A block of Gilmore Girls Christmas episodes will provide the right amount of snow, coffee, and small town cheer to get your ready for the holidays!
The small hamlet of Stars Hollow offers up quite a few winter traditions. And while snow makes a prominent appearance is every single season, there are a few Gilmore Girls Christmas episodes that make a few seasons extra special. There are festivals, hot chocolate tasting, and plenty of the lights and fights to go around.
Put on a pot of coffee, make a platter of snacks, and settle in with these holiday and festival episodes!
‘Gilmore Girls’ Christmas Episode Guide
Season 1, episode 10: ‘Forgiveness and Stuff’
This episode picks up with the aftermath of the Chilton dance where Rory and Dean accidentally stayed out all night. Emily and Lorelai’s latest rift threatens Lorelai’s chance to have the infamous rolls at the Gilmore holiday party. Rory and Lorelai are freezing each other out, but the chill quickly thaws as a heart attack sends Richard to the hospital.
Luke takes pity on Lorelai’s lonely evening offering her the most disgusting Santa burger and, heroically, a ride to the hospital to see her dad. He sticks around long enough to coax her into seeing her father, while Emily terrorizes the hospital staff (Jane Lynch!) for the best care.
This episode also chokes me up as Lorelai and her father share a silent minute alone and Emily and Lorelai bury their latest argument over some cafeteria jello.
Season 2, episode 10: ‘The Bracebridge Dinner’
This is a top 10 personal Gilmore favorite. It’s almost a bottle episode in that the entire town comes together for a dinner hosted by Lorelai, Sookie and Michel at the Independence Inn. After a big deal falls through, the themed night in Stars Hollow quickly turns into an airing of grievances, a night of flirations, and an unexpectedly soothing getaway for Paris Gellar.
The dinner is several courses, Jackson hosts the night in full period garb, and a couple of sleigh rides give a few duos the chance to speak privately. Another Stars Hollow oddity also makes its debut — a snow (wo)man contest featuring professional sculptors!
Season 3, episode 10: ‘That’ll Do Pig’
The eldest Lorelai Gilmore, aka Gran, comes to town in this Gilmore Girls holiday treat. This episode is more Christmas-adjacent, the focused on the actual holiday. But leave it to Stars Hollow to give us a winter festival with games, snow cones, and hot chocolate as the perfect setting for a battle between Jess and Dean.
This episode is a true delight. It has the best showcase of Emily Gilmore, Dean and Jess’ pettiness, and Rory’s Chilton drama. Brew some hot chocolate for this classic. I’ll bet you won’t be able to stop after just one episode in season 3.
Season 4, episode 11: ‘In the Clamor and Clangor’
Three seasons of elaborate covert operations behind her mother’s back come to an end for Lane Kim. After sneaking out one final time to play the infamous CBGB club (only to be bumped at the last second) Lane shows up at Rory’s dorm with no backup plan.
Meanwhile, the bells in Stars Hollow are back and driving everyone mad. Luke and Lorelai are at odds over Lorelai’s insistence on butting into his dating life. He shows up to shovel her walk and instead delivers a classic rant about snow safety and the boundaries of their relationship. But when she approaches him about breaking the bells, all is forgotten and the secret of the bells’ first demise is revealed.
Season 5, episode 11: ‘Women of Questionable Morals’
It’s reenactment time in Stars Hollow! Instead of continuing the tradition of sitting outside all night for nothing to happen, the men of historical society identify a new detail in the town’s history! Enter the loose woman of the town to distracted the British general for an evening. And enter Kirk picking up the role after his plan to have his girlfriend Lulu take the part falls through.
Meanwhile, Lorelai continues to get in her own way as season 5’s holiday-centric episode sends her over to Christopher’s for the night. After learning of his father’s passing, Lorelai’s hangover, compounded by keeping her “innocent” rendezvous with Chris a secret from Luke sets them on the path for destruction in “Wedding Bell Blues.”
To be honest, this episode is wonderful to watch for the ice skating rink scene. But hard to stomach if you know what’s coming down the line…
Season 7, episode 11: ‘Santa’s Secret Stuff’
Speaking of down the line… Season 7’s fling with the holidays features a grown (and thankfully) matured Gigi decorating cookies and stringing popcorn for the tree with Lorelai and Rory. But just as season 5’s snowy tale was the beginning of the end for Luke and Lorelai, this episode kicks off the end of the line for Chris and Lorelai.
The episode actually takes place after the holidays, as Rory celebrated the actual day in London and April stayed with her mother in New Mexico. And it follows Luke asking Lorelai to write a character reference for his custody hearing. As she struggles to find the words, a chance run in with the father-daughter team in the mall, the magic of the holiday season sparks her memory of what a great father-figure Luke was to Rory all those years ago.
See, season 7 did give us something nice!
A Year in the Life, ‘Winter’
Honestly, SO much happens in the 90-minute “Winter” episode that we cannot recap the entire thing here. You can check out our full review, though!
Be warned: It’s a harsh reminder of the passing of Edward Hermann, the patriarch of the Gilmore family, especially after you watch the first episode on this list.
You can watch all the Gilmore Girls Christmas episodes on Netflix now!
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