Season's Greetings Everyone! Christmas is very nearly here! It's scary how few days we have left until the big day and just how much we have to cram in before then! But just because there's lots to do, doesn't mean we can't take some time to just chill out and watch something Christmas-y. Earlier in the month, I recommended 24 Christmas Films to watch, but if you're looking for something a little shorter to watch, here's some Christmas episodes to check out this month. And don't worry if you've not seen these series in general - the Christmas episodes offer a great snapshot of the series without being overly spoilerly in terms of the bigger picture! Starting off with a whole Christmas series in the form of Netflix's Merry Happy Whatever! This series was released last year and it is a MUST watch this Christmas, and will really make you appreciate that your family isn't really that dysfunctional. The series follows the Quinn family in the week surrounding Christmas as they prepare for the holiday. Youngest Quinn, Emmy has been living in California and brings her boyfriend Matt home for Christmas. Controlling patriarch Don is all about keeping their traditions alive and wants Emmy to move home, denying Matt permission to marry his daughter. The rest of the Quinn family members have their own issues that come to light under the stress of Christmas, and as everything snowballs, comedy ensues. One reason alone to watch this series is Ashley Tisdale as Kayla Quinn,, who is honestly perfect for the role. I'm really bummed that this series was cancelled earlier this year because there was so much potential for more series! Everyone is always quick to say Friends is THE 90s comedy, but I think they're forgetting the ICON that is Everybody Loves Raymond! Across the nine seasons, there are eight Christmas episodes and each really highlight just how dysfunctional the Barone family is, and how outlandish Frank and Marie are. From Ray almost telling Ally that Santa doesn't exist (The Ball; season 1, episode 12); something continually getting in the way of Ray and Debra getting intimate on Christmas (All I Want For Christmas; season 2, episode 12); Frank and Marie accidentally exchanging a toaster that Ray got engraved (The Toaster; season 3, episode 12); and the craziness that ensues when Ray tries to get a family portrait taken (The Christmas Picture; season 4, episode 10); to Ray gifting Debra a great gift to let him go away for the weekend (Christmas Present; season 5, episode 10); Marie and Debora coming together to write an braggy Christmas letter (Season's Greetings; season 6, episode 12); Ray struggling to give Debora a thoughtful gift (The Thought That Counts; season 7, episode 11); and Ray trying to gift Frank CDs to replace his ruined records (Jazz Records; season 8, episode 10). There's hilarity every step of the way, and although the Barone family can be annoying and frustrating at times, you can't help but loving spending Christmas with them. Taking a step back into our childhood, I couldn't go past the Disney Channel icons that are Zack & Cody! The duo got to celebrate Christmas twice across their two series, but we're just looking at The Suite Life of Zack & Cody here. In a hilarious episode Christmas At The Tipton (season 1, episode 21), everyone is stuck at the Tipton during a snow storm, meaning Zack and Cody's parents have to spend a prolonged time with one another, resulting in Cody thinking his parents are reuniting. Elsewhere, Maddie has tricked London into being her Secret Santa, knowing she'll get an amazingly expensive present, only this year London decides to make a present instead. The episode culminates in a woman named Mary giving birth on Christmas Day, with everyone but London noticing the coincidence. It's fun, super nostalgic and full of Christmas comedy. One of my favourite series is The Golden Girls and if you've never watched the show, you're seriously missing out! Dorothy, Rose, Blanche and Sophia only celebrated Christmas twice over the seven series of the show, but they're both really great episodes! First up is Twas The Night Before Christmas (season 2, episode 11) in which the girls are excited to be off celebrating Christmas with their families. After some dramas at Rose's job before they leave, their flight is soon cancelled and they're left to spend Christmas with each other. The other is Have Yourself A Very Little Christmas (season 5, episode 11), which sees Dorothy calling out the commercialism of the holiday, with the four agreeing to return their presents and make them instead. They also all volunteer at the local soup kitchen, seeing far too many families in need during the holidays. As I said, The Golden Girls is a favourite of mine and these two Christmas episodes showcase everything to love about the series. Last year I talked about the first two The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air Christmas episodes, so this year I thought I'd share the other two! Of the four, these aren't as Christmas-y as earlier seasons, but they do help give you a break from the overly Christmas episodes on the list. In Twas The Night Before Christening (season 4, episode 13), we flash forward to a toddler Nicky asking his father to tell him the story of the four middle names, which is his Christening story. Flashback to the current timeline, baby Nicky is Christened in the lead-up to Christmas, and everyone has gotten him amazing gifts. Will, under pressure to get something good, says he has Boys 2 Men performing at the Christening, but of course he hasn't. Cue Will scrambling to try and make his lie the truth. The final Christmas episode in the series comes in the form of I, Ooooh, Baby, Baby (season 6, episode 11), in which Hillary decides to have a