For me, holiday breaks are spent working, cuddling with my dog and binge-watching my favorite holiday TV episodes. One of my ultimate favorite TV shows is Friends. I started watching it for the first time over Thanksgiving break during my freshman year of high school. Ever since then, I have become the biggest Friends fan, having watched the series more times than I can remember. Being such a huge fan of the show, I’ve prepared my ranking of all 21 of their iconic holiday episodes.
21. The One with Ross’ Step Forward (Season 8 Ep. 11)
My absolute least favorite Friends holiday episode has to be the one where Ross and his current girlfriend, Mona, are sending out a holiday card together. The sole reason why I cannot stand this episode is that Mona had to be one of the most annoying and useless characters that the show ever had. During this season, Rachel is pregnant with Ross’s baby and, as a huge supporter of Ross and Rachel’s relationship, the fact that they still weren’t back together drove me crazy.
20. The One with the Halloween Party (Season 8 Ep. 6)
Similar to the reason above, this episode is not one of my favorites because of Mona. While I absolutely thought all of the casts’ costumes were hysterical and iconic, it just never stuck out to me as an amazing holiday episode.
19. The One with the List (Season 2, Ep. 8)
This episode is right after Ross and Rachel admit their feelings to each other and have their first kiss. However, Ross is currently in a relationship with another woman, Julie, so to help sort out his thoughts, Joey and Chandler write down a list of pros and cons of dating Rachel and dating Julie. As I stated before, I was a big fan of Ross and Rachel’s relationship, so knowing that this episode only pushed back their relationship makes me upset (even though Rachel did have reasons to be mad at Ross about making the list). This episode also has very little holiday spirit in it, which can only be found in the subplot where Monica has to come up with recipes for a “Mockolate”: a fake chocolate that a future employer of hers is trying to make big.
18. The One with the Inappropriate Sister (Season 5 Ep. 10)
In this episode, Phoebe is being a bell ringer to help spread the holiday spirit around New York. The reason I put this one so low was that Phoebe’s bell ringing is the only holiday plot throughout the episode. Typically, they have done a holiday where the entire group is having a struggle, not just one person. While they all come together at the end to support Phoebe and her struggles of trying to get people to donate and stop being rude to her, this one just doesn’t have the holiday magic that some other ones do.
17. The One With the Routine (Season 6 Ep. 10)
This episode follows Monica and Ross as they get invited to be a part of Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve as a party guest. Throughout the episode, Ross and Monica are trying to get a camera to notice them and are doing anything they can to get noticed. They eventually decided that the best way for them to get noticed is to do a dance routine from when they were younger, which is one of the funniest and most cringe-worthy dances.
16. The One With the Monkey (Season 1 Ep. 10)
In this holiday episode, Ross decides to get a monkey named Marcel, who becomes an iconic character throughout the first season, which always makes me laugh. The holiday aspect of this episode follows the group as they are hosting a New Years’ Eve Party, but make a pact together to not bring dates. However, all except Ross end up breaking the pact and find dates, so Ross is left alone with his monkey.
15. The One Where Rachel Quits (Season 3 Ep. 10)
Rachel aspires to do bigger things in life; more than just working and serving people coffee at Central Perk. Impulsively, she quits her job and goes to try and find a job in the fashion industry. My biggest problem with this episode is that, similar to other ones, the holiday plot isn’t very big in it. The plot follows Phoebe as she is devastated at the fact that there are Christmas trees that have to go into the wood chipper. Joey, who is working at the Christmas tree farm, comes up with a plan to save all the Christmas trees that would’ve had to be destroyed and gives them to Monica who decorates the apartment with all of them to surprise Phoebe.
14. The One with Phoebe’s Dad (Season 2 Ep. 9)
In this episode, Rachel and Monica are hosting a holiday party at the apartment, but their radiator breaks, making the apartment insanely hot. Their maintenance guy isn’t going to be able to order the part it needs until after Christmas, which leads to the chaos of the episode.
13. The One with the Football (Season 3 Ep. 9)
If there is one thing from Friends that still scars me, it is that creepy doll known as the “Geller Cup.” Ross and Monica’s sibling relationship I find relatable and hysterical to watch on TV, so seeing their competitive side come out when the gang wants to play a game of football will instantly put me in a good mood.
12. The One with Rachel’s Other Sister (Season 9 Ep. 8)
Amy Green, Rachel’s sister, makes her first appearance in this episode when she suddenly appears at Monica and Chandler’s door looking for Rachel on Thanksgiving. Her entitled and spoiled brat attitude is funny to watch and creates the perfect amount of craziness to annoy Monica, especially when she is worried about everyone ruining her new china plates.
