Friends Christmas Episodes - A Definitive Ranking

The holiday season is really kicking in and although we’re mostly exposed to music and movies, our idea is reaching for the holiday specials of the iconic Friends, which featured several brilliant Christmas episodes over ten seasons. We decided to rate them and sort them out “worst to best.” This doesn't mean there are any bad episodes here! In fact, all of them are good and it's worth revisiting them before Christmas, or during the break. A cozy screening with Ross, Rachel, Chandler, Monica, Joey, and Phoebe is guaranteed.

The One With the Creepy Holiday Card

Friends, David Crane and Marta Kauffman, NBC, 1994

This episode ended up at the bottom of our list for two reasons, the most important of which is that this is the episode where the worst storyline in the history of the series began – the relationship between Joey and Rachel. Because of this, the episode loses many points, and the illogical story of Ross, in which he behaves immaturely, like a child, unable to talk to his partner like an adult, which he allegedly is, also doesn't work in its favor. These two things and the fact that there are actually very few Christmas elements in it apart from atmospheric decorations and a thread with a Christmas card, make it land the last place.

The One With Christmas in Tulsa

Friends, David Crane and Marta Kauffman, NBC, 1994

The episode about holidays in Tulsa is a retrospective one, which means it mostly shows clips from previous episodes. It doesn't bring much new to the table, which is why many viewers might ignore it while watching the entire series. However, if you decide to watch only Christmas episodes, it could be nice to take the occasion and relive some of the Friends episodes, with the story of Chandler, who has to work during the Christmas break, in the background. Certainly, its advantage is the ending, when the whole group celebrates together, thanks to Chandler deciding to return to them, instead of spending time with an attractive coworker. It's an episode that reminds us why we love Chandler and Monica's relationship.

The One With the Girl From Poughkeepsie

Friends, David Crane and Marta Kauffman, NBC, 1994

Although the episode takes place during the Christmas season, it says little about it, which unfortunately means that it does not deserve any place higher than eighth. Even Joey's plots don't help; he lets Monica fire him from work so she looks tough in the eyes of her coworkers, and Phoebe, who composes a catchy song as a gift for her friends. Even though she's almost as iconic as Smelly Cat, it's still not enough because she's really the only Christmas aspect of the episode. However, it's not boring, as we also follow the story of Ross, who's going through his love dilemmas, wondering whether long-distance relationships are even for him.

The One with the Monkey

Friends, David Crane and Marta Kauffman, NBC, 1994

This is not entirely a Christmas episode – its only Christmas aspect are the decorations. However, the thread is more about the New Year's Eve conversations of friends, who are wondering who to spend the end of the year with, even though they agreed not to bring their crushes to the party. In this episode, we're also introduced to Marcel the monkey – loved by some, hated by others. It's not a strong Christmas special, but it's still a good episode, so it lands in seventh place on our list.

The One with the Inappropriate Sister

Friends, David Crane and Marta Kauffman, NBC, 1994

Phoebe often turns out the strongest part of holiday episodes and it's no different in case of season five. Buffay undertakes to raise money for the needy, but quickly starts a fight with New Yorkers who treat her donation bucket like a trash bin, where they feel they can throw everything they simply have no use for. It's a hilarious story that makes up for the fact that the rest of the episode isn't as gripping.

The One with All the Candy

Friends, David Crane and Marta Kauffman, NBC, 1994

This is the first of two Christmas episodes of season seven, and it seems the weaker one. Its strongest point is when Ross buys Phoebe her first bicycle and teaches her to ride it. Sadly, Monica's holiday story doesn't turn out so well. She decides to do something nice for her neighbors to win their approval, but it backfires on her because the folks in her building love her sweets so much that they start demanding more.

The One with the Holiday Armadillo

Friends, David Crane and Marta Kauffman, NBC, 1994

This is the episode that gives us a Christmas battleship. Like Ross, trying to get out of a difficult situation, he chooses the strangest solution and, wanting to introduce his son to his Jewish heritage, tries to tell him about Hanukkah by inventing a Christmas armadillo, Santa's helper. All because he failed to find the Santa Claus costume that Ben is so used to, and which Chandler later shows up wearing (with Joey as Superman, he also wanted to help). This is certainly one of the more twisted, but interesting Christmas stories, which deserves the fourth place.

The One Where Rachel Quits

Friends, David Crane and Marta Kauffman, NBC, 1994

Even though encouraging Rachel to quit her job at Central Perk gets a lot of attention in the episode, the title of the cutest storyline definitely goes to Phoebe, who's saving xmas trees. As I've already mentioned, Buffay leads the way in Christmas episodes, and this time it gives us a heartwarming story about saving old, unwanted Christmas trees at Joey's work, which the friends decide to take to Monica's apartment, so they can fulfill their Christmas duty. This story will definitely help you feel the magic of Christmas, which is why the episode gets a place on the podium.

The One With Phoebe's Dad

Friends, David Crane and Marta Kauffman, NBC, 1994

If you're looking for something heartwarming this Christmas, tune in to episode nine of Friends' second season. There, Phoebe learns the truth about her father and decides to finally get to know him. Joey and Chandler go with her to offer support, but all three end up sitting in a taxi under Phoebe's father's house for hours, and she ultimately decides not to confront him. Although things don't go according to plan, and Joey and Chandler lose the chance to visit the store to buy normal gifts, they support Buffay to the end. It's also one of the more heartwarming episodes because of the lovely scene at the end that expresses friendly love and support. This is also the episode where humor is led by Monica and Rachel, trying to throw a holiday party, which, due to a broken oven, needs a tropical theme.

The One with the Routine

Friends, David Crane and Marta Kauffman, NBC, 1994

Our list is topped by the episode with the famous Routine. Even though Ross and Monica are participating in recordings for a New Year's Eve show, it's clear from the adventures of other friends, who're looking for presents, that the action takes place before Christmas. And just like that, next to the comical efforts of Ross and Monica, who want to appear in a program showing their routine, we watch the others stubbornly trying to figure what Monica had bought them for Christmas. Chandler is trying to remind everyone, including the viewers, the real meaning behind this holiday, as well as things worth remembering at this time. In our opinion, this is the perfect reason to watch this episode. Hence it's our number one here. Have a good one!

Edyta Jastrzebska

Edyta Jastrzebska

A graduate of journalism and social communication as well as cultural studies. She started at Gamepressure.com as one of the newspeople in the films department. Currently she oversees the Gamepressure movie&TV newsroom. She excels in the field of film and television, both in reality-based and fantasy themes. Keeps up with industry trends, but in her free time she prefers to watch less known titles. Has a complicated relationship with popular ones, which is why she only gets convinced about many of them when the hype around them subsides. Loves to spend her evenings not only watching movies, series, reading books and playing video games, but also playing text RPGs, which she has been into for several years.