While Bob’s Burgers fans correctly obsess over the Thanksgiving episodes and are burdened with great sadness during the years we don’t get to see Bob’s favorite holiday, the Christmas episodes also deserve some love. Every year since Season 3 of this delightfully unhinged show, we’ve been treated to a Christmas episode, usually including one adventure for the kids and one adventure for the adults. But it’s always a great time.
I watch all of these every year in the lead-up to Christmas, mostly as a fun way to wind down before bed without needing to commit to a full movie. I don’t think there are bad Bob’s Burgers Christmas episodes, but I do think there are a couple that stand out in what will soon be a 14-year tradition. Grab your free punch packet, prepare your bean bath and remember to never give dogs chocolate as we head to Hulu to go through the streaming list.
I will do my best to keep spoilers to a minimum for those who are uninitiated.
13. Season 10, Episode 10: Have Yourself a Maily Linda Christmas
Linda is doing temporary work at the post office to make a little extra cash before Christmas, and a gift drop-off that’s a few minutes too late to guarantee on-time delivery kicks off a quest to make a stranger happy. This is a fun episode if only for the rare, deeper look into Mike the Mailman’s world and a solid reminder that Linda will not rest until she feels a perceived wrong has been made right.
12. Season 11, Episode 10: Yachty or Nice
Bob’s paranoia reaches its peak when he learns that an opportunity to serve food at a Christmas yacht parade has been presented to him, thanks to a recommendation from his archnemesis, Jimmy Pesto. Chaos ensues while the kids try to sneak out to a familiar Santa Claus. This is a classic Bob’s Burgers episode with a holiday twist and a great reminder that sometimes Bob is his own worst enemy.
11. Season 12, Episode 10: Gene’s Christmas Break
This is the ninth Christmas episode in the show’s run, and it’s the first one with Gene front and center, which is fantastic. Gene is on the hunt for a deeply obscure Christmas record after his copy is damaged, and some valuable life lessons are learned along the laugh-filled journey. Teddy’s story in this episode is also a great laugh, but it’s great to see Gene take center stage.
10. Season 15, Episode 9: Dog Christmas Day After Afternoon
Not everyone loves dark chocolate, and that fact causes a level of Christmas mayhem that only the Belcher family could manage to find themselves in. This is one of the more emotional episodes of Bob’s Burgers, complete with Gene actually being accountable for his actions, and it’s just plain fun to watch. It’s also a great reminder of how much this show has matured over the last couple of years, but that’s a conversation for another day.
9. Season 7, Episode 7: The Last Gingerbread House on the Left
What starts as an effort to share a little Christmas cheer quickly turns surprisingly dark as Bob gets pulled into a dangerous game and Linda’s expectations for caroling go awry. This episode lacks some of the big, bright, happy endings usually seen with Christmas episodes, but it’s a lot of fun, and any time Bob and Mr. Fischoeder are together, it’s a great laugh. Consider watching this one yourself before sharing it with young kids.
8. Season 5, Episode 6: Father of the Bob
I love a good lore drop episode in Bob’s Burgers, and this time we get to see what is clearly a core memory for Bob return as he tries to prove himself to his dad. This is the first deeply emotional Christmas episode, further establishing future episodes with Big Bob and making me want more episodes about the bar next door and its customers. This is usually one of the first Christmas episodes I put on each year.
7. Season 3, Episode 9: Bob Rest Ye Merry Gentle-Mannequins
It’s the OG, the very first Christmas episode for Bob’s Burgers, and it’s wonderful. Bob receives an unusual inheritance from a deceased family member, which kicks off a wild ride for the restaurant that has the whole town watching. This episode is a fun example of how different the writing for this show was over a decade ago and the different tools the writers use to tell stories now. It also has me looking a little closer at store displays for a few days after I’ve watched it, just in case.
6. Season 13, Episode 10: The Plight Before Christmas
As a father of three, I felt this episode in my bones. Bob and Linda have to figure out how to watch three kids in three different Christmas performances happening simultaneously in different parts of the city. Very little goes according to plan at first, but the end result is a sweet moment with Louise and a great reminder that Tina is more aware of what’s going on than most folks think.
5. Season 9, Episode 10: Better Off Sled
It’s a classic in the genre: older kids versus younger kids as ownership of the perfect sledding hill is up for rigorous debate. We meet more folks from the town and see some great snowball fights, on top of getting a bonus appearance from Regular Sized Rudy, which is a delight. This is a simple snow day story, well executed and full of laughs.
4. Season 14, Episode 10: The Nightmare 2 Days Before Christmas
A simple miscommunication leaves the Belcher residence without power right before Christmas, and Mr. Fischoeder invites the family to stay at his rarely used hunting lodge while the Belcher home gets fixed. Linda’s dedication to making this strange place feel like home is surpassed only by the kids working nonstop to make sure Santa knows where they are this year. This is such a delightful, balanced and appropriately weird episode that I frequently recommend it to folks to add to their annual watch list.
3. Season 6, Episode 5: Nice-Capades
The kids have dug themselves a massive hole with the folks at the North Pole, and the only thing that can save them is a big show on the ice. Lots of Bob’s Burgers episodes have music, and a lot of that music is catchy enough to stick in your head for a while. But Mr. Fischoeder’s The Spirit of Christmas, voiced and sung by triple Tony Award-winning Kevin Kline, is an annual must for me.
2. Season 4, Episode 8: Christmas in the Car
Linda’s love of Christmas has the family searching for their third live tree of the season on Christmas Eve, and tensions are high for everyone involved. The second Bob’s Burgers Christmas episode to ever be made is nearly perfect, if you ask me. It’s funny from beginning to end, and I always want to make a fresh Dutch baby by the time it’s over. The best part is that you can watch this episode any day after Halloween, and it remains seasonally appropriate.
1. Season 8, Episode 6 & 7: The Bleakening
A local myth, a loss of a community space and a mystery thief all form the basis of the best Bob’s Burgers Christmas episode. This show doesn’t do many two-part episodes, and this is the only Christmas-themed double in the bunch. It’s loaded with music (a lot even for a Bob’s Burgers episode), has a fantastic story and has everyone learn something by the end. I don’t usually wait until Christmas to watch this one; I’ll put it on just about any time of year. It’s just that good.
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