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Every December, Christmas swings into town bringing with it a bunch of rowdy friends (who hangs out with reindeer, seriously?!), a very specific playlist of their songs (some even about those rowdy friends!), and a lot of pre-made plans (yes, you are going to two different parties tonight!). Christmas is the most tradition-packed time of year, and when those Christmas traditions get filtered through the multi-cam merriment of sitcoms, they become Christmas tropes.
Over the past month, Christmas sitcoms have been the cookies to my Santa. I’ve gone to every house (a.k.a. major streaming service) and ate them all up (a.k.a. catalogued the kringle out of them). I’ve noticed that, duh, a lot of these seasonal sitcoms have a lot in common, and I’ve used those tropes to form the backbone of Decider’s Sitcom Advent Calendar and Decider’s Holly Jolly Sitcom Flowchart. Check them out, as they’re great guides to your season’s streamings.
But what are the tropes? Which traditions have become an indelible part of our most merry entertainment? While I tracked plenty of tropes (40, to be exact, because I cannot be stopped when it comes to Christmas and spreadsheets), these are the top of the top–the 10 Christmas tropes that pop up year after year, stretching all the way from the ’50s to today.
First, take another gander at our Holly Jolly Sitcom Flowchart, and then dive deeper into the tropes that make these episodes magical!
Decorating Indoors
The quickest way to establish that an episode is a Christmas episode is to show characters decking the heck out of their halls. This includes everything from putting up a Christmas tree to stringing lights on the tree or hanging ornaments–okay, yes, this trope usually involves a Christmas tree. But not always! Sometimes characters trim people instead of trees (like in Roseanne’s “No Place Like Home for the Holidays”), and some episodes take window displays to the next level (hello, Will & Grace’s “Jingle Balls”).
More Examples:
- That Girl, “Christmas and the Hard Luck Kid” (1966)
- Webster, “Simple Gifts” (1987)
- Bob’s Burgers, “Christmas in the Car” (2013)
The Perfect Gift
We all spend the holiday season striving to give the perfect gift and dreaming of receiving the perfect gift. The same goes for sitcom characters, except they tend to either want the hottest toy items (looking at you, Mark Taylor!) or be overly satisfied with the most mundane gifts (Oscar was way too into the trashcan Felix got him). Of course this trope involves BFFs proving how well they know each other, like Mary and Rhoda above.
More Examples:
- The Bob Newhart Show, “I’m Dreaming of a Slight Christmas” (1973)
- Frasier, “Frasier Grinch” (1995)
- New Girl, “Christmas Eve Eve” (2016)
Watch The Mary Tyler Moore Show's "Christmas and the Hard-Luck Kid II" on Hulu
A Terrible Gift
On the other end of the gift-giving spectrum, you have your terrible gifts. Sitcoms being sitcoms, terrible gifts are given just about as often as perfect ones. Opening a present in front of a live studio audience is a real roll of the Christmas dice, like when Dorothy opened up a maple syrup tap from Rose (perfect, as Dorothy says, for when she’s lost in the forest with a stack of pancakes). But hey, at least Rose’s gift was carved with love and not purchased on deep discount for being damaged like the stained cashmere sweater George bought for Elaine.
More Examples:
- The Bob Newhart Show, “Home Is Where The Hurt Is” (1974)
- Full House, “A Very Tanner Christmas” (1992)
- Community, “Comparative Religion” (2009)
Watch The Golden Girls' "'Twas the Nightmare Before Christmas" on Hulu
A Tree Disaster
Since a lot of these episodes start off with someone decorating a tree, usually with great care, there’s a lot of comedy to be mined from bringing a tree to its metaphorical knees. The Russo family’s tree goes up in flames on Blossom, and Lily straight up robs her own tree in How I Met Your Mother. This trope encompasses everything from faulty lights to trees just cracking in half (sorry, Harry). Trees don’t have it easy on sitcoms!
More Examples:
- Happy Days, “Guess Who’s Coming To Christmas” (1974)
- Perfect Strangers, “A Christmas Story” (1986)
- Reba, “Cookies For Santa” (2002)
Watch 3rd Rock from the Sun's "Jolly Old St. Dick" on Amazon Prime
Santa's In The Cast
Come on, if you’re a writer on a sitcom and Christmas rolls around, how can you resist transforming one of your characters into the jolly embodiment of the season? And if you’re an actor on a sitcom? You’re probably as eager to don the beard and suit as the character you’re playing (like Dre on Black-ish). But as Norm found out on Cheers, the gig can also be a little mortifying.
More Examples:
- The Dick Van Dyke Show, “The Alan Brady Show Presents” (1963)
- Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper, “Miracle in Oaktown” (1992)
- Happy Endings, “Grinches Be Crazy” (2011)
Carolers or a Choir
What’s Christmas without carols? And what are carols without carolers? Just old words on a page in a closed songbook, that’s what! The season ain’t complete without music and, in addition to using “Deck the Halls” and “Jingle Bells” as transition music, a lot of episodes–like Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s “Captain Latvia”–force their cast members to do the most dreaded thing of all: sing.
More Examples:
- The Lucy Show, “Lucy the Choirmaster” (1965)
- Home Improvement, “‘Twas the Blight Before Christmas” (1993)
- Bob’s Burgers, “The Last Gingerbread House on the Left” (2016)
Christmas Party
Christmas isn’t just a seasonal setting, it’s also an activity that brings people together (and thus leads to comedic conflicts, if you’re a human in a sitcom). Obviously these parties never go as planned. Who had it worse, the employees of Dunder Mifflin who had to endure a Yankee Swap from hell, or Bob and Emily Hartley’s super depressed guests?
More Examples:
- Wings, “Happy Holidays” (1993)
- Parks and Recreation, “Ron & Diane” (2012)
- The Mindy Project, “Josh and Mindy’s Christmas Party” (2012)
Mistletoe Joke
Honestly, no episode is ever built around mistletoe. It’s more seasonal flair, like fruitcake or gingerbread houses–and this stinky little kiss weed appears in way more episodes than those festive foods. In these episodes, mistletoe is usually an enabler of really obsessive crushes that are super icky in hindsight. Yes, I’m looking at you, Urkel. Laura said no! Repeatedly!
More Examples:
- Full House, “Our Very First Christmas Show” (1988)
- Sabrina the Teenage Witch, “Sabrina Claus” (1997)
- Bob’s Burgers, “God Rest Ye Merry Gentle-Mannequins” (2012)
Watch Family Matters' "Have Yourself A Merry Winslow Christmas" on Hulu
Santa Believer
If a family sitcom does a Christmas episode, then you should put money on one of the kids being a passionate believer in Old St. Nick. Also, where are you placing bets? That’s very specific. Anyway, these episodes can either prove that Santa is real (like Home Improvement and Full House did) or they can just feature a kid asking Santa of TBD credibility for a miracle, like in The Brady Bunch.
More Examples:
- Dennis the Menace, “The Christmas Story” (1959)
- Boy Meets World, “Santa’s Little Helper” (1993)
- Fresh off the Boat, “The Real Santa” (2015)
Visiting Family
Family sitcom or not, when the holidays roll around the guest stars come calling. As they should, as family drama makes for great comedy, especially if you drop a snooty curmudgeon like Jack Donaghy into a bunch of happy Lemons. This is also the time of year when forgotten kids come back, like Frasier’s son Frederick!
More Examples:
- Charles In Charge, “Home For The Holidays” (1984)
- Step By Step, “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” (1994)
- Sabrina the Teenage Witch, “Sabrina’s Perfect Christmas” (2000)