baby, despite not being in a relationship. Thinking it's the missing piece of the puzzle in her life, the news stresses out Philip and Will. Again, not super Christmas-y compared to earlier episodes, but still a fun watch nonetheless. Rounding out the US sitcom list I've got going on here is the final two Friends Christmas episodes that I've yet to mention. The first is The One With The Inappropriate Sister (season 5, episode 11), which is probably one of the least Christmas-y Friends holiday episodes, but the Christmas content is hilarious. Phoebe lands a job as a bell-ringer holiday funds raiser, being posted in the prime position at Macy's. She takes her role way too seriously, eventually erecting way too many signs to stop people from donating their trash, using the collection tin like an ATM, or even peeing in it. The other episode is The One With The Creepy Holiday Card (season 8, episode 11), also known as 'The One With Ross' Step Forward', in which Mona suggests that she and Ross send out holiday cards. Ross thinks its way too soon in their relationship, but when she tells Mona this, she asks the big question - where does he see the relationship going? And in true Ross form, he digs a massive hole for himself instead of being open and honest. Rounding out the American series on this list is The Brady Bunch. I'll admit, I've not delved into the show too much, but I have seen the Christmas episode and the series as a whole is on my watch-list. Interesting, for a family show that spanned five seasons, the series only had one Christmas episode, The Voice of Christmas (season 1, episode 12), although there was also a Christmas film, so I suppose that balances things out. In the Christmas episode, the Brady family are gearing up to celebrate their first Christmas as a family and everyone is excited for Carol's solo at church. However, she comes down with laryngitis due to all the practice, meaning she has to completely rest if she has a chance of being able to sing her solo. A super cute moment comes when Cindy asks Santa for her mother to get her voice back, and some classic comedy comes from Alice brewing an old family remedy that absolutely reeks. It's a sweet family Christmas episode with some fun moments that highlight everything to love about the Brady family. I've said it before, but we don't really have that many series which choose to include a Christmas episode. So I went old-school for this with Round The Twist and their Christmas episode Santa Claws (season 1, episode 7). Featuring the OG cast, the episode follows a nightmare that Pete has on Christmas Eve where he meets a Santa 'Claws' that will grant his family two wishes each. Initially, they all just think he's a random drunk, but when they start wishing, they see that the magic is real. All this results in Linda accidentally wishing that Pete didn't have such a big mouth, hence the nightmare. It's absolutely ridiculous but it's classic Round The Twist, and any Aussie who was raised right will LOVE revisiting this series for Christmas. Finally, heading off the the UK we have another classic comedy - Blackadder. The series featured a special Christmas episode, Blackadder's Christmas Carol (1988), which took place between the third and fourth series in Victorian England. And, as the name suggests, the episode was a take on Charles Dickens' classic A Christmas Carol. But in true Blackadder fashion, there was a twist - it was essentially the opposite of the original story. Blackadder is an overly generous man who ends up giving away the last of his money, food, presents and tree for Christmas, but that's okay because he's a great man. Cue being visited by a the Ghost of Christmas past, showing him how his ancestors were mean and cunning and got further in life than by being nice and generous. We get to see some fun throwbacks to Blackadder from the second and third series, which are bonus additional scenes to what we saw during those series. Rowan Atkinson is absolutely amazing as Blackadder and Tony Robinson is hilarious as Baldrick, and it's great to have a Christmas-themed episode featuring these iconic characters. And finally, we have the most recent Christmas episode on the list - the 2019 Gavin and Stacey Christmas special! I LOVE Gavin and Stacey and I was super excited to have another episode. It was SO great to be back with the our beloved Essex and Barry families and it was like no time had passed since the last episode. There was a bunch of nods and references to the original series, a great update on what has been happening in the Shipman and West families since the final episode, and the cliffhanger gives us potential for a continuation in the future! The first Christmas episode saw everyone gather in Essex for the holiday. This time, it's Barry playing host to the whole family. Pam has a sneaky was of taking her own towels to Gwen's, Bryn is stressing about cooking Christmas dinner, Stacey worries that she and Gavin have lost their spark, and Smithy is planning on proposing to his girlfriend of one-year, who no one has met until now. This episode was like catching up with old friends and I can't wait to watch it again and again and again. There are still SO many more Christmas episodes I want to watch! Will it ever be possible to have seen ALL the Christmas episodes and ALL the Christmas films? Because I want to be able to do that. Somehow. Anyway, I hope this list has given you some episodes and series to check out this month, or just some series you want to binge in the new year. I can say that every single series on this list is super bingeable, so definitely consider starting the new year right. Happy watching! Victoria :) You May Also Be Interested In:
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