11. The One with the Girl from Poughkeepsie (Season 4 Ep. 10)
In this chaotic episode, Phoebe is trying to write a good holiday song, Rachel is lonely because she doesn’t have a boyfriend for the holiday season, and everyone at Monica’s new job hates her.
10. The One with the Christmas in Tulsa (Season 9 Ep. 10)
Chandler is in Tulsa for his job working on Christmas Eve, which leaves Monica and the gang in New York spending the holiday without him. The humor and flashbacks in this episode bring a nostalgic emotion over me which is why I put it a lot higher than some other episodes.
9. The One Where Chandler Doesn’t Like Dogs (Season 7 Ep. 8)
As someone who is a major dog lover, Clunkers, the dog that Phoebe is secretly dog-watching in Monica and Chandler’s apartment, is adorable and instantly had my heart the first time I ever watched this episode. This episode also always makes me laugh because Joey has decided to make the gang play the game of trying to name all 50 states. The humor within the main plot and subplots will always make me laugh and put me in a good mood for the holiday season.
8. The One Where Underdog Gets Away (Season 1 Ep. 9)
With this being the series’ first holiday episode, I thought this was a perfect way to help get to know the characters and their crazy families more. This episode is following each of the main characters as their Thanksgiving plans don’t go accordingly. This episode not only demonstrates and proves the group’s love for each other, but it also has some of the best moments of the show, such as everyone thinking Joey has an STD because of a modeling gig he had.
7. The One with all the Resolutions (Season 5 Ep. 11)
This holiday episode follows the group as they are trying to keep their New Years Resolutions. Ross’s resolution was to try something new every day, which leads to him impulsively buying leather pants. However, Ross soon learns that wearing leather pants can be difficult, especially when he starts to sweat, which leads to one of the most iconic scenes of this show.
6. The One with the Holiday Armadillo (Season 7 Ep. 10)
Young Cole Sprouse plays Ben, Ross’s child, who is staying with him for the holidays. In this episode, Ross wants to teach Ben more about Hanukkah, since he is part Jewish. The way he goes about doing this, however, is to dress up like an armadillo (because that was the only costume that the costume shop had left) and try to get Ben excited about Hanukkah. I find this episode one of the funniest strictly because seeing Ross in that armadillo costume will always put a smile on my face.
5. The One with the Rumor (Season 8 Ep. 9)
In this episode, a young Brad Pitt is featured as Ross’ old high school friend, Will Colbert, who has a major hatred towards Rachel. Throughout the episode, it turns out that Ross and Will were founders of the “I Hate Rachel Club” back in high school which leads to some drama and hysterical bits between the three.
4. The One with the Chandler in a Box (Season 4 Ep. 8)
After finding out that Chandler kissed Joey’s girlfriend, the two have been in a huge fight. Joey claims that the only way he will forgive Chandler is if he lays in a box for six hours. This episode brings out so much humor and personality in the characters and never features a dull moment for them.
3. The One with All the Thanksgivings (Season 5 Ep. 8)
In this flashback episode where the cast remembers past Thanksgiving celebrations, the group is remembering funny Thanksgiving stories which lead to one of my absolute favorite moments in the show: Where Joey gets his head stuck inside a Turkey. This comedic scene, no matter how many times I will watch it, will have me laughing uncontrollably and making crying.
2. The One With the Late Thanksgiving (Season 10 Ep. 8)
In the last Thanksgiving episode of the series, Monica and Chandler are hosting Thanksgiving, but everyone has other priorities which lead to them being late. Rachel enters Emma, her daughter, into a beauty contest after being persuaded by Phoebe while Ross and Joey go to a New York Rangers game. This leads to hysterical bits of Monica being angry at all of them for being late while the group tries to think of believable excuses to come up with.
- The One Where Ross Got High (Season 6 Ep 9)
The One Where Ross Got High is hands down the funniest holiday episode of Friends. Monica and Chandler are hosting their first Thanksgiving together as a couple and Monica’s parents are invited over, however, they don’t know that Monica and Chandler are dating, let alone living together. This creates one of the best sibling arguments and comedic moments in television history that can never be topped.
Overall, Friends has been my comfort show throughout my teen and adult years. Without their iconic and amazing holiday episodes, I wouldn’t be able to get into the spirit of the holidays as easily.