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O COME, ALL YE

THE BEST HOLIDAY EPISODES
Jacey Gibb

he weeks leading up to December 24 are brutal. The sun sets at 3 pm;
everyone’s either getting sick, currently sick, or recovering from being sick;
your favourite student newspaper goes on hiatus until the New Year.
You’re already looking for excuses to stay home, so why not curl up to some
festive eye candy of the televised variety? Here is a personally curated list of the
most festive Christmas episodes to ever grace the small screen.

“Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas,” Community
Season 2, Episode 11

In an ensemble cast of memorable characters, Abed Nadir (Danny Pudi) was one
of Community’s finest. The self-aware pop-culture fanboy perpetually called the
sitcom’s plot devices as he saw them, and often acted as an audience surrogate.
Community’s first Christmas episode plays into all the tropes: Christmas carols,
Claymation, a character searching for the “meaning of Christmas,” as vague

a quest as it is. Pudi’s voice performance knocks it out of the park, and in all

the meta-Christmas episode referencing, “Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas”
manages to squeeze out a lot of heart and originality. I’d also like to recognize
Community for being the only show to secure two spots on this list, which leads
me to...

“Regional Holiday Music,” Community
Season 3, Episode 10

Look, any follow-up to season two’s Claymation Christmas episode was always
going to be a bit of a letdown, but “Regional Holiday Music” is still a fine piece
of holiday entertainment. In a nod to the real-life timeslot competition between
Community and then-ratings juggernaut Glee, the gang gets gradually roped
into the world of hokey glee clubs—and just in time for the Christmas pageant!
The episode riffs on plenty of traditional Christmas songs, and a few are even
surprisingly listenable. (As a bonus, you get a few breaks of Donald Glover aka
Childish Gambino rapping via the delightful “Jehovah’s Most Secret Witness.”)
If there had to a follow-up to “Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas,” I’m glad it was
this one.

“No-Ho-Ho,” Happy Endings
Season 3, Episode 7

This short-lived sitcom had many highlights, but the third season’s “No-Ho-Ho”
is a classic. In the opening scene, Jane’s (Eliza Coupe) ID is outted as fake, which
leads to the truth bomb: her birthday isn’t July 16, but rather December 25. The
rest of the gang attempts to give Jane one birthday that isn’t overshadowed by
the tinsel-decked elephant in the room, and plenty of wackiness ensues. The
star of “No-Ho-Ho,” however, is Hiphop Santa—a pop-and-locking take on the
animatronic abominations that typically invade our shelves this time of year.
Seriously, for a prop that was only in two scenes, there are a surprising number
of webpages dedicated to the question of where one can buy a Hiphop Santa.
(Unfortunately, you can’t.)

“Christmas Party,” The Office
Season 2, Episode 10

After a bumpy first season, The Office enjoyed a sophomore triumph, including
the wonderfully cringy “Christmas Party.” There are plenty of laugh-out-

loud moments, from the disastrous Yankee Swap to the titular booze-soaked
Christmas party, but like any effective holiday episode, it sneaks in some
geniality—primarily thanks to Jim’s (John Krasinski) Secret Santa gift for then
crush and future wife, Pam (Jenna Fischer).