We've clearly established by now that Bob's Burgers knows how to bring the holiday magic. We've covered the Halloween episodes and the Thanksgiving episodes, which leaves just one of the Big 3. It's time for Christmas with the Belchers.
Like the Thanksgiving episodes, many of these stories deal with the family trying to make the holiday "perfect" through some combination of shopping, decorating, entertaining, or, y'know, essentially trying to rig the game so Santa doesn't know they've been naughty. That means lots of opportunities for comedy, but also for heartwarming devotion to the spirit of Christmas.
So, to brighten your holiday, here's every Christmas episode of Bob's Burgers, ranked from worst to best.
15. "Die Card, or Card Trying" (11x12)
This one's only ranked last because it's technically not a Christmas episode, but I'm counting it because it deals with one of the core Christmas concerns of modern families. Afraid that their Christmas card haul each year is dwindling because they don't participate enough, Linda (John Roberts) organizes a family trip a couple days after Christmas to take the perfect holiday card photo from a scenic overlook. When Linda drops the camera and gets her arm stuck in the rocks trying to get free, the whole family is forced to solve the puzzle and salvage a thing they didn't want to do anyway. It's relatable, it's funny, and it's at the very least a nice Christmas companion episode.
14. "Gene's Christmas Break" (12x10)
As the family's great music lover, Gene (Eugene Mirman) takes it upon himself to DJ sets of Christmas music all through the house while he's home from school. He's particularly fond of an obscure, extremely weird Christmas concept album from the 1970s, so fond that he sleeps next to it. But when he breaks it, the entire family must come together to grant Gene's one Christmas wish. It's delightful and it ends wonderfully, but Gene episodes don't connect with me the same way other family members' spotlights do, so here it is.
13. "God Rest Ye Merry Gentle-Mannequins" (3x09)
The very first Christmas episode! When Bob (H. Jon Benjamin) inherits a storage unit full of stuff from a deceased uncle, he finds a guy named Chet (Zach Galifianakis) crashing in there, and Linda talks him into letting Chet come stay in their basement. When Chet tries to repay the family by doing elaborate Christmas window displays, and it's great for business. When Chet confesses he used to be a mannequin, well…things get weird in that way the early seasons did, when the weirdness sort of overrode the heart. It's fun, but there are way better Christmas episodes.
12. "Yachty or Nice" (11x10)
Bob gets invited to cater an exclusive Christmas party at the local yacht club, only to find insecurity confronting him at every turn. Meanwhile, Louise (Kristen Schaal) hatches a plan to steal all the gifts the club's going to give out to rich kids who, frankly, don't deserve it. It's a nice balancing act between the dueling stories, and I do love an episode in the Bob Goes Crazy While the Kids Hatch a Plan subgenre of the show. I just like the rest of the episodes on this list a little bit better.
11. "Father of the Bob" (5x06)
This episode pulls double-duty as a Christmas special and as a big piece of Bob's origin story. He started as a cook working for his Dad (Bill Hader), who stunted his creativity and pushed him away. Now, the family's going to Big Bob's Christmas party so they can make peace while the kids try to find the ultimate Christmas present for Dad. It's all big, messy, family emotions and Daddy issues, and it's done with love.
10. "Nice-Capades" (6x05)
When Louise accidentally disrespects a mall Santa (Henry Winkler), the kids decide to stage a flash Christmas pageant at the mall to prove how good they were all year, so they can still get presents. Unlike so many Bob's Burgers episodes, there's not much of a B-story here. It's just a full-on rush to get the kids' show together so they're not sent lumps of coal for Christmas, and it's exhilarating in that way, especially when the Fischoeder Brothers decide to get involved.
9. "Better Off Sled" (9x10)
It's Christmas break, heavy snow has fallen, and the kids are all set to take advantage of the only sledding hill in town, finally sporting prime powder. But when the local bully takes over the hill for snowball fighting with his friends, it's all-out war for Christmas fun. Meanwhile, back at the restaurant, Linda tries to learn to knit, and gets increasingly frustrated when she realizes that Bob's better at it. Just a delightful episode all around, from the teen softball player who becomes a ringer in the snowball fight to Linda's dreams of "The Knitcracker."
