Every Big Bang Theory Christmas Episode Ranked

Just about every long-running American sitcom takes some time out of its schedule for Christmas episodes, and "The Big Bang Theory" is no exception to the seasonal tradition. Over the course of its 12 seasons on CBS, the mega-popular comedy about a group of nerds and their love lives delivered seven different episodes set in and around the Christmas holiday, covering everything from odd gift exchanges to weird flashbacks and one very memorable kiss.

But which of these episodes ranks as the best? All of them produced classic moments and they all deal with the pleasures and pressures of Christmas in their own way, but only one can be the very best of them all. So, to celebrate the yuletide season, we took a lot back at every Christmas episode of "The Big Bang Theory" to see which of Leonard, Sheldon, Howard, Raj, Penny, Amy, and Bernadette's holiday adventures came out on top.

This episode lands at the bottom of our list because, despite being the last Christmas-themed episode of "The Big Bang Theory," it barely counts as such. The holiday portion of the show is all about Leonard (Johnny Galecki) getting a Christmas letter from his more accomplished brother, feeling bad about it, and then convincing Penny (Kaley Cuoco) that they have to write their own letter.

The rest of the episode is devoted to two birthday parties, one that Sheldon (Jim Parsons) is throwing for Amy (Mayim Bialik), and the other that Raj (Kun Nayyar) and Howard (Simon Helberg) are throwing for Howard's daughter with Bernadette (Melissa Rauch). It's an episode best remembered for Sheldon essentially writing "Little House on the Prairie" fan fiction for Amy, and not for its relevance to Christmas at all. It's entertaining, but as Christmas episodes go? It just doesn't have the spirit.

"The Holiday Summation" is another odd Christmas episode, not because there's no Christmas in it, but because it's actually a show that aired in January and flashes back to past Christmases each character spent. The bulk of the episode's tension comes from the story of Amy and Sheldon flying down to Texas to spend the holiday with Sheldon's mother Mary (Laurie Metcalf), while breaking the news that they are living together. Mary, strict Christian though she is, is surprisingly simply happy to see Sheldon in a relationship.

Meanwhile, Leonard and Penny recount their struggle to get a Christmas tree, while Bernadette and Howard offer a somewhat harrowing tale of dealing with their fussy newborn daughter during the busy holiday season. In the end, the important piece of the puzzle turns out to be the sheer sense of overwhelm Bernadette is suffering, and Sheldon's willingness to offer her support and encouragement despite his self-centered nature. It's a sweet conclusion, but the episode's structural quirks — all of the important stuff happens in flashback — keep it from reaching the heights of other Christmas episodes.

"The Big Bang Theory" ran for 12 seasons and almost 300 episodes, so the writers were bound to eventually get around to just coming up with hypothetical fantasy stories. The result is "The Cooper Extraction," a sort of homage to "It's a Wonderful Life" that allows the rest of the gang to think about what their lives would be like if Sheldon was never their friend.

Sheldon's gone to Texas for Christmas, and that means the rest of the group gets to decorate the apartment however they like and do as much Christmas celebrating as they please away from his judgemental eyes. It also means they get to imagine how their lives would have turned out if they'd never met him. What they find, in no small part through commenting on and critiquing each other's fantasies, is that Leonard and Penny probably never would have gotten together, Howard and Raj's friendship would have stopped Bernadette from ever entering the picture, and Amy would have been extremely and persistently lonely. It's a nice tribute to the unlikely tenderness of the show's most popular character, and the ways in which he's made their lives better despite being a very demanding friend ... but it's far from the best the show ever did for Christmas.

For its second-ever Christmas episode, "The Big Bang Theory" brought back Christine Baranski as Leonard's judgmental academic mother, and produced a classic even if Christmas itself is barely covered in the story. It's the holiday season and Beverly's ready to divorce Leonard's father, so she comes to see her son (and Sheldon, whom she's come to regard as a close friend and confidante) for the holidays. Leonard is, of course, nervous over his mother's presence, particularly because he knows she'll be very critical of his relationship with Penny.

But Penny is not content to sit back and let Beverly's criticisms go unchallenged. The episode culminates with the two women heading out and bonding while having too many drinks. It's all capped off by Beverly giving in to her baser desires and flat-out kissing Sheldon on the lips, only to find the spark just isn't there. It's another very fun episode of the show, and that kiss is an all-time classic moment. Still, Christmas is not a huge focus, so as a "Christmas episode" it ranks just a bit lower than others.

It's well-known in "The Big Bang Theory" ensemble that Sheldon does not like Christmas and barely tolerates it when his friends opt to celebrate the holiday's traditions around him. This aversion to the yuletide season is a key plot point in the best holiday episodes of the show, and that includes "The Santa Simulation." While the girls (plus Raj) head out for a night on the town together, Leonard, Sheldon, Howard, and Stuart (Kevin Sussman) are back at the apartment for a night of "Dungeons & Dragons." 

But it's not just any "D&D" game. Leonard, forever frustrated that Sheldon doesn't understand the joys of Christmas, has specifically crafted the evening to be holiday-focused, giving his players the mission of rescuing Santa Claus after the North Pole is viciously attacked by ogres. It's a way to use something Sheldon loves, "Dungeons & Dragons," to get him to do things he hate, like singing Christmas carols, drinking eggnog, and eventually, talking about why he dislikes Christmas in the first place. It ends with a revelatory emotional payoff that gets to a certain core truth about who Sheldon is, and the "D&D" campaign itself is a blast to watch.

The first Christmas episode of "The Big Bang Theory" hinges on a single, very straightforward concept. Penny wants to exchange Christmas presents with Leonard and Sheldon, but because Sheldon doesn't like Christmas, he sees getting Penny the perfect reciprocal gift as an obligation that he must now get exactly right.

While he goes about solving that problem, Leonard is frustrated because Penny has started dating another, more handsome physicist, which brings their breakup back to the fore. The situation doesn't turn out quite like Leonard expected, but the real brilliance of this B-story is that it distracts from the A-story just enough to deliver a killer payoff.

Sheldon's solution to the gifting problem is to buy Penny a series of gift baskets at various price points, so no matter what she gets him he'll be ready. When Penny reveals her gift — a napkin signed by Leonard Nimoy, who also wiped his mouth on it and thus transferred his DNA — Sheldon loses all sense of decorum and goes as far as hugging Penny for her kindness. It remains one of the most memorable Sheldon moments in the entire show, second only to one other holiday episode occurrence.

The title of this episode refers to the B-story in which Leonard, Sheldon, and Raj try to conduct an experiment in the university's sterile "clean room," only to have it ruined by the arrival of a pigeon. While the boys try to get the invading bird out of the room without compromising their work, Amy prepares an old-fashioned Victorian Christmas dinner, complete with party games, period-accurate food, and more. Naturally, everyone is into this idea except Sheldon, who realizes that Amy is, once again, trying to force Christmas on him despite his aversion to the holiday. 

In order to get back at her, he decides to be passive-aggressive and get her the perfect Christmas present — a personalized photo of himself sitting on Santa's lap. Convinced that he's going to wrack Amy with guilt, Sheldon hands over the gift during Christmas dinner, only to discover that Amy has prepared a special gift of her own. Instead of buying something, she called Sheldon's mother and got the recipe for his beloved Meemaw's Christmas cookies so she could bake them for him. To Sheldon's surprise and delight, the cookies are "perfect," and he has an honest moment of understanding that Christmas can be all about the joy of giving. It's such a sweet moment to culminate a Christmas episode, and it's all enhanced by Amy's themed party, making this the best Christmas episode in "The Big Bang Theory" history.