Could we be any more excited for the holiday season? Doubtful! And one show to help us revel in that excitement with its holiday-themed episodes is none other than the ’90s classic Friends. While Friends‘ Thanksgiving episodes are a bit more memorable (check out our ranking of those here), the episodes revolving around Christmas still deserve their own ranking, right? Of course they do! Holiday cheer is never a bad thing.
Below find our ranking of all of the Friends Christmas episodes. Though some of the episodes do make mention and celebrate Hanukkah as well, they still mostly revolve around Christmas.
8. The One With Christmas In Tulsa (9x10)
The last episode of Friends to feature Christmas was in season 9 when Chandler had to spend the holiday in Tulsa for work. While the episode did explore one of Chandler’s female co-workers coming on to him (guest star Selma Blair), and set Chandler on his path to a new career after he quit and came home to spend the holiday with Monica and the gang, the episode is mainly a flashback episode. So, there’s no real surprise that it got the bottom spot of the ranking considering it features clips from almost all of the other holiday episodes.
7. The One with Ross' Step Forward (8x11)
The main plot of this episode revolves around Ross’ girlfriend Mona wanting to send out a holiday card together even though they haven’t been dating for very long. Ross, of course, doesn’t want to do that, but doesn’t want to have a more serious talk with her about their relationship, and antics ensue. Meanwhile, Chandler and Monica have a subplot revolving around Chandler’s boss getting a divorce, and a pregnant Rachel deals with some hormones making her want to get with any man in sight. It’s not a bad episode, but certainly not the best of the bunch.
6. The One where Rachel Quits (3x10)
In this episode from the first half of the series, Rachel starts her journey into a career in fashion when she finally quits her job at Central Perk. Meanwhile, Ross accidentally breaks the leg of a girl, a Brown Bird selling Christmas cookies — it’s a fairly silly subplot that’s most memorable because the little girl is played by a super young Mae Whitman. The most Christmas-themed bit of the episode features Phoebe being appalled at Joey for working at a Christmas tree lot.Â
5. The One with the Inappropriate Sister (5x10)
This Christmas episode features three storylines that are all super fun. The title of the episode comes from Rachel finally dating a guy she’s had a crush on, Danny, only to discover he has an oddly close relationship with his sister. Phoebe, meanwhile, is chosen to collect money for charity, ringing a bell outside a department store, but starts reverting back to “street Phoebe” when people don’t respect the bucket. Finally, Ross is staying with Joey and Chandler and sets up a schedule for Joey to write scripts during the day, but Joey and Chandler instead invent the game “Fireball.” This results in some fighting between Ross and Chandler and a resulting script from Joey that’s pretty hilarious.
4. The One with the Holiday Armadillo (7x10)
This episode is memorable just for the armadillo costume alone. In case you don’t remember, Ross is determined to get his son Ben excited about Hanukkah, and eventually comes up with wearing this “holiday” armadillo costume to win him over. Needless to say, when Chandler shows up in a Santa costume, his “great” plan starts to go down the tubes. Is the story here the important part? Not really. Elsewhere in the episode, Phoebe’s apartment renovation is almost done, and she is worried that Rachel won’t want to move back in with her after living with Joey. So, she starts giving Joey more and more ridiculous presents to try to scare Rachel away, including a drum set and a tarantula.Â
3. The One with the Girl from Poughkeepsie (4x10)
In this episode, we get a Christmas-themed song from Phoebe featuring each of the friends, so that’s already giving it some bonus points right there. Otherwise, Monica is being tormented by her colleagues at the restaurant, and decides to hire Joey in order to fire him so that everyone else can see she’s boss. Of course, it doesn’t go quite to plan. Meanwhile, Rachel doesn’t want to be alone for the holidays, and would take a not-serious fling, so Chandler decides to set her up with someone from his work. And, for the title of the episode, Ross is dating two girls, one of whom lives all the way in Poughkeepsie, which is causing him to be constantly exhausted. Â
2. The One with the Routine (6x10)
With Christmas around the corner, Joey’s current roommate Janine has been invited to be a dancer for a taped segment of Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve — because Monica and Ross always wanted to be on the show growing up, she invites them along too. While much of the episode is spent on Joey trying to get close to Janine and Monica and Ross trying to make sure they get on TV, it’s toward the end of the episode that the real magic happens. Oh yes, The Routine — a choreographed dance number that the Gellers made up as children that they both still remember and perform. It’s absolutely ridiculous and that’s why it’s delightful. Meanwhile, Rachel and Phoebe search the apartment for the gifts Monica has gotten them in a plot that probably would’ve been funnier if it had been something recurring throughout the years as supposedly they try to find them every year.
1. The One with Phoebe's Dad (2x09)
In this classic episode, Phoebe learns that the man she thought was her father her whole life is actually just a model that comes with the photo frame. She gets her grandma to tell her where her real dad is, and goes out to try to meet him in her grandma’s taxi, with Joey and Chandler along for the ride. In the end, she decides she can’t do it quite yet. Meanwhile, Monica and Rachel are having a Christmas party, but their radiator has broken, causing the heat to be on constantly. It’s a super enjoyable episode that’s very re-watchable, and that’s why it gets the top spot here.
Do you agree? What’s your favorite Friends Christmas episode? Vote below!
- The Brown Birds featured in “The One Where Rachel Quits” are a take on Girl Scouts — their mint treasure cookies are clearly meant to mimic Thin Mints.
- Courteney Cox recreated “The Routine” with musician Ed Sheeran in May 2021 — you can watch it on her Instagram page.
- James Michael Tyler, who played Gunther, was originally meant to be a silent cast member, but got his first line in “The One with Phoebe’s Dad.”
- “The One With Ross’ Step Forward” had an alternative title in the UK — “The One With the Creepy Holiday Card.”
- In “The One with the Holiday Armadillo,” the cast members all had a go at playing the drums in between takes.Â
- The Brown Birds featured in “The One Where Rachel Quits” are a take on Girl Scouts — their mint treasure cookies are clearly meant to mimic Thin Mints.
- Courteney Cox recreated “The Routine” with musician Ed Sheeran in May 2021 — you can watch it on her Instagram page.
- James Michael Tyler, who played Gunther, was originally meant to be a silent cast member, but got his first line in “The One with Phoebe’s Dad.”
- “The One With Ross’ Step Forward” had an alternative title in the UK — “The One With the Creepy Holiday Card.”
- In “The One with the Holiday Armadillo,” the cast members all had a go at playing the drums in between takes.Â
