Your go-to guide on the best Gilmore Girls Christmas episodes

Season 1 Episode 10 ‘Forgiveness and Stuff’

The episode with the Santa burger! Opening with Ms Patty organising Stars Hollow's nativity play (complete with before Mary and after Mary), this one is full of fights waiting to be resolved over the course of the Christmassy, feel-good episode. Lorelai and Rory are at odds because she stayed out all night with Dean at the Chilton dance and Lorelai and Emily are fighting (what’s new) over Lorelai’s parenting skills and it all happens against the backdrop of a Christmas lights spangled Stars Hollow, complete with Santas and snow! Emily dis-invites Lorelai to the Christmas dinner, escalating the entire situation – so can a family tragedy bring them back together in time for the holidays?

Season 2 Episode 10 ‘The Bracebridge Dinner’

The episode begins and ends with the town’s snowman (or snowwoman, if you will) competition, featuring the professional snowman designer and Lorelai and Rory’s slightly terrifying snowlady. But this also means that Jess is now on the picture, as he sabotages the competition is Rory’s name later in the episode. When the Bracebridge re-enactors have to cancel their period style dinner due to snow, Lorealai improvises and hosts the dinner for all her nearest and dearest instead. We get Richard and Emily being hilarious, Jess jumping into a horse carriage with an unsuspecting Rory, a jealous Dean, and Jackson in tights as Squire Bracebridge in the festively decorated Independence Inn! What’s not to love about this episode?

Season 3 Episode 10 ‘That’ll Do, Pig’

The winter carnival is back in town and while Jess refuses to go with Rory, Dean is a little too willing to step in. Paris experiences Christmas for the first time with Jamie’s family and is totally adorable about it and while the rest of the episode isn’t the most Christmassy of all the Gilmore Girls episodes, we do get to see some beautiful Stars Hollow scenery at the Winter Carnival towards the end. Plus we get to see Emily stage a protest against Richard’s mother by taking hours to eat her meal, going against Gran’s 12 minutes per course rule, which is truly a Christmas present in itself.

Season 4 Episode 11 ‘In the Clamor and the Clangor’

Stars Hollow sees its church bells restored at the death of one of their oldest townspeople which results in super wholesome snow scene with the whole town applauding as they chime for the chime for the first time…but that doesn’t last long. Meanwhile Luke (who predictably hates the bells) breaks the news to Lorelai that he and Nicole have moved in together in another town, resulting in a big blow out that has Lorelai questioning their friendship. This results in classic Luke behaviour – anger clearing Lorelai’s drive of snow. This episode also features loads of great winter fashion, a trademark of Gilmore Girls, including Lorelai’s red winter coat, Rory’s fluffy baby blue Christmas jumper and Lorelai’s genuinely adorable paper boy cap.

Season 5 Episode 11 ‘Women of Questionable Morals’

Lorelai smells snow…but all to soon the relationship sours as it stops her getting her beloved coffee, stops guests form coming to the dragonfly and snows her car in. Meanwhile the re-enactors debate what to call the ‘woman of ill repute’ in their re-enactment of the ‘battle’ of Stars Hollow, leading to some truly quality Taylor content. Richard and Emily are in their (admittedly heartbreaking) separation phase, but could a cute canine stranded in the snow be the thing to bring them back together? This is truly one of the most Gilmore Girls-y episodes ever, culminating in Kirk dressing in drag and one of my favourite Lukelai moments, Luke building Lorelai an ice rink.

Season 6 Episode 12 ‘Just Like Gwen and Gavin’

The town’s winter carnival is at risk due to Taylor Dosey being snowed in at hi sister’s house miles away so Kirk offers to step up, with Lorelai volunteering an…unorthodox booth. Meanwhile, a secret Luke is keeping from Lorelai is about to come to the fore, resulting in a major moment of heartbreak. Logan and Rory are similarly on the rocks as he attempts to win her back after it’s revealed he cheated on her while they were apart. Anyway, the Christmassy aspect of this episode lies mainly in the snow and fashion, if nothing else.

Season 7 Episode 11 ‘Santa’s Secret Stuff’

This is probably one of the most Christmassy episodes of Gilmore Girls – even though it takes place a week after Christmas day itself! Rory is back from staying with Logan in London and Lorelai has held off Christmas for her, resulting in a very festive January episode in true quirky Gilmore style! Gigi is there helping to make popcorn garlands and Christopher is decorating the house with them, trying to make new traditions together as a family now that he and Lorelai are married…but it doesn’t all go according to plan.