping: The Bob Newhart Show, “I’m Dreaming of a Slight Christmas” (Season 2, Episode 15)

Stream The Bob Newhart Show "His Busiest Season" on Hulu

Season 2, Episode 11
Original Airdate: December 17, 1986
Written By: Dale McRaven
Directed By: Joel Zwick

Christmas is about spending time with the people you care about–and for a snowed-in Cousin Larry, that includes dancing disaster human Balki. Will Larry go insane if he can’t get away from his terminally cheerful cousin for the holidays?

Christmas Trope Count: 13 (All About Christmas, Perfect Gift, Tree Disaster, Christmas Party, Santa’s in the Cast, Choir/Carolers, Mistletoe Joke, Last Minute Shopping, Religion!, Stranded Christmas, Someone’s a Grinch, ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, Carols)

If you’re looking for the most Christmas bang for your holiday buck, then this one will do the trick. Just look at all the holiday tropes it packs into 22 minutes!

Christmas Carol Count: 4 (“Jingle Bells,” “12 Days of Christmas,” “The First Noel,” “Over the River and Through the Woods”)

A Second Helping: Perfect Strangers, “The Gift of the Mypiot” (Season 4, Episode 9)

Stream Perfect Strangers "A Christmas Story" on Hulu

Season 2, Episode 7
Original Airdate: December 21, 2017
Written By: Amy Hubbs
Directed By: Maggie Carey

If you have a parent that goes overboard every Christmas season, then this Great News episode will hit way too close to home. How overboard? Carol Wendelson (Andrea Martin) has a Christmas toilet. That’s how overboard.

Christmas Trope Count: 9 (All About Christmas, Decorating Indoors, Perfect Gift, Visiting Family, Christmas Ain’t About Presents, Christmas Card, Working on Christmas, A Christmas Carol, Carols)

When one of your lead characters is named Carol, you are obligated to do a riff on Dickens’ A Christmas Carol for your Christmas episode. The late Great News only got one December in during its too brief run, but they hit it outta the park with this condensed adaptation.

Christmas Carol Count: 4 (“Jingle Bells,” “12 Days of Christmas,” “O Come All Ye Faithful,” “The First Noel”)

A Second Helping: 30 Rock, “Christmas Special” (Season 3, Episode 6)

Stream Great News "A Christmas Carol Wendelson" on Netflix

Season 4, Episode 11
Original Airdate: December 9, 2014
Written By: Matt Fusfeld and Alex Cuthbertson
Directed By: Trent O’Donnell

In grand sitcom tradition, the New Girl crew tries to travel on the holidays and gets stranded at LAX. Imagine a travel disaster and it happens to Jess and her buds–and guest star Billy Eichner sure ain’t helping!

Christmas Trope Count: 7 (All About Christmas, Visiting Family, Play/Pageant, Stranded Christmas, Grumpy Stranger, Holy Crap This Cast Member Can Sing, Carols)

The “Grumpy Stranger” trope was created for Eichner, who stifles all cheer within a 10 yard radius. But not even his Grinchy inclinations can stop the love these friends feel for each other!

Christmas Carol Count: 3 (“Jingle Bells,” “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” “O Christmas Tree)

A Second Helping: New Girl, “Christmas Eve Eve” (Season 6, Episode 10)

Stream New Girl "LAXmas" on Netflix

Season 3, Episode 10
Original Airdate: December 8, 2011
Written By: Steve Basilone and Annie Mebane
Directed By: Tristram Shapeero

Music is an essential part of the holiday season, as evidenced by just how many sitcoms cram in musical numbers once December rolls around. Community takes that trope up a notch in this Glee send-up, including an album’s worth of original carols that lampoon classic ditties like “Santa Baby.”

Christmas Trope Count: 8 (All About Christmas, Decorating Indoors, Carolers/Choir, Cops & Crime, Play/Pageant, Religion!, Holy Crap This Cast Member Can Sing, Carols)

If you have a reason for Yvette Nicole Brown to sing, then you exercise it. The rest of the cast? Well, to quote Dean Pelton, “Ugh, Britta’s in this?”

Christmas Carol Count: 3 (“Deck the Halls,” “The First Noel,” “Carol of the Bells”)

A Second Helping: Community, “Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas” (Season 2, Episode 11)

Stream Community "Regional Holiday Music" on Hulu

Season 8, Episode 9
Original Airdate: December 8, 2005
Written By: Jamie Rhonheimer
Directed By: James Burrows

Christmas is the gayest time of the year, in every sense of the word. It’s a happy time, to be sure, but it’s also a theatrical time filled with singing and dancing. No wonder it’s every little gay boy’s favorite time of year, including Will’s theater-major-in-the-making nephew.

Christmas Trope Count: 4 (Visiting Family, Play/Pageant, Celeb Guest, Carols)

All the kid wants to do is put on a Christmas one-man show for his grandma (played by celeb guest Blythe Danner). And all Karen wants to do is figure out the secret ingredient in a Blue Marilyn.

Christmas Carol Count: 1 (“Deck the Halls”)

A Second Helping: Will & Grace, “All About Christmas Eve” (Season 5, Episode 11)

Stream Will & Grace "A Little Christmas Queer" on Hulu

Season 8, Episode 6-7
Original Airdate: December 10, 2017
Written By: Steven Davis and Kelvin Yu
Directed By: Brian Loschiavo and Chris Song

Bob’s Burgers‘ annual Christmas episodes have become a highlight of the season, up there with their annual Thanksgiving and Halloween ones at least. The show outdid itself last year, though, with a two-part musical extravaganza that sent the Belchers on a collision course with a cryptozoological nightmare (and a whole lotta gay ravers).

