The weeks leading up to the holidays are especially slow, but there is one thing that builds up excitement and passes the time: holiday episodes. Here, I am going to list five of my favorite ones, what they’re about, and where you can find them.

Friends, “The One with Phoebe’s Dad” (season 2 episode 9):
Friends is a classic show to watch any time of the year and has ten different holiday episodes, but season 2, episode 9 one stands out the most. One thing that makes the holidays special is family and in this episode that is a key part of the storyline. Phoebe spent her whole life thinking her father was in Asia, but then finds out he’s in New York. This leads her to go with Chandler and Joey to confront him. On top of this, Rachel and Monica threw a Christmas party that went completely wrong after Ross broke the radiator. Overall, this episode has an emotional storyline that’s perfectly balanced with one storyline perfect for a good laugh. Friends is currently streaming on HBO Max.

Gossip Girl, “Roman Holiday” (season 1 episode 11):
Gossip girl is known for its iconic Thanksgiving moments but its Christmas episodes are criminally underrated. My personal favorite is the one in season 1. In this episode, Blair’s dad comes home for Christmas but brings an unexpected guest: his boyfriend Roman. As she always does, Blair comes up with many schemes to get rid of him, even trying to seriously injure him at one point while ice skating. On top of that, Dan and Serena are struggling to come up with gifts for each other and seek help from each other’s friends. The episode concludes with heartwarming endings of both storylines and is a feel-good episode perfect for building up excitement for the holidays. Gossip Girl is currently streaming on HBO Max.

Gilmore Girls, “A Woman of Questionable Morals” (season 5 episode 11):
One thing about Lorelai is that she loves the snow. That is a key part of this episode. One of her favorite traditions is drinking coffee and watching the snow at the hotel she owns. These plans soon fall through by a series of mishaps at the hotel. This causes her to turn her love of snow to hate, and she is upset that something she loved so much could turn sour. A sweet surprise at the end puts her back in a good mood though. Elsewhere, Rory is consoling Christopher after his dad passed, and Stars Hollow does a revolutionary war reenactment. I love this episode because it isn’t so holiday focused, so I can relate to it more while looking forward to the holidays. It is a perfect episode for the time of year without being so niche. Gilmore girls is currently streaming on HBO Max and Netflix.

New Girl, “The 23d” (season 1 episode 9):
Although many TV shows have amazing Christmas episodes, this one also shows how Jews feel during the holiday. The episode features Schmidt being upset because Hanukkah already passed and all of his friends are in the Christmas spirit. This anger causes him to throw his own Christmas party where he was dressed in a Santa outfit and got gossip from his coworkers by asking them what they wanted for Christmas. Elsewhere in the episode there is drama between Jess and Paul about gifts and the state of their relationship. I love this episode because as a Jew myself, I get jealous of everyone getting excited for Christmas when my holiday has already passed. It is an emotional yet funny episode that shows everything that makes New Girl a classic.

Glee, “A Very Glee Christmas” (season 2 episode 10):
Glee is a lot of things, some good and some bad, but one thing it does great are the holiday episodes. This one is where Sue Sylvester (my personal favorite character) is the best part. Her and the other Mckinley staff are planning on doing a secret santa but Sue manipulates it so that she is the one that receives all the gifts. Meanwhile, Brittany still believes in Santa and asks him for her present to be her boyfriend Artie gaining the ability to walk. One last major storyline is Rachel trying to win Finn back after cheating on him. I love this episode because it is everything the holidays should be. Nothing is too deep and there are lots of feel-good moments. Glee is streaming on Hulu and Disney Plus.

Overall, these are (in my opinion) the best holiday episodes on TV right now. Binge them along with plenty of others to make the time leading up to the holidays go by even faster!