Although The lone Gilmore Girls Halloween episode barely mentions the holiday, while the Easter egg hunt in season 4, episode 16, “Tick Tick Tick Boom,” is mostly a background gag. That said, the show truly knew how to celebrate Christmas thanks to the small-town setting of Gilmore Girls and its warmhearted tone.

Over the years, seven episodes of the original series and one episode of its 2016 revival miniseries A Year in the Life celebrated Christmas in various ways. Although Logan left Gilmore Girls before the finale, the first episode of A Year in the Life revealed he was very much still a part of Rory’s life a decade later. Earlier in the show’s run, season 7 offered viewers two Christmas-themed outings in a row, while seasons 5 and 6 both centered their festive episodes around family. Before that, the first three Gilmore Girls Christmas episodes took place largely in Stars Hollow.

8 “Winter,” A Year in the Life, Episode 1

A Year in the Life’s Rocky Revival Begins In Winter

The worst Christmas episode of Gilmore Girls started the show’s 2016 revival, and beginning with a Christmas special was always guaranteed to be a risky move. Christmas is a great time to end stories but an odd time to start them, and sentimental viewers who hadn't seen the titular Gilmores in ten years didn’t necessarily want their comeback to arrive in the freezing depths of winter. The loss of Lorelai’s father Richard shaped A Year in the Life, episode 1, “Winter,” and it makes the revival’s first outing surprisingly downbeat. Unfortunately, Rory’s A Year in the Life storyline didn’t help.

It is hard to call “Winter” the worst episode of the revival as it doesn’t share the egregious body-shaming of “Summer.”

Far from the ambitious journalist she seemed like in season 7’s finale, Rory is burnt out and underemployed when A Year in the Life begins. The wintry episode introduces her forgettable fiancé Paul and reveals she is still sleeping with Logan, both details that made this outing a tough one for viewers to love. Upon a re-watch, it is hard to call “Winter” the worst episode of the revival as it doesn’t share the egregious body-shaming of “Summer.” However, the episode still feels like a misfire and a harbinger of more disappointment to come, making it the worst Gilmore Girls Christmas episode.

7 “Santa’s Secret Stuff,” Season 7, Episode 11

Lorelai and Christopher's Dynamic Drag Down This Festive Outing

Season 7, episode 11, “Santa’s Secret Stuff,” wins points for being one of the most Christmassy episodes of Gilmore Girls, but, like much of the show’s divisive season 7, it doesn’t have a lot else going for it. Christopher’s daughter is ittedly adorable and the idea of the Gilmores celebrating Christmas late for Rory’s sake is the sort of quirky plot that the show usually nails. However, Lorelai and Christopher’s Gilmore Girls marriage is still a terrible idea no matter how much the pair try to make it work here, and this reality can’t help but sour an otherwise able outing.

6 “Merry Fisticuffs,” Season 7, Episode 10

Christopher and Luke’s Christmas Fight Makes Up For Many Shortcomings

If Lorelai and Christopher’s marriage ruins “Santa’s Secret Stuff,” it is worth noting that it also salvages the preceding episode, “Merry Fisticuffs.” Set over the same Christmas, this season 7 standout sees Luke and Christopher finally hash out their unspoken rivalry over Lorelai. This results in one of the show’s funniest moments ever as the two middle-aged men face off in a sea of Stars Hollow Christmas decorations and almost immediately realize they aren’t as young or fit as they once were. The ensuing old man fight is comically pitiable, and Luke vs Christopher makes “Merry Fisticuffs” a hilariously fun Gilmore Girls Christmas episode, if hardly heartwarming or festive.

5 “Just Like Gwen and Gavin,” Season 6, Episode 12

Logan and Rory’s Christmas Episode Is A Fun One

Season 6, Episode 12, “Just Like Gwen and Gavin,” arrived just before the funniest episode of Gilmore Girls, “Friday Night’s Alright For Fighting." Together, the one-two punch could arguably redeem the reputation of season 6. Although detractors correctly note that many of the most hated Gilmore Girls plotlines began before season 7, there is still a lot of fun to be had in this overstuffed outing. Kirk taking over the Stars Hollow Winter Carnival because Taylor can’t leave the house due to snow is a recipe for hilarity, as is Paul Anka’s fortune-telling stall.

Paris’s tyrannical reign at the student newspaper coming to a well-deserved end is very funny but scarcely festive.

However, Luke’s interminable plot line with his secret daughter April drags down this Gilmore Girls episode, keeping it from becoming a holiday classic. Paris’s tyrannical reign at the student newspaper coming to a well-deserved end is very funny but scarcely festive, while Logan’s attempts to woo Rory again are romantic and extravagant but also feel like they could have arrived at any point in the season. Ultimately, “Just Like Gwen and Gavin,” is an all-round solid outing that only falls down because, outside the Stars Hollow Winter Carnival subplot, the episode isn’t all that Christmas-themed.

