All 8 'Friends' Christmas Episodes, Ranked (Plus, Where to Stream Them)

• Air Date: December 13, 2001

In this episode, Ross and his girlfriend, Mona, decide making a Christmas card with their faces on it is the appropriate "next phase of their relationship," which obviously leads to drama for the pair. While definitely enjoyable, this episode is a little on the slower side and harder to get into as opposed to the other holiday-themed episodes in the series, in my opinion.

The most entertaining part for sure is the fight that ensues between Ross and Mona, which ends with Ross begrudgingly giving his irritated girlfriend the key to his apartment...only to have him change the locks right afterwards (the sign of a wonderful relationship, people). Meanwhile, Chandler and Monica get an invite from Chandler's boss, Doug, whom Monica strongly dislikes because he, wait for it, peed on an ice sculpture at their engagement party.

Oh, and Rachel is pregnant and her hormones are raging, meaning she wants to sleep with every guy she lays her eyes on. As much chaos as there is going on, this episode is actually mega-fan and PureWow Editor Abby Hepworth's least favorite. "I have to say, I'm not a fan of 'The One with the Creepy Holiday Card,'" she writes, adding, "Yes, Mona is kind of super weird in not recognizing how odd it is to send out a joint holiday card with your brand-new boyfriend, but Ross is no better in refusing to label their relationship status."

• Air Date: December 17, 1998

Ever suspected that there might be something going on between a friend and one of their family members? No? Well, that is understandable as most people don't encounter those types of situations. But in the land of Friends, that is exactly what this episode is centered on. 

For starters, Danny is already being...which means he's being questionable when it comes to his relationship. Things get really interesting, however, when Rachel and Danny go back to his place after a date, and his sister opens up the door only wearing only a t-shirt. The two start wrestling in a way that can only be described as weird, and that weirdness intensifies when Danny's sister starts eating an eclair and he licks the cream off her finger.

And if that isn't enough for you, his sister then drops some cream onto the middle of his pants, which leads to her wiping it off him in that area. Rachel can definitely be cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs at times, but she is in the right for once with questioning this behavior.

While this episode technically isn't a "Christmas-themed" one, there are loads of holiday decorations and Christmas trees in the background, along with Phoebe volunteering and collecting money for the Salvation Army.

• Air Date: December 18, 1997

The small town of Poughkeepsie might seem a bit of a random place to suddenly become obsessed with, but not if you're Ross and you have the opportunity to find the love of your life! You can't blame Ross for being excited over meeting a beautiful girl while on a train ride and doing everything he can to pursue her, but in true Ross fashion, he realizes that long distance relationships are a bit more complicated to navigate than he initially imagined. As for Monica, her holiday season is in disarray because she has been purposefully sabotaged with a negative review after being hired as the head chef for Allesandro's restaurant. Not only that, but the employees can't stand her either, which makes her work life more than tough. To try to improve her standing with the company, she comes up with a ploy to hire Joey and then fire him to make her look like she's the boss—a ruse that Joey is initially willing to go along with, but he then changes his mind.

Oh, and then there is Rachel—complaining...again. The complaint this time? That she is single for the holidays. Rachel isn't happy during Christmas when she's in a relationship, and isn't happy when she's not in one. There is no pleasing her it seems.

• Air Date: December 12, 1996

"The One Where Rachel Quits" is a little higher up there with some of my favorites. The episode chronicles the aftermath of Rachel quitting her job at Central Perk (around Christmas time, of course), as she realizes that she probably should have stuck it out at least *one more* month because now she doesn’t have any money to buy Christmas gifts. This episode is Rachel in her truest form because why would she quit her job right during the holidays without thinking about the financial consequences, or at the very least, having an additional job lined up to start immediately afterwards?

