Despite all the incredible Christmas TV on offer this year (and every year for that matter), sometimes you just want to chill out on the sofa to an old classic like Friends.
For millions, the TV series Friends has become almost a friend in itself, comforting us through harder times and this year especially - following the devastating passing of the phenomenal Matthew Perry - fans have flooded back to the show as the days get shorter, darker and colder.
But if you're someone that takes Christmas incredibly seriously and have restricted yourself to only festive viewings for the month of December, we've got you covered.
Across the eight series of Friends, we were treated to eight Christmas specials, and not only have we given you the episode name and number of each Christmas episode, but we've also ranked them from worst to best. You're welcome.
So take a look, make yourself a hot chocolate and load the episodes up on Netflix. Here are all eight Christmas episodes of Friends ranked from worst to best.
8. The One with Christmas in Tulsa (Season 9, Episode 10)
The One with Christmas in Tulsa is a passable, but pretty dull episode only redeemed by a sultry Selma Blair trying to flirt with Chandler. Across the rest of the episode we experience flashbacks to Friends' Christmases of days gone by.
7. The One with the Creepy Holiday Card (Season 9, Episode 11)
This barely feels like a Christmas episode – being an American show it feels like Thanksgiving gets all of the attention – but The One with the Creepy Holiday Card sees Ross panic when his girlfriend Mona suggests sending out a Christmas card.
It’s a perfectly fun episode but lacks real impact. Plus, we really hate the Ross/Mona relationship, which saw him constantly gaslight her.
6. The One with the Inappropriate Sister (Season 5, Episode 10)
Lisa Kudrow, as she so often does, lifts this otherwise forgettable episode into comedy gold. After she signs up to spread joy by collecting money as a Street Santa, she is buffeted by never-ending obstacles. Her delivery of the simple line ‘It’s nine o’clock in the morning’ is proof, if you needed it, that Lisa is a powerful comedic actress.
5. The One Where Rachel Quits (Season 3, Episode 10)
Another ‘Lisa Kudrow is amazing’ entry: Phoebe’s face when she discovers that unwanted Christmas trees get destroyed is perfection, and the whole plotline reenforces the sense that her character has interesting, deep-seated traumas beneath the kooky shell. Her friends’ reaction to her sadness is actually quite moving.
4. The One with the Holiday Armadillo (Season 7, Episode 10)
It’s established here and there – through references to a Bat Mitzvah, for example – that Ross and Monica are Jewish, but this episode is the first time that Ross really shows an interest in teaching his young son Ben about this heritage.
The whole Armadillo bit is pretty fun – Ross may be insufferable but David Schwimmer is the best physical comedian in the cast – and the arrival of Chandler in Santa Claus garb provides a genuine laugh-out-loud moment.
3. The One with Phoebe’s Dad (Season 2, Episode 9)
Phoebe’s search for a sense of belonging – later seen through the discovery of her birth mother and her half-brother Frank Junior – kicks off in earnest in this episode, the first Friends Christmas episode.
It’s a solid, festive piece that reenforces the meaning of the holiday, and Chandler and Joey’s distribution of presents – ‘They’re ribbed for your pleasure’ – is still pretty funny.
2. The One with the Routine (Season 6, Episode 10)
Again, not the most Christmassy of episodes, but its winter setting and the plot following Phoebe, Rachel and Chandler searching for Monica’s presents means that it earns its place on the list. Why so high? Because Monica and Ross’s dance routine at Dick Clark’s New Years Rockin’ Eve party – filmed weeks before the live NYE event – is truly hilarious. Remember what we said about David Schwimmer and physical comedy?
1. The One with the Girl from Poughkeepsie (Season 4, Episode 10)
Again, it’s one iconic moment that really pulls this episode up the list. You can forget the festive-free plotlines of Rachel’s awful date and Joey getting a job with Monica. The absolute highlight is Phoebe’s now-famous Christmas composition. Are you with me? ‘Monica, Monica, have a happy Hannukah…’
Daisy Hall is a News and Entertainment writer on Grazia, specialising in TV and film meaning that you can count on Daisy for the latest (and best) recommendations.