4 “That’ll Do Pig” Season 3, Episode 10

Paris and Emily Make This Christmas Special A Highlight

If there is one thing that is often associated with the holiday season, it is families getting together for better or worse. As such, it makes sense that Richard’s elderly mother returns in season 3, episode 10, “That’ll Do Pig,” forcing Emily to open her heart and home a little more than she is accustomed to doing. Coming only one episode after Gilmore Girls revealed the harsh reality about Lorelai’s feud with her parents and its impact on Rory, this outing proves that Emily is no better at handling her elders than her daughter.

3 “Forgiveness and Stuff,” Season 1, Episode 10

The First Gilmore Girls Christmas Is Surprisingly Dramatic

Season 1, episode 10, “Forgiveness and Stuff,” sees Lorelai effectively uninvited from the Gilmore family Christmas party when she can’t make it on time due to work. Lorelai missing out on her family’s Christmas is sad, but it does result in a sweet moment with Luke, and proceedings take a turn for the dramatic when Richard is rushed to the ER after collapsing. All told, this early-season standout has everything viewers could want from the first Gilmore Girls Christmas episode. The rat-a-tat dialogue is present and correct and Lorelai’s complicated relationship with Richard and Emily is just starting to come into focus.

Everyone’s perspective gets a chance to shine in the aptly-titled “Forgiveness and Stuff.”

Meanwhile, she and Luke have a simmering chemistry that builds up over the following season and Dean’s relationship with Rory is starting to hit its first snags. While Lorelai might overreact to the pair’s first adolescent dalliance, Lorelei’s tragic Gilmore Girls backstory justifies her fear that her daughter’s path in life might be defined by some youthful indiscretions. This means that everyone’s perspective gets a chance to shine in the aptly-titled “Forgiveness and Stuff,” a rare episode where all three generations of the Gilmore family manage to successfully share the spotlight despite the show’s limited screen time.

2 “Women of Questionable Morals,” Season 5, Episode 11

Season 5’s Yuletide Episode Is The Show’s Most Festive Outing

The surreal war reenactment of season 5, episode 11, “Women of Questionable Morals,” ensures it is a typically wacky yuletide outing for the series. However, outside this comedic subplot, season 5’s Gilmore Girls Christmas episode feels like a Hallmark movie set in Stars Hollow. This is no bad thing as, whether it is Christopher and Luke getting over their differences, Richard and Emily finding a dog, or Luke building Lorelai an ice-skating rink, “Women of Questionable Morals” is brimming with Christmas spirit. Lorelai and Luke’s relationship may be imperfect, but it is hard to argue with this romantic gesture.

“Women of Questionable Morals” also manages to make Lorelai’s recurring love of snow into its central gag, as the weather seemingly conspires to rob her of her childlike wonder. Like Gilmore Girls’ Jess, Lorelai did eventually need to grow up but was also lovable precisely because of her youthful brashness. Luke preserves this streak and indirectly holds onto her love of snow when he builds her the ice-skating rink to ensure that Lorelai doesn’t forget why she loved winter before it “Ruined her foot modeling career” with a sprained ankle. It’s a sweet gesture that proves just how perfect the two are for each other.

1 “The Bracebridge Dinner,” Season 2, Episode 10

Season 2 Presents Viewers With A Perfectly Gilmore Girls Christmas

If "Women of Questionable Morals” is the snowiest episode of the show, season 2, episode 10, “The Bracebridge Dinner” is the best Gilmore Girls Christmas episode all-round. In this sweet episode, Lorelai is left with an elaborate winter feast and no one to celebrate it as a holiday convention gets stranded in the snow outside Stars Hollow. Overcome by the holiday spirit, Lorelai invites the entire town to come and celebrate Christmas at the inn and enjoy the sumptuous banquet and holiday fair that has been prepared for the absent revelers. Jess and Rory’s Gilmore Girls relationship also plays a major role.

GIlmore Girls and A Year in the Life are now available to stream on Netflix.

In this outing, Jess finally thaws a little as his rivalry with Dean grows more obvious. Jess’s attraction to Rory was never hidden, but “The Bracebridge Dinner” finally sees the teen rebel let his guard down and show her his human side. It is a sweet storyline that cements his status as one of Rory’s best boyfriends, and it arrives at a perfect time to elevate this from a solid festive outing to the show’s strongest Christmas episode. While Gilmore Girls featured the holiday eight times across its seven seasons and 2016 revival, the show never managed to capture the spirit of Christmas the way it did in “The Bracebridge Dinner" again.