As a long-time friend of these characters, I can confidently say that “The One With Phoebe’s Dad” is undeniably the best Christmas episode of Friends. The heartwarming journey Phoebe takes to find her father in upstate New York, accompanied by the ever-reliable Joey and Chandler, perfectly encapsulates the spirit of reunion and forgiveness that the holiday season embodies.
This list was originally published on December 22, 2020. We’re republishing now for anyone debating which episodes to rewatch ahead of the holidays.
Various rankings of the popular “Friends” Thanksgiving specials have been shared, with “The One With All the Thanksgivings” often taking the top spot due to its depiction of Chandler’s first meeting with Monica and Joey’s turkey-on-the-head incident. However, it’s important to note that the show also boasted some unforgettable Christmas episodes as well.
It’s true that almost every sitcom and drama, ranging from “I Love Lucy” to “South Park” and “This Is Us”, include holiday episodes. Some are excellent, like the ones in “Everybody Loves Raymond”, while others can be painfully sweet or unrealistic, ruining the show’s atmosphere and making you promise never to watch that specific episode again. However, what sets the “Friends” Christmas episodes apart is much like what makes every “Friends” episode unique: a stellar cast, exceptional writing, genuine humor, and poignant moments. The show possessed an air of sophistication – a smart, likable, robust quality that none of the “Friends” imitations that followed, or indeed, most sitcoms in general, were able to achieve.
To celebrate the holiday mood, we’re listing all ten Christmas episodes from the entire run of ‘Friends’. Interestingly, season seven featured two such festive episodes, while the final season didn’t have any because the series took a break until January of the next year. In essence… they were taking a winter break!
All ten seasons of Friends are now streaming on Max.
10. “The One With Ross’s Step Forward” (Season 8, Episode 11)
In this episode titled “The One With Ross’s Step Forward,” the storyline is amusingly relatable, like Chandler spending time with his shady boss, but it ranks last due to its initiation of a problematic narrative arc, arguably the worst in the entire series of Friends, and potentially even in television history. Worse than the Nikki and Paolo storylines on Lost, worse than the final seasons of Sleepy Hollow, and certainly more frustrating than Toby’s predicament in the last season of The West Wing.
Indeed, I’m referring to the point where Joey and Rachel start dating. That’s the episode that sets off this rather outrageous storyline, and honestly, just contemplating it leaves me feeling so enraged that I could potentially hurt an innocent puppy, so let’s move on.
9. The One With All the Candy” (Season 7, Episode 9)
Although the plot of Ross buying Phoebe the bike she never had as a kid is undeniably sweet, the rest of this episode seems like a rehash of the No. 1 episode on this list, only replacing homemade cookies with homemade candy. It’s rather mundane and almost completely unfunny.
Is this even a Christmas episode? Well, Monica does have a tree.
8. “The One With Christmas in Tulsa” (Season 9, Episode 10)
Titled ‘The One With Christmas in Tulsa,’ this Friends episode could have been one of the stronger Christmas episodes, but because it features clips from previous episodes, it tends to rank lower. However, it does manage to improve slightly by showing Chandler, who was working on Christmas, quitting his job and returning to New York to celebrate the holidays with his friends rather than dining with a coworker in Tulsa. (No euphemism here, there really was a ham on hand.) The episode concludes warmly, with the group united and gentle snowfall outside the window, setting a festive mood.
7. “The One With the Monkey” (Season 1, Episode 10)
In the world of Friends, my personal take is that one of the less favorable storylines was Ross’s acquisition of the pesky pet monkey, Marcel. Thankfully, this storyline was short-lived and concluded swiftly after only a few episodes (David Schwimmer found working with him quite challenging). It’s ironic how Chandler and Joey’s tales involving a girlfriend and a duck played out seamlessly throughout the series, but poor ol’ Marcel just didn’t hit the mark. I guess monkeys aren’t as funny or entertaining as we thought they were!
In essence, ‘The One With the Monkey’ can be seen as a New Year’s Eve special, as the characters grapple with the question of what to do when the clock strikes midnight and end up making a ‘no-dating’ agreement. It’s an episode that you might find yourself categorizing as a holiday classic, given its festive decorations like garlands and artificial snow.
6. “The One With the Routine” (Season 6, Episode 10)
As I step into the role of a loyal fan, I’d say “The One With the Routine” takes on an air of New Year’s Eve festivities. Joining forces with Janice, Monica, Ross, and Joey become part of the crowd dancers for Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Year’s Eve (or, as our Australian friend, Janice, humorously calls it, Dickin’ Rockin’ Dickie Eve). Despite this, the storyline also unfolds with the rest of the gang scrambling to find Monica’s hidden Christmas gifts.
From my perspective, let me share two intriguing aspects about that subplot:
Without a doubt, the most memorable part of that episode is when Ross and Monica performed their dance routine. If such a performance took place live on a New Year’s Eve television show today, the video would swiftly become viral. People all over social media would be making jokes, sharing sarcastic comments, creating humorous GIFs, and using the hashtag: #newyearscrazydance.
(A side note: It’s amazing what gets cut out for the syndicated repeats that air on TV every day — for time and to fit in more commercials on channels like TV Land and TBS. For example, this episode has a scene in which Rachel, Phoebe, and Chandler go to Central Perk and Rachel flirts with Gunther to see if he knows where Monica’s gifts are hidden, but it’s never shown in reruns. I don’t think I’ve seen that segment since it first aired on NBC in 1999.)
