If you're anything like me, you will have been counting down the days to the festive period since the first wisp of cold wind came crashing through your summer. Others mourn as the days get shorter and the triple layer outfits come out of hibernation, but for people like us, the day that hot water bottle gets its first go at the foot of your bed, is a day of celebration.
Okay, maybe I’m a little bit too into Christmas - we all have our hobbies - but you can’t deny that with the advent of the season comes a whole host of truly excellent TV. Christmas is all flashing lights, nonsensically unhealthy food (meat wrapped in meat?!) and obediently hugging relatives you despise: the TV has to work harder to get our attention.
So without further ado and in no particular order, here’s our list of the best Christmas specials to get stuck into. Because if there’s one other thing that’s great about the Christmas season, it’s the only time of year where cancelling plans to watch TV in your pants is considered “festive”.
The Vicar of Dibley - "The Christmas Lunch Incident"
A classic one to start the season. In a bid not to upset her parishioners, Geraldine (Dawn French) agrees to eat four different Christmas dinners complete with a brussel sprout competition and a very large and unconventional plate of tripe.
The Inbetweeners - "Xmas Party"
Will is in charge of the school's Christmas Party Committee, and ropes in Neil, Simon and Jay to help him out (read: ruin it).
Mr Bean - "Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean"
Mr Bean gets into a all sorts of scrapes try to set up for Christmas. He then decides to surprise his girlfriend with something over Christmas dinner.
Peep show - "Seasonal Beatings"
Mark is hosting Christmas for his parents, sister and Jez but unexpectedly Dobby also makes an appearance, and it all goes wrong over dinner.
Only Fools and Horses - "Heroes and Villains"
It's not been a good day for the the Trotters, so Rodney and Del decide to go to a fancy dress party as Batman and Robin, but when they arrive they discover they've missed the memo...
Modern Family - "Undeck the Halls"
Claire and Phil find evidence that someone has been smoking in the house so they cancel Christmas until one of the kids owns up.
Gavin and Stacey - "Christmas Special"
The Barry lot come to Essex for Christmas day, which ends up kicking off when Gavin announces he's moving to Wales.
The OC - "The Best Chrismukkah Ever"
The Cohen family celebrate their annual Christmas x Hanukkah celebration, with inevitable and chaotic twists. Big dramz in Orange County.
Outnumbered - "Christmas Special (2009)"
It's Boxing Day and the family has been selectively burgled. Meanwhile Sue's dad goes missing from the care home where he lives.
Blackadder - "Blackadder's Christmas Carol"
The Blackadder cast does a parody version of Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol.
I'm Alan Partridge - "Knowing Me, Knowing Yule with Alan Partridge"
Small-time radio DJ, Alan Partridge does his Christmas special but added pressure, sine the second season of his show is on thin ice.
Friends - "The one with the Holiday Armadillo"
Ross wants to teach his son Ben about Hanukkah alongside Christmas but it's too late to rent a Santa suit so he goes for the only costume left in the shop...
The Simpsons - "Simpson's Roasting on an Open Fire"
Bart gets a tattoo and the family is therefore forced to spend all their savings on removing it. As a result, Homer has to become a shop Santa to make some money for Christmas.
The Office UK - "The Office Christmas Special Part 1 & 2"
It's the two part finale of the show, where the office gets festive and Dawn and Tim FINALLY get together. It's a Christmas miracle.
The Snowman
Guaranteed you can't read those words without your brain going, "WE'RE WALKING IN THE AAAIIIIIIRRRR". The classic grainy cartoon of a boy whose snowman comes to life and flies him all over London.
The Fresh Prince of Bel Air - "Deck the Halls"
When he finds out that Ashley has never had a proper Christmas before (his aunt and uncle pay a Beverley Hills store to decorate for them), Will decides to go all out, until his angry neighbours pay him a visit.
The Office US - "Christmas Party"
The team exchange secret santa gifts, but Michael becomes annoyed when he finds he was the only one who didn't follow the $20 limit - buying his secret santa an iPod - so he makes everyone swap gifts.
Kenan and Kel - "Merry Christmas, Kenan"
Kenan gets a job as Santa in a department store and ends up helping a struggling single mum by playing Santa for her kids. Don't worry, it's okay to shed a festive tear.
The Royale Family - "The Royale Family at Christmas"
The family come round to spend Christmas at the Royale's but Jim is annoyed because he thinks nobody has bought him anything. By the end of the show it turns out they got him the only think he could ever want... love a Sky TV subscription.
Parks and Recreation - "Citizen Knope"
The parks department club together to make the perfect Christmas present for Leslie who is on suspension after revealing her relationship with her colleague Ben.
The Great Festive Bake Off 2017
I know there's a new one of these every year, but this one includes Selasi, Val, mince pies, yule logs and a snow-globe showstopper. It's clearly a TV showstopper all if it's own.
Glee - "A Very Glee Christmas"
While the school gets into the Christmas spirit, Sue Sylvester dresses up as the Grinch and tampers with the secret Santa process to ensure she gets all the presents.
So there it is; the ultimate Christmas specials list, in all it's festive glory! Have a holly jolly binge, my friends.
Disclaimer: You may have noticed that The Downton Abbey Christmas special was not included in this list. The reason why should be obvious so anyone who sobbed through it at the time. #NeverAgain.
Like this article? Sign up to our newsletter to get more articles like this delivered straight to your inbox.
