Simpsons Roasting On An Open Fire (Season 1)
The opening episode that finally gave the family their own full time show. In 1989, the first episode was also the first Christmas episode we got and it did an excellent job of introducing the titular family and some of the characters around them. The plot largely centered around Homer not getting his Christmas bonus while getting a second job as a mall Santa. It also marked the debut of Santa's Little Helper.
Miracle On Evergreen Terrace (Season 9)
The one where Bart accidentally wrecks Christmas for his family and the entire neighbourhood find out his misdeed in a rather public way. This is definitely one of my favourite Christmas themed episodes from the show as for once, it's one where Bart does something bad with serious enough consequences, even if the ending sees the townsfolk forgive the Simpsons a little too quickly before clearing their house out.
Gift Of The Magi (Season 11)
The timing of this episode was interesting as it came out around the same time that Furbies were a thing and this episode exploited that idea to the max as the kids of Springfield Elementary with Funzo being the hottest toy around. There's a good commentary on commercialization as well as a great voice cameo from Gary Cole.
Skinner's Sense Of Snow (Season 12)
The last thing any student (including even Lisa and Martin Prince) want to be is trapped in the school over the festive and when Skinner exerts his authority, it didn't take long for the students to rebel and Homer and Ned to mount a rescue for the snowed in kids. Good thing there was a silo of salt to knock over or else Skinner would've gotten another terrible DVD to torture the kids with.
She Of Little Faith (Season 13)
Also known as the one where Lisa went for Buddhism and Marge resorted to various tactics including a pretend pony in order to get her daughter back to Christianity. There's some great jokes in the episode and it's definitely one of the more thought provoking Christmas episodes the show has done in it's long history.
'Tis The 15th Season (Season 15)
Think How The Grinch Stole Christmas meets A Christmas Carol and essentially this is what this episode would be in a nutshell. Homer's selfishness saw him alienated from his family so he chose to amend his ways with his niceness causing even Ned Flanders to express some jealousy for good measure. The episode has some follow up from the previous special with Lisa's Buddhism also coming into play as she advised Homer not to compete with Flanders buying everyone a present.
Simpsons Christmas D'Oh (Season 17)
Anthologies are usually the making of the Halloween episodes, but Christmas episodes have also had them and this one gave us three new takes on the likes of the Nativity, Nutcracker and seeing Santa Claus. I did love Grandpa's wrath for Santa along with learning a bit more about Abe's other family and of course this show's take on Jesus's birth was done brilliantly.
Kill Gill, Volumes I & II (Season 18)
Gill being one of life's losers has been a recurring theme throughout the show for a good few seasons but when he loses everything and winds up as a guest at the Simpsons. He soon overextends his welcome and Marge's patience by several months and when Gill finally gets on his feet, Marge's desire to her own back also puts him back to square one. There's also a subplot involving Grinches that's dealt with as an afterthought though.
Holidays Of Future Passed (Season 23)
Over the years we've had plenty of jumps into possible futures for the Simpson clan, so it made sense that one of them would form the basis of a Christmas episode. In this one, both Bart and Lisa struggle with their own kids while Maggie (who has become a famous rock singer) is about to have her own kid while Homer keeps Abe on ice, Marge undermines Lisa's parenting and Ralph has been cloned quite a lot but they're getting killed throughout the episode.
The Nightmare After Krustmas (Season 28)
If we can have a Christmas episode where Lisa converts to Buddhism, then an episode where Krusty considers converting to Christianity as a way to bond with his rarely seen daughter, Sophie is an interesting enough idea. There's also a rather sinister take on the Elf On The Shelf craze when Maggie makes a rather unpleasant new friend. As for whether or not Krusty actually converted though did make for an amusing debate between Gods during the end of this episode.
'Tis The 30th Season (Season 30)
Airing in 2018, this one saw the family head to the strangest theme park, following Marge being stressed by Christmas. There's a guest role from former Glee actor, Jane Lynch as the rather mean spirited Jeanie but while the episode isn't quite as festive flavoured as previous ones, the family do end up with a smart TV and a chance to watch a Christmas special of their own by the end of this one.
Bobby, It's Cold Outside (Season 31)
The latest Christmas episode which aired on FOX a little over a week ago, this one saw Sideshow Bob unable to kill Bart as it would see him breaking character as a mall Santa. There's also a plot involving a thief with the initials SB but as the episode progressed, Lisa realised there was a more heartbreaking backstory for this particular Christmas thief.
There's a round up of some the Christmas episodes to watch. What's your favourite Christmas episode of The Simpsons? Oh and Merry Christmas everyone.
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