All of the Seinfeld Christmas Episodes – Ranked

Tis the season to be watching all of the holiday episodes of your favorite sitcoms, and what ’90s sitcom is more revered than Seinfeld? While the show didn’t have an episode set around Christmas every year, it did have a number of them throughout the seasons, culminating in what could arguably be one of the most classic Christmas sitcom episodes of all time.

Below, we rank all six of the Seinfeld Christmas episodes. Did your favorite make it to the top? Scroll on to find out — and don’t forget to vote for your favorite!

Want more Christmas sitcom episodes? Check out: All of the Friends Christmas Epiosodes – Ranked

6. The Race (6x10)

The main plot of this episode revolves around an old high school nemesis of Jerry’s that he beat in a running race back in the day due to an inadvertent head start. This nemesis, Duncan, happens to be the boss of the girl he is currently dating, Lois, and Duncan wants a rematch with Jerry. Jerry refuses at first, but eventually agrees, and ends up winning again thanks to another inadvertent head start. Meanwhile, Elaine is dating a communist, and Kramer works as a department store Santa. While the episode has its moments, it’s not as good as the other episodes on this list, hence its last place finish.

5. The Andrea Doria (8x10)

In this season eight episode, George is excited to get a nice, big apartment in his building, only to be disappointed when the tenant association decides to instead give it to a survivor of the Andria Doria ship sinking. In order to show that his life has been more sad sack than the survivor’s, George recounts multiple terrible things that have happened to him throughout the series — and while it may seem like he is going to get the place after all, in the end it goes to the guy Elaine was dating throughout the episode who breaks up with all of his girlfriends so terribly that they go ballistic on him, which of course Elaine does as well. Jerry, meanwhile, works to try to get Newman transferred to Hawaii by delivering a bunch of his old mail, but does too good of a job. And Kramer? Well, Kramer starts acting like a dog. So there’s that. It gets a bit silly at times, and that’s what holds this episode back from a higher ranking.

4. The Gum (7x10)

In this episode, Kramer starts hanging out with one of Elaine’s old boyfriends who has recently checked out of an institution after having a nervous breakdown. Kramer goes to extreme lengths to make sure everyone is treating him well and not mentioning anything being called “crazy” around him. Of course, the hijinx that ensue just make all of them look a little “crazy,” with Jerry having to wear ridiculous glasses, Kramer eating a super old hot dog, and Elaine walking around with her blouse half-open. George has a bit of his own side-story throughout the episode, but it follows along the same theme. It’s a classic example of what Seinfeld does well — interweaving all of the different stories together to fit the main theme.

3. The Red Dot (3x12)

In the first episode to feature the Christmas holiday season, Elaine gets George a job at her company. As a thank you, he buys her a cashmere sweater — only it’s heavily discounted because of a red dot on it. While George doesn’t think anyone will notice, of course everyone notices. Elaine gives him back the sweater, so he gives it to the cleaning lady that he had a fling with at his new job, which just leads down a further rabbit hole, culminating in George getting fired. Meanwhile, the guy Elaine is dating from work has started drinking again thanks to Jerry’s inadvertent placement of his alcoholic drink in a spot where the guy takes it. He goes off the wagon (or is it on?) in a major way, which leads to everyone hiding under a cubicle. The episode is a bit ridiculous at times, but the whole red dot plot line is so memorable that it helps propel it to our number three spot.

2. The Pick (4x13)

This episode is super memorable in a lot of ways, with each character getting their own mini-plot that stands well on its own. Jerry dates a model he met on a plane, but gets dumped after she witnesses him “picking” his nose in the car next to her (he says it was just a scratch, not a pick). Kramer realizes this model is wearing the perfume he invented in another episode, and confronts Calvin Klein about stealing his idea — and they end up using him in a risque photoshoot. Elaine sends out a Christmas card with her photo on it, only to realize after the fact that her nipple is showing in the photograph, causing all the guys at work to call her “Nip.” And George is pining after Susan, who he recently broke up with. He decides to get back with her at the end of the episode, only to quickly realize it was a mistake, and uses “the pick” to escape the situation.

1. The Strike (9x10)

The most overtly Christmas-y episode gets the top spot here, but not just because it features the holiday in a more prominent way, but because of how classic it is in general. There’s quite a lot of plot in this episode, including Kramer going back to work at a bagel shop after 12 years of striking, Elaine’s mission to get a free sub sandwich, George giving everyone at work cards saying he had made a donation to “The Human Fund,” and Jerry dating a woman who is sometimes super attractive, and sometimes super unattractive, aka a two-face. But on top of it all is Festivus, which is featured for the first time in this episode, complete with the metal pole and the airing of grievances. It’s a true classic and a showcase of Seinfeld running on all cylinders (a rarity for a sitcom in its ninth season) — there’s no question that it had to be number one.

What’s your favorite Seinfeld Christmas episode? Vote in our poll!

The holiday of “Festivus” was based on a holiday created in the ’60s by writer Dan O’Keefe’s father. Many of the same traditions were part of their Festivus, including the airing of grievances.
“The Red Dot” is the only episode to feature a character from the episode, Dick, appearing during Jerry’s stand-up routine in between scenes.
The episode “The Gum” is the last to feature an onscreen cameo from series co-creator Larry David, though he did continue to provide some voiceover work throughout the series.
The original title for the episode “The Pick” was supposed to be “The Nipple,” but Larry David thought it might be too sexually explicit for network television.
The episode “The Race” features the only instance where someone breaks the fourth wall in the series, when Jerry winks toward the camera, just like George Reeves did in The Adventures of Superman television series.

The holiday of “Festivus” was based on a holiday created in the ’60s by writer Dan O’Keefe’s father. Many of the same traditions were part of their Festivus, including the airing of grievances.
“The Red Dot” is the only episode to feature a character from the episode, Dick, appearing during Jerry’s stand-up routine in between scenes.
The episode “The Gum” is the last to feature an onscreen cameo from series co-creator Larry David, though he did continue to provide some voiceover work throughout the series.
The original title for the episode “The Pick” was supposed to be “The Nipple,” but Larry David thought it might be too sexually explicit for network television.
The episode “The Race” features the only instance where someone breaks the fourth wall in the series, when Jerry winks toward the camera, just like George Reeves did in The Adventures of Superman television series.