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Join hosts Chris, Brian and Jon as they try and find the best Christmas Tv episodes ever made. They'll tackle everything from 90’s sitcoms to Saturday morning cartoons to high brow medical dramas and everything in between. Then they'll help you separate the Christmas classics from the lumps of coal to find the perfect episodes for your holiday viewing.
At Yuletide TV we utilize a sophisticated ratings system to assess how each episode we review stacks up against the best Christmas specials and movies. For every episode, each host designates what they watched as a:
- Christmas Classic (high in holiday cheer, you could watch it every year),
- Pair of Socks (gets the job done, but not much to get excited about),
- or Lump of Coal (all around bad, would not recommend)
In their second season, the hosts added a special rating, deemed the Secular Spectacular, for episodes that were highly recommended but did not put Christmas at the forefront of their plots.
To see how we rated episodes from our past seasons, consult the charts below. For ease of reading we have abbreviated our ratings system. Episodes that all three hosts deemed Christmas Classics (or Secular Spectaculars) are marked with an asterisk.
2021 Bonus Episodes
In 2021 we went Christmas all year round, inviting some of our Christmas podcast friends to share their favorite Christmas TV episodes and taking a look at some limited Christmas series that debuted on streaming services in 2020. We have included our ratings for those bonus episodes that are directly related to Christmas media below. One bonus episode was focused on Hanukah, and so a new rating, Heartfelt Hanukah, was created.
Show | Episode Title | Chris | Brian | Jon | Guest(s) |
The Goldbergs* | A Christmas Story | Heartfelt | Heartfelt | Heartfelt | Heartfelt |
Raising Hope | The Last Christmas | Socks | Socks | Socks | Socks |
Iron Chef America | Ghosts of Holiday Ingredients Past | Socks | Socks | Coal | Socks |
Letterkenny* | Three Wise Men | Classic | Classic | Classic | Classic |
Dash & Lily | (Full Series) | Classic | Socks | Socks | N/A |
Over Christmas | (Full Series) | Socks | Socks | Coals | N/A |
Santa's Slay | (Movie) | Coal | Coal | Coal | N/A |
Season 2
Show | Episode Title | Chris | Brian | Jon |
Arrested Development | In God We Trust | Coal | Coal | Coal |
Married with Children | Christmas | Coal | Socks | Classic |
Community* | Comparative Religion | Spectacular | Spectacular | Spectacular |
Alias | Spirit | Socks | Coal | Coal |
Mad Men | Christmas Comes but Once a Year | Socks | Coal | Classic |
Band of Brothers* | Bastogne | Classic | Classic | Classic |
The Venture Brothers | A Very Venture Christmas | Socks | Classic | Classic |
American Dad* | Rapture's Delight | Classic | Classic | Classic |
Clone High | Snowflake Day | Spectacular | Spectacular | Socks |
Ally McBeal | Tis the Season | Socks | Socks | Coal |
BoJack Horseman* | Christmas Special: Sabrina's Christmas Wish | Classic | Classic | Classic |
Baywatch | Silent Night, Baywatch Night | Socks | Socks | Socks |
Supernatural | A Very Supernatural Christmas | Socks | Classic | Coal |
The Simpsons* | Miracle on Evergreen Terrace | Classic | Classic | Classic |
M*A*S*H* | Death Takes a Holiday | Classic | Classic | Classic |
Season 1
Show | Episode Title | Chris | Brian | Jon |
Gilmore Girls | Forgiveness and Stuff | Socks | Socks | Socks |
Digimon | A Very Digi-Christmas | Coal | Socks | Coal |
House | Deception | Coal | Coal | Coal |
Home Improvement | I'm Scheming of a White Christmas | Socks | Socks | Socks |
Full House | A Very Tanner Christmas | Classic | Socks | Socks |
American Dad | The Best Christmas Story Never Told | Coal | Socks | Classic |
Frasier | Perspectives on Christmas | Socks | Coal | Coal |
HIMYM | Symphony of Illumination | Socks | Socks | Socks |
Doctor Who | The Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe | Socks | Classic | Classic |
ER | The Greatest of Gifts | Coal | Coal | Coal |
Veronica Mars | A Very Echolls Christmas | Classic | Socks | Classic |
New Girl* | Santa | Classic | Classic | Classic |
Dorm Life | Finals | Socks | Coal | Socks |
Parks and Recreation | Christmas Scandal | Coal | Socks | Coal |
Homestarrunner | Presents | Classic | Coal | Socks |
Bob's Burgers* | Nice-capades | Classic | Classic | Classic |
Fresh Off the Boat | The Real Santa | Socks | Socks | Socks |
Arrow | Year's End | Socks | Socks | Coal |
Adventure Time | The More You Moe, the More You Know | Socks | Socks | Classic |
Malcolm in the Middle | Christmas Trees | Socks | Socks | Socks |
Bonus: A Christmas Carol (2019) | Parts 1–3 | Coal | Coal | Coal |
Bonus: Call the Midwife | Christmas Special (2012) | Socks | Classic | Classic |
Mini-Bonus: Doogie Howser, M.D. | Doogie The Red-Nosed Reindeer | Socks | Classic | Classic |