So you want to laugh and celebrate all the joys of Christmas? Well, here are some episodes of sitcoms of the 2000s that fit the bill.
The Office – (S2, Ep10) – “Christmas Party”
This episode marks the first round of holiday episodes in this classic workplace comedy set at the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company of Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Michael decides to do something different for the employees and buys alcohol for the staff even though it breaks corporate policy. Jim pours his heart into Pam’s gift putting a ton of special things in there so he might be able to tell her his true feelings. But then Michael decides to do Santa swap so everyone can decide if they want the gift bought by their Secret Santa or swap it with someone else. When the episode aired it was the highest ranked episode of the season and is probably one of the biggest reasons this show holds such a special place in people’s hearts. The Office ran from 2005-2013, with 188 episodes over nine seasons.
New Girl – (S1, Ep9) –“The 23rd”
Paul gives Jess two tickets to the Salzburg Festival in Germany and tells her he loves her. Schmidt invites everyone to his office Christmas party, where he is assigned to be “sexy Santa” and Winston becomes very friendly with the boss. This sitcom, which ran from 2011-2018, tells the story of a kindergarten teacher who becomes the only female roommate of three single men. They support each other over 146 episodes.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine – (S3, Ep10) – “Yippie Kayak”
While doing some last-minute Christmas shopping, Jake, Gina and Boyle become hostages at the mall. Amy decides to take part in a Polar Swim event, with some help, of course, and Terry tries to finally make it through the holidays without getting a call from the patrol.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine is yet another mockumentary-style sitcom that follows detective Jake and his colleagues at New York city’s 99th precinct police department. The show ran for 8 seasons from 2013 – 2021 with 153 episodes.
Modern Family – (S1, Ep10) – “Undeck the Halls”
This episode followed the separate families as they celebrate Christmas. Jay tries to get used to Manny and Gloria’s weird Christmas traditions from Columbia. No one confesses when Phil finds a cigarette at the Dunphy house, so he decides to cancel Christmas to teach the kids a lesson till they fess up. And Cam and Mitchell are very excited to bring Lilly to the mall to see Santa for the first time but they end up having some trouble along the way. This hit mockumentary-style show documents the crazy lives of one interconnected family. The show ran for 11 seasons from 2009-2020 with 250 episodes.
The Big Bang Theory – (S2, Ep11) – “The Bath-Item Gift Hypothesis”
Leonard is jealous when Penny starts to date a handsome scientist at the university. Sheldon decides to be in the holiday spirit and gets a gift for Penny, but he goes overboard in his own special Sheldon way. This show features four nerds whose lives change when a woman moves in across the hall and befriends them. The show ran for 12 seasons from 2007-2019 with 280 episodes.
The Middle – (S9, Ep 10) “The Christmas Tree”
Mike is very happy knowing his annoying in-laws are not coming for Christmas, oldest son Axl comes home for Christmas but decides to spend all his time with his friends, which upsets mom Frankie, The family brings the Christmas tree home but find out Sue is severely allergic to it and Brick decides to hold a fundraiser but a lie is uncovered along the way. This family sitcom, set in Indiana, also known as “the middle” of the country, ran from 2009-2018 over nine seasons with 215 episodes.
Parks and Recreation – (S5, Ep9) – “Ron and Diane”
In the last Christmas episode of this sitcom’s seven-season run, Tammy shows up at an awards ceremony to sabotage Ron’s new relationship, and four of Jerry’s co-workers are shocked that he’s throwing a Christmas party without them. This mockumentary-style show is similar to The Office in that Parks and Rec is about the workers of Indiana’s parks and rec department, and the absurd antics of the public officials inside the office led by public official Leslie Knope, played by comedian Amy Poehler. It turned out 124 episodes from 2009-2015.
