From Scrubs to Sherlock: 10 Best Christmas Episodes to Watch Over the Holidays

Everyone has their own holiday traditions – some people watch tons of horror movies on Halloween, while others enjoy the best Christmas episodes of their favorite TV shows throughout December.

If you've already memorized all the Christmas episodes of Friends, this is a great time to catch up on TV shows you never had time to watch (or rewatch).

1. Scrubs – My Own Personal Jesus

The Christmas special takes its name from the song Personal Jesus by Depeche Mode, although the song itself is not featured here. The holidays are just around the corner, and after seeing enough suffering in the emergency room, surgeon Christopher Turk completely loses his holiday spirit.

While he runs to the park to deliver a runaway patient, intern JD takes on the role of the local Grinch – first removing mistletoe branches, then knocking over the Christmas tree and breaking toys. The episode has a happy ending, because it's Christmas after all.

2. Ted Lasso – Carol of the Bells

Ted Lasso has definitely made this world a little better – there is a lot of optimism and support in the show. Not surprisingly, the second season Christmas episode takes all of that and multiplies it by two. Here are your favorite characters, songs, and, of course, festive decorations.

Not for the first time, the actress who plays Rebecca, Hannah Waddingham, dazzles with her vocal abilities, making it one of the features of the whole show. In addition, the episode contains references to Love Actually, which we rewatch every year.

3. Supernatural – A Very Supernatural Christmas

Sam and Dean Winchester weren't always battling demons, befriending angels, and raising Nephilim. In the early seasons, the brothers haunted evil spirits. In the only Christmas episode of Supernatural, they try to kill the god of the winter solstice. He grants a good climate, but demands human sacrifice as tribute.

Not only do the Winchesters come face to face with the evil Santa, but for the first time in years, they are able to celebrate the holiday in peace. And loyal fans will surely appreciate a series of touching flashbacks to the brothers' sad childhood.

4. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia – A Very Sunny Christmas

For those who enjoy sharp and offbeat humor, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia also has a Christmas episode in store. In it, the characters reminisce about their childhood Christmases and the traditions they remember from those days.

Dee and Dennis got empty boxes from Frank, Mac stole presents from the neighbors, and Charlie had no idea that the Santas who visited their house did not come to give presents.

5. Gossip Girl – Roman Holiday

The Christmas episode of one of the most popular TV projects of the 2000s perfectly conveys the atmosphere of the winter holidays. Blair's father comes to spend the holidays together. Serena tries to find the perfect gift for her boyfriend, and Dan decorates the tree with his family and reminisces about what he did last Christmas.

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The magic of the streets of New York, a giant skating rink in Central Park, a long-awaited snowfall, romantic confessions and lots of presents – what better way to ring in Christmas?

6. Poirot – Hercule Poirot's Christmas

Poirot starring David Suchet, based on Agatha Christie's novels, ran for more than twenty years and is rightly considered legendary. The plot of the Christmas episode is reminiscent of Knives Out, but Agatha Christie would not be a cult writer if she did not have a fascinating twist.

Millionaire Simeon gathers his large and not very friendly family at the estate for Christmas. By chance, Hercule Poirot is also there. On the eve of the holiday, there is a big scandal among the family members, and later Simeon is found dead, and his diamonds mysteriously disappear.

7. Xena: Warrior Princess – A Solstice Carol

It would seem that there is no connection between Xena and Christian Christmas. But the writers of the show remind us that this holiday has pagan roots – it was once the solstice, the longest night of the year. The mood of the solstice is quite Christmas-like: it is the hope that winter will not last forever and that sooner or later sunny days will return.

This episode adapts the plot of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol in its own way. The role of Scrooge is played by the greedy King Silvus, who forbids the celebration of the winter solstice.

8. The X-Files – How the Ghosts Stole Christmas

In this episode, Mulder and Scully end up in a haunted house that can drive people to murder and suicide, and spend a horrible night there, at the end of which they almost kill each other.

However, everything ends happily, and in the episode's finale, Mulder and Scully even exchange Christmas gifts for the first and last time. Actually, we were never shown what they gave each other – this is one of the main unsolved secrets of The X-Files.

9. Hey Arnold! – Arnold's Christmas

It is one of the best Christmas episodes in history. In it, a heartbreaking drama unfolds behind the comical story of Helga trying to get fashionable shoes. In the Secret Santa game, Arnold gets Mr. Huynh, a Vietnamese restaurant worker who has not seen his daughter since the war. Together with Gerald, Arnold decides to find the girl and give him the best present.

Their little quest will eventually come into contact with Helga's story in an unexpected way, and of course the episode itself will end with a touching conclusion. Much more emotional than you'd expect from a seemingly children's show with clumsy animation and triangular heads.

10. Sherlock – The Abominable Bride

What would Christmas be without Sherlock? The events of the one-and-a-half hour Christmas episode unfold simultaneously at the end of the last century and in modern times. On the screen – snow-covered Victorian London, horse-drawn carriages, gloomy Gothic mansions and tall green mazes.

The authors decided to show the audience the classic Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, described by Conan Doyle. This time, the brilliant detective and his assistant investigate an unsolved case of a vengeful ghost bride.