Christmas Trope Count: 10 (All About Christmas, Decorating Indoors, Tree Disaster, Christmas Party, Santa’s in the Cast, Carolers/Choir, Cops & Crime, Broke on Christmas, Decorating Outdoors, Carols)

This one’s packed with original songs, songs that rank up there with the best the show’s ever done. Of particular note is the grande finale sung by Todrick Hall. Is Bob’s Burgers supposed to make you cry?

Christmas Carol Count: 3 (“O Christmas Tree,” “Carol of the Bells,” “Do You Hear What I Hear?”)

A Second Helping: Bob’s Burgers, “Bob Rest Ye Merry Gentle-Mannequins” (Season 3, Episode 9)

Stream Bob's Burgers "The Bleakening" on Hulu

Season 3, Episode 24-25
Original Airdate: December 7 and 14, 1991
Written By: Tom Tenowich and Bennett Tramer
Directed By: Don Barnhart

The Saved By the Bell crew spends Christmas exactly how you think a bunch of early ’90s LA teens would: by working at the mall, shopping at the mall, and performing A Christmas Carol at the mall. Also, Zack falls for a girl who turns out to be homeless, which is an issue that needs two whole episodes to unpack.

Christmas Trope Count: 16 (All About Christmas, Decorating Indoors, Perfect Gift, Christmas Party, Santa’s in the Cast, Carolers/Choir, Mistletoe Joke, Cops & Crime, Play/Pageant, Christmas Ain’t About Presents, Grumpy Stranger, Mall Santa/Elves, Poverty Tourism, Regular Shopping, A Christmas Carol, Carols)

All hail the new king of Christmas sitcom episodes! This one has the absolute most tropes contained in one special thanks to all the mall antics and the super-fast Christmas Carol mall pageant. I gotta ask, between this and The Mistle-Tones, what’s with all the elaborate mall performances?

Christmas Carol Count: 5 (“Deck the Halls,” “Jingle Bells,” “Joy to the World,” “Silent Night,” “We Wish You a Merry Christmas”)

A Second Helping: Full House, “Arrest Ye Merry Gentlemen” (Season 8, Episode 11)

Stream Saved By the Bell "Home for Christmas" on Hulu

Season 5, Episode 11
Original Airdate: December 10, 1993
Written By: Stephen Langford
Directed By: Richard Correll

Christmas is a magical time of year that brings people together. In-laws, co-workers, nerds and cops–everyone can feel the magic in the air. And if you’re a whole bunch of annoyed commuters stranded on a broken down train on Christmas Eve and trapped with Urkel, that magic stinks.

Christmas Trope Count: 9 (All About Christmas, Carolers/Choir, Cops & Crime, Last Minute Shopping, Religion!, Stranded Christmas, Grumpy Stranger, Someone’s a Grinch, Carols)

Carl and Urkel make the mistake of traveling to do some last minute shopping in this one and, of course, get stuck on the train. This leaves Urkel with the impossible task of spreading Christmas cheer to a whole train car filled with grumpy strangers. Can he pull it off? The GIF below probably spoils it.

Christmas Carol Count: 5 (“Deck the Halls,” “Jingle Bells,” “Joy to the World,” “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” “12 Days of Christmas”)

A Second Helping: Family Matters, “Have Yourself a Merry Winslow Christmas” (Season 2, Episode 13)

Stream Family Matters "Christmas Is Where the Heart Is" on Hulu

Season 6, Episode 10
Original Airdate: December 17, 1998
Written By: Jay Kogen
Directed By: Kelsey Grammer

Frasier tries desperately to stifle the Crane family’s Christmas cheer when he starts dating a Jewish girl–a Jewish girl with a very particular mom who thinks Frasier’s also Jewish. Keeping the season dim is hard to do, especially when you have Santa Claus scampering around the apartment.

Christmas Trope Count: 6 (All About Christmas, Decorating Indoors, Santa’s in the Cast, Play/Pageant, Religion!, Regular Shopping)

This is the only episode on the list that features not only a Santa in the cast, but a Jesus in the cast as well. Niles dons a wig and robe for Daphne’s kooky Christmas pageant, and then promptly forgets he’s totally allergic to hay.

Christmas Carol Count: 0

A Second Helping: Frasier, “Frasier Grinch” (Season 3, Episode 9)

Stream Frasier "Merry Christmas, Mrs. Moskowitz" on Netflix

Season 1, Episode 11
Original Airdate: December 19, 1960
Written By: David Adler
Directed By: Bob Sweeney

Andy Griffith’s “Christmas Story” is one of the most heartwarming Christmas TV episodes ever. This cozy little tale mostly takes place in the Mayberry police department after a total scrooge insists that Andy and Barney lock up a father for moonshining on Christmas. That’s a minor holiday setback, but Andy has a great idea: they’ll all just celebrate the holiday together at work.

Christmas Trope Count: 11 (All About Christmas, Decorating Indoors, Christmas Party, Santa’s in the Cast, Carolers/Choir, Cops & Crime, Someone’s a Grinch, Holy Crap this Cast Member Can Sing, Christmas Card, Working on Christmas, Carols)

String bean Don Knotts is the last guy you’d expect to play Santa Claus, and that’s exactly why his turn as Ol’ Saint Nick is so memorable. Plus this episode serves as a reminder that Andy Griffith was more than just a down home comedian. He could also belt out a tune, too!

Christmas Carol Count: 5 (“Deck the Halls,” “Jingle Bells,” “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear,” “Away in a Manger”)

A Second Helping: The Mary Tyler Moore Show, “Christmas and the Hard-Luck Kid II” (Season 1, Episode 14)

Stream The Andy Griffith Show "The Christmas Story" on Netflix