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'Gilmore Girls' Christmas Episodes To Rewatch

by Michelle Lulic

Thanks to Netflix's Thanksgiving weekend premiere of the four-part Gilmore Girls revival series, Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life, audiences were reunited with Lorelai, Rory, and Emily just in time for the holidays. The small Connecticut town of Stars Hollow has already proven itself to be a holiday tourist attraction. Over the course of the show's seven seasons, the Gilmores have brought us along for the town's annual winter festivities and for their family's holiday tradition in a few Gilmore Girls Christmas episodes. As with any Gilmore get together, Christmas always came with a healthy portion of family drama.

Lorelai's love of the snow was present numerous times, but actual Christmas family gatherings were rare and few. In fact, when looking at all seven season, there seems to be only three episodes were the actual holiday of Christmas is acknowledged. That seems a little strange to me, even as a huge fan, but who am I to argue with the almighty power of the Gilmores? After all, it's not like Stars Hollow couldn't turn every regular day into an event.

So, get ready to marathon even more Gilmore Girls episodes than you already have. Here are the Gilmore Girls Christmas episodes every fan should revisit before December 25.

"Forgiveness And Stuff" (Season 1, Episode 10)

Our first Christmas with the Gilmores was surprisingly un-merry. However, "Forgiveness And Stuff" was exactly what one would expect from a holiday with the Gilmores. When the episode first begins, Lorelai is at odds with Rory, and Emily is at odds with Lorelai. Lorelai is uninvited from Emily and Richard's annual Christmas party, but it's only afterward that the real drama ensues.

The Gilmores' night takes a turn for the worst when Richard Gilmore has an unexpected heart attack, and Lorelai must rush to the hospital to meet Emily and Rory. Thankfully, once everyone knows he's going to be OK, the family somehow finds their way back together. Meanwhile, back in Stars Hollow, Miss Patty is putting together the town's perfectly imperfect nativity scene, and Lorelai gives Luke a gift he just can't refuse.

"Merry Fisticuffs" (Season 7, Episode 10)

In this episode, it's not Christmas yet, but Christmas is definitely creeping up on the town of Stars Hollow. Lorelai and Christopher are preparing for their next chapter together, Kirk is selling holiday wrapping paper, and Emily is planning another one of her parties. Christmas music acts as the soundtrack for Christopher and Luke's fight over Lorelai, and even Emily knows that Lorelai and Christopher's marriage is falling apart.

"Santa's Secret Stuff" (Season 7, Episode 11)

The Season 7, Episode 11 episode, "Santa's Secret Stuff," is where the seemingly cursed holiday of Christmas finally starts to feel a little bit merrier. Christmas Day has passed them by, but the Gilmore girls are determined to celebrate the holiday together — even if Rory cheated during her stay in London. They do everything from decorating the tree to going on a much needed shopping spree, but it just isn't a Gilmore Christmas without the drama.

Those may be the only specific Gilmore Girls Christmas episodes, but the snow appears in multiple Gilmore Girls episodes — with cameos in Season 2, Episode 10, "The Bracebridge Dinner," and in Season 3, Episode 10, "That'll Do, Pig." And, in Season 5, Episode 11, "Women Of Questionable Morals," Lorelai tries to deny her love for the snow until Luke gifts her the greatest gift of all: her very own ice rink. The holiday season certainly isn't lost on the town of Stars Hollow.

But if there's one thing to say about few Christmas episodes we have had with the Gilmores, it's that their family reunions certainly imitate reality. Continue to deck the halls for the holiday season... and just be happy that Emily Gilmore won't be sitting at your dinner table.

Images: Warner Bros. Television; Giphy; Netflix (2)