5. “The One With the Inappropriate Sister” (Season 5, Episode 10)
It’s unclear if you find the subject matter of incest to be celebratory – perhaps we could coin a term, “incestive,” for this occasion – but that’s essentially what this episode revolves around. Rachel’s latest boyfriend, Danny, who appeared to be an ordinary individual who would blend seamlessly with the Central Perk crowd, seems to have, let’s just say, an unusually close bond with his sibling.
In the shared apartment of Joey, Chandler, and Ross (by now they all reside together; it’s important to note that Ross isn’t jobless, he’s “on sabbatical”), Ross aids Joey in scriptwriting, an act that irritates Chandler, who perceives Ross as overly bossy and serious.
However, the Christmas segment of the episode is quite amusing because Phoebe stands at the Salvation Army kettle, which is strategically located outside Macy’s, and encounters drunken individuals and people tossing trash into the collection kettle. It’s refreshing to witness Phoebe showing her tougher side – or as she terms it, “Street Phoebe” – on occasion. I can’t help but think that Phoebe might have a mischievous streak in her!
4. “The One With the Holiday Armadillo” (Season 7, Episode 10)
In this episode titled “The One With the Holiday Armadillo,” Ross, who is enthusiastic about Christmas, tries to introduce Hanukkah to his son Ben instead. Since there are no Santa suits available for rent, he opts for an armadillo costume instead. During this same episode, Chandler takes Monica to a fancy restaurant but struggles to tip the maître d’ to secure a table. Simultaneously, Phoebe and Rachel’s apartment repairs are completed, leading Phoebe to encourage Rachel to return from Joey’s place and live with her again. In an attempt to make Rachel miss her old living arrangement, Phoebe gives her annoying gifts like a loud drum set and a tarantula, which Rachel appreciates because she had one as a child, until the family cat ate it, causing its untimely demise.
“This individual earns bonus points for the exceptional delivery of ‘What on earth are you doing here… strange fellow… turtle-man?!’ by Matthew Perry.
3. “The One With the Girl From Poughkeepsie” (Season 4, Episode 10)
Title rephrased: “The Episode Featuring the Girl from Poughkeepsie” may not be overflowing with traditional Christmas spirit, however, it showcases Phoebe’s festive tune about the group (“Please tell Joey / Snow will be on its way”). This addition elevates the episode slightly. In this installment, Joey acquires a job at Monica’s restaurant solely to enable her to dismiss him and demonstrate firmness towards her staff who dislike her. Meanwhile, Chandler orchestrates a setup between Rachel and one of his colleagues (she has intimacy with him on their initial date, fearing he may misinterpret her intentions). However, my preferred subplot revolves around Ross, who is simultaneously dating two women. It would be intriguing to explore a study on how Ross manages to win over so many female admirers. One of them resides uptown, while the other lives a distance of two hours away. He finds himself exhausted from maintaining these relationships. Should he continue seeing both? Or should he focus on the woman who lives nearby, considering her proximity?
A memorable line from Ross: “Well, I want to give her another chance, ya know? She lives so close. And at the end of the date, she said something that was, if she was kidding, was really funny. On the other hand, if she wasn’t kidding, she’s not fun; she’s stupid and kind of a racist.”
2. “The One Where Rachel Quits” (Season 3, Episode 10)
Following Gunther informing Rachel that she needs additional training despite her long tenure at Central Perk (despite not being particularly skilled), Joey and Chandler persuade her to leave the job. Given that her entire work experience consists of being a waitress, it’s not exactly an impressive resume, no matter how large the font size. Concurrently, Ross inadvertently breaks a Girl Scout’s leg (apologies to the Brown Bird) and assists her in selling cookies door-to-door so she can secure a trip to space camp. Notably, the young actress portraying the girl is Mae Whitman.
In this episode, Joey takes on a job selling Christmas trees, which upsets Phoebe as she dislikes the idea of discarding old trees by either tossing them away or grinding them into wood chips. However, the group comes to the rescue and collects all the old Christmas trees, surprising Phoebe with them in Monica’s apartment instead. This incident underscores the fact that everyone seems to spend a considerable amount of time at Monica’s place, given that they could have easily placed the trees in Phoebe’s apartment instead.
For quite some time, I’ve pondered over the fate of those holiday trees from Christmas. Could it be that Phoebe felt disheartened once more when they were discarded for a second time? In the following episode titled “The One Where Chandler Can’t Remember Which Sister,” however, these trees are nowhere to be found.
1. “The One With Phoebe’s Dad” (Season 2, Episode 9)
Phoebe finally finds out from her grandmother that the father who ran out on her family isn’t actually a famous tree surgeon in Burma but a pharmacist in upstate New York. She decides to go and confront him during Christmas and is accompanied by Joey and Chandler. The trip takes so much time that the guys don’t have a chance to do any shopping, so they buy the gang some things at a gas station on the way back, including cans of soda, toilet-seat protectors, and condoms. (This is the episode after the one where Rachel gets mad at Ross for making a list comparing her to Julie, so things are still tense between them. She refuses his Slinky gift, so he gives it to Gunther.)
During Monica and Rachel’s Christmas celebration, things take an unexpected turn into a tropical-themed bash when Ross unintentionally breaks the radiator knob, and Mr. Treeger can’t replace it until after the holiday. Naturally, everyone assumes Mr. Treeger is being uncooperative because they didn’t give him cash as a Christmas present, instead of cookies. Such a predicament seems to be exclusive to sitcoms; in reality, one might expect someone at the party to figure it out sooner!
The key factor behind this episode’s popularity is the soothing tune of Nat King Cole’s “The Christmas Song,” which played as Joey and Chandler chatted with Phoebe in a taxi about her father. This classic holiday song instantly transports you into a festive spirit, helping to elevate “The One With Phoebe’s Dad” to the top tier of favorite episodes.
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2024-12-19 18:55