Unmissable Christmas TV Episodes to Binge in December 2025

There are a lot of festive ways to spend the holidays, but sometimes the move is simple: plant on the couch and watch a killer Christmas episode. Whether you need a breather from baking, parties, or refereeing family debates, these are the seasonal TV one-offs that actually hold up year-round.

Honorable mentions before we unwrap the main picks

• The Bear - Fishes
• Downton Abbey - Christmas at Downton Abbey
• The West Wing - Noel

The Office - Season 2, Episode 10: Christmas Party

Any Christmas episode of The Office works, but this is the one for the time capsule. A well-meaning Secret Santa spirals the instant Michael flips it into Yankee Swap, turning thoughtful gifts into a cutthroat trade war. It is a clinic in secondhand embarrassment, from Creed panic-buying Jim a flannel stuffed in a plastic bag to the chaos orbiting that infamous iPod. It is peak Scranton: messy, petty, and very, very funny.

Mad Men - Season 5, Episode 10: Christmas Waltz

Mad Men always did holidays with style, and I wish we got more of them. Season 4 has Roger Sterling forced into a Santa suit because Lee Garner Jr. randomly drops by, which is unforgettable. But the top slot for me is season 5. It is Christmastime, Joan has just been served, and after she unloads on the slightly-out-of-her-depth front desk receptionist Meredith, she and Don escape to take a Jaguar for a joyride and then lick their wounds over drinks at a very lonely bar. The show wisely didn’t overuse Don-and-Joan scenes, which makes this little two-hander feel special. Also, if you are keeping score of seared-into-your-brain Mad Men moments, the office lawnmower incident and this episode’s title waltz are right up there.

Seinfeld - Season 9, Episode 10: The Strike

Festivus breaks out of the Costanza living room and into the culture forever in this one. Frank lays out the rules, which are somehow both extremely specific and totally unhinged: the aluminum pole, the 'Airing of Grievances,' and the 'Feats of Strength.' It is Seinfeld’s purest take on holiday chaos: family rituals as a full-contact sport.

"A Festivus for the rest of us."

If you want to go even further down the rabbit hole of seasonal dysfunction, the Curb Your Enthusiasm holiday episode 'Mary, Joseph and Larry' is a nasty little cherry on top.

Bob's Burgers - Season 13, Episode 10: The Plight Before Christmas

This one uses every gear the show has. On Christmas Eve, all three Belcher kids get pulled into different performances at the exact same time: Tina versus her stage fright at school, Gene plotting to make his concert unforgettably Gene, and Louise trying not to choke reading her own poem out loud. Meanwhile, Linda and Bob attempt the impossible parental relay to catch everything, which goes... about how you’d expect. It is chaotic, warm, and sneaky-emotional in a way that will make you misty if you are not careful.

Ted Lasso - Season 2, Episode 4: Carol of the Bells

Ted is basically the spirit of Christmas with a mustache, so of course the show’s holiday hour hits. The team runs a secret Santa, Roy and Keeley go door-to-door on a mission to help Phoebe, and Higgins opens his home to the players and delivers a quietly great Christmas toast. Ted wrestles with being away from his son, which gives the whole thing some weight. It is warm, funny, generous, and the platonic ideal of a comfort rewatch. Yes, it took him three seasons to learn what offside means. No, that does not make him any less lovable. Also: the man bakes and hand-delivers cookies. Come on.

Hey Arnold! - Season 1, Episode 11: Arnold's Christmas

Time to raid the vault. Arnold draws Mr. Hyunh in the boarding house gift exchange and learns his backstory, which turns a simple present into an actual mission: reuniting Mr. Hyunh with his daughter, Mai, after they were separated during the fall of Saigon. The episode is quietly groundbreaking for kids TV, centering a Vietnamese perspective on the war with care and clarity. It is heartbreaking and hopeful in equal measure, and a reminder that Nickelodeon in the 90s was swinging for the fences.

How I picked these

There are a ton of Christmas episodes out there, so I went with the ones that stick. I checked where fans and critics already agree, then filtered for rewatchability. These are the episodes that still land every time, whether you want to laugh, cry, or both. They are the ones I actually come back to every year.