Well, it’s the day after Thanksgiving. And you know what that means: turkey salad sandwiches, deeply discounted home appliances, and CHRISTMAS IS COMING OMG OMG IT’S CHRISTMAS I HOPE SANTA CLAUS BRINGS ME A KITCHENAID STAND MIXER.

In honor of this increasingly materialistic yet heart-warming holiday, I’d like to share some of my favorite Christmas entertainment with all of you. Hopefully, it will help bring you into the warm embrace of The Christmas Spirit.

Every T.V. show worth its salt has at least one Christmas episode. Some have so many that it brings their chronology into question - but I’ll get to that later. T.V. fans should hurry up and get festive with some of these, my favorite T.V. Christmas episodes - and if you don’t like this list, then make your own. There’s plenty of shows to go around.

That ’70s Show

The aforementioned chronology problems come into play here, as the final season of the show - its eighth - does not contain a Christmas episode, yet ends on December 31st 1979. Four Christmas episodes had already aired, and the show began in 1976. The last Christmas episode was halfway through the sixth season, which means that the second half, plus the entire seventh and eight seasons, must have taken place in five days for the show to make any sense.

Oh well, who cares? The earliest episodes are the best; in the first season “The Best Christmas Ever” gives Eric a chance to prove his daring ingenuity when he saves the $40 his father gives him for a Christmas tree, electing to chop down a wild one instead. At “Hyde’s Christmas Rager,” the gang learns the true meaning of Christmas - well, they at least learn that it’s not about getting wasted and ignoring parental guidance. In “An Eric Forman Christmas,” the gang takes over the church’s Christmas pageant, much to the chagrin of Pastor Dave. And in the simply-titled “Christmas,” Bob and Red fight over a mall Santa job.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Pickings are slim here, which kind of makes sense - as much as Buffy is a part of our world, there’s not much room for a Christian holiday in a world populated with demons. However, in the third season episode “Amends,” a very unlikely snowfall in Sunnydale, CA saves a tormented Angel from dying at sunrise. (Apparently, vampires can be out in he daylight as long as it’s dispersed by clouds. Whatever.) While atheist creator Joss Whedon won’t ascribe any particular religious or Christmas-y meaning to the episode, he freely admits that it was inspired by the sort of redemption myths that the Bible does so well. And if you so choose, this episode can very well be seen as a Christmas miracle.

Many more to come, including The Sopranos, Family Guy, and House. Don’t touch that dial! And if your T.V. has a dial, get a new T.V.!

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