Rachel aside, however, Ross is in some deep mess of his own as he accidentally breaks a little girl's leg, so now he has to sell her Christmas cookies as an apology, which is a reasonable tradeoff in my opinion. Meanwhile, the episode also explores themes of environmentalism as Phoebe is on her save-the-trees kick, proclaiming that she doesn't like to see Christmas trees cut down and sold, which leads to her putting Joey's job in jeopardy. Oh, Phoebe...

• Air Date: December 12, 1996

"The One with Christmas in Tulsa," is a wild ride as Chandler is tasked with spending the holiday in Tulsa for an assignment that he will be fired for if he doesn't finish. This development means he won't be able to spend Christmas in New York like usual with the gang, which is something that disappoints them all. Nonetheless, this leads to a series of flashback scenes of previous holidays spent with his "friends" (bad pun intended), which is what saves the episode, according to PureWow's Hepworth. "The flashbacks in 'The One with Christmas in Tulsa' are its saving grace. I always hated the 'Chandler moves to Tulsa' plot line so this one never really did it for me," she notes.

I would have to agree on the plot being slow outside of the flashbacks, but there is the interesting element of Monica getting suspicious of Chandler because he mentions his regional vice president, Wendy, over the phone when she and the others call to wish him a happy holiday. Is it truly an episode of Friends if somebody doesn't think their partner is cheating though?

• Air Date: December 14, 2000

Another one of Hepworth's favorites, there is a lot going on in "The One with the Holiday Armadillo," as Ross has decided he wants to introduce his half-Jewish son to the celebration of Hanukkah. Ross doesn't want to take away the tradition of seeing Santa Claus from his son completely, so he runs to the store for a Santa costume, only to find out that the only costume they have left is that of an armadillo. If you think that is funny though, Joey tops Ross by showing up in a Superman costume at the end. I have to say the cast chemistry and comedy is completely on-point with this episode, which is something Hepworth agrees with me on.

"I so love 'The One with the Holiday Armadillo,' again just classic Friends. Phoebe trying to get Rachel to swap living arrangements by giving her annoying gifts, Monica just living her most neat-freak life and Joey showing up as Superman in the end—perfection," she says.

Nearly 25 years later, fans of the show still differ in what they think the main message of this episode is. Some, however, believe it's to show that you can appreciate two different cultures and ways of celebrating at one time.

• Air Date: December 16, 1999

Another one of my favorites? This gem of an episode, which takes place on the set of Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve special, and features Ross and Monica dancing on the show. Both of them want to be spotlighted on television, but in order to make it to the small screen, they have to be selected to dance on the platform. This leads to Ross and Monica bringing back an old routine they believe is a showstopper, only for the cameraman to be giggling behind their backs about using them instead for the blooper reel. Meanwhile, Phoebe, Chandler and Ross are on a mission to find Christmas gifts, while Joey and Janine kick off their relationship with a kiss.

"'The One with the Routine' is seriously one of the most iconic Friends episodes ever. Everyone is really at their peak," Hepworth writes.

It's also important to note that this episode came out at the tail end of 1999, which was a year many people believed was going to be the "end of the world." Embarking on a mission to dance front and center on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve special definitely meets the mark of crazy, last minute things people were trying to do around that era.

Side note: The episode definitely makes you miss Dick Clark. New Year's Eve just isn’t the same without him.

• Air Date: December 14, 1995

Perhaps it’s because the holidays are one of the biggest times of the year for reconnecting with family, but this episode is a poignant one as Phoebe embarks on the journey of trying to find her father. This means taking a trip to Upstate New York with Chandler and Joey for the adventure, and while I'm not going to spoil the episode by revealing how the trip turns out, in true Friends fashion (you won't be crying if that helps), it doesn't exactly end in the way you would expect it to. Meanwhile, Ross and Rachel are over at Monica's place, which somehow results in Ross asking Rachel to make a list of all his cons within their relationship. When Ross gets this list back, however, he is a little shocked at some of the things that are on it, which leads to him becoming a bit on the compulsive side.

In between all of this is a radiator leak at Monica's resulting in a massive surge of unbearable heat, but such is the life of the Friends gang.