8. "The Bleakening" (8x06-07)
The only two-part episode on the list (and one of the few two-parters the show's ever done), "The Bleakening" is all about Christmas spirit and trying to get it back. Linda, seeing herself as the avatar of holiday cheer, decides to throw the biggest party she can manage for the neighborhood, then loses her spirit when someone steals her countertop Christmas tree and her favorite ornaments. Meanwhile, the kids are on the hunt for a mythical holiday mischief-maker called "The Bleaken," who might be behind the whole deficit of Christmas spirit. It's a little uneven and maybe too long, but it all ends at a heartwarming underground Christmas drag show, so what's not to love?
7. "The Nightmare 2 Days Before Christmas" (14x10)
The financial struggles of the Belcher family mean that Christmas is often a time when Bob and Linda have to scrape together a holiday with whatever they can manage, and this episode is the most extreme version of that. When the power goes out at the apartment, the Belchers have no choice but to spend the holiday caretaking Mr. Fischoeder's (Kevin Kline) mountain cabin. But Linda in particular is determined to make the best of it, even if she has to brave a mountain snowstorm to get the family Christmas tree back. The basic setup is one of the show's most reliable formulas, and it pays off beautifully.
6. "Dog Christmas Day After Afternoon" (15x09)
When Bob and Linda's low shopping budget means the kids don't get their dream Christmas present, Linda gets the idea that the whole family should go out and look at Christmas lights in a nice neighborhood to brighten their spirits. Then Gene happens upon a stray puppy and feeds it some chocolate, sending the whole family into panic mode as they try to save the little dog's life. Some of the best Bob's Burgers episodes are about how the family finds unexpected fulfillment in helping other people, and this is one of the best within that motif.
5. "The Last Gingerbread House on the Left" (7x07)
Linda wants the whole family to go caroling together, but when Bob gets a call to deliver food to Mr. Fischoeder's house, he finds himself roped into an exclusive gingerbread making competition, where he's set up as a fall guy. While Bob gets weird with rich old men, Linda, the kids, and Teddy (Larry Murphy) go caroling, and happen upon the creepiest house in town. It's one of the wildest Christmas episodes Bob's Burgers has ever attempted, and it all comes together beautifully by the end.
4. "It's a Stunterful Life" (16x09)
The 2025 Bob's Burgers Christmas episode unfolds entirely at a family Christmas tree lot complete with crafts for the kids and a miniature train running through the woods. While the kids hit the train and end up in a contest to see who can do the best tricks, Bob decides to become a cookie decorating master, and Linda is on a mission to rescue every unwanted tree in the place. All three storylines are wonderful, they balance well, and the cheer factor on this one is off the charts. It's just a delight.
3. "Have Yourself a Maily Linda Christmas" (10x10)
The best of the "Linda Saves Christmas" episodes, this one follows the Belcher matriarch as the works a temp job at the post office, and happens upon a package that got lost in the shuffle and, thus, won't get to its recipient in time for Christmas. Paralyzed by the idea that some kid won't get their present, Linda sets off on a mission to deliver the package against post office rules, while Bob has to entertain his in-laws and Louise and Gene try to find a last-minute gift for Tina. Thanksgiving is Bob's holiday, but Christmas belongs to Linda, because the spirit of the season moves her into hijinks like these.
2. "The Plight Before Christmas" (13x10)
Linda and Bob have three children, which means that when each child has a Christmas event happening on the same night at the same time, they're stuck in an impossible situation and forced to choose which kid activities they attend. What starts as a scheduling nightmare transforms into one of the single most heartwarming Bob's Burgers episodes ever, as the entire Belcher family finds a way to be there for each other, and Louise ends the episode with an absolute tearjerker.
1. "Christmas in the Car" (4x08)
Because Linda likes to put up the Christmas tree the day after Halloween, the Belchers find themselves with a dried-out fire hazard on Christmas Eve, and go in search of a replacement tree. A quick Christmas Eve road trip soon turns into a comedy riff on Steven Spielberg's Duel, and a celebration of family as the holiday's most important ingredient. I love everything about this episode. The jokes, even the peripheral ones, are all on point, the message is clear, the emotional beats all land. Teddy even gets a fun B-story! It's the perfect Christmas episode, up there with the best holiday programming any sitcom has ever mustered.
