Best Christmas Episodes of 'The Simpsons'

'The Simpsons' have always been known for their Halloween "Treehouse of Horror" episodes they do every year. However, there are plenty of great Christmas themed episodes as well, including the very first episode of the series.

1. "Miracle on Evergreen Terrace" (1997) - Bart wakes up early to play with presents before everyone gets up, where he ends up burning down the tree and destroying everything. He buries the remnants outside in the snow and tells everyone a burglar stole it all. The entire town finds out and gives them money, and of course they soon find out it was all a lie. While its not the most memorable Christmas episode, it delivered the most laughs for me.

2. "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" (1989) - This is the episode that started it all. Bart gets a tattoo and to have it remove they have to spend all their Christmas money. Homer tries being a mall Santa but that doesn't work, so he goes to the race track and blows the rest of it on Santa's Little Helper, who ends up becoming their dog and completing the family we still love to this day.

3. "She of Little Faith" (2001) - Bart & Homer blow up the church with a rocket, and to pay for the repairs the Church sells out to Mr. Burns, who then sells ad space and makes the Church into a corporate entity. This causes Lisa to leave it and become a Buddhist, which continues on the series to this day. At first she refuses to celebrate Christmas, but eventually agrees to pay lip service and celebrate, which is all Marge wants.

4. "Marge Be Not Proud" (1995) - One of the best Bart & Marge episodes that really delivers a great storyline. After Bart shoplifts, he is left out of Christmas activities. Eventually he is back in her good graces when he gives her a picture as a Christmas present. Bart even pretends to enjoy a lame video game that Marge thought was the hot new game, giving us an episode where Bart shows a softer side. And we also get to see him being forced to make a snowman out of the dirty snow under the car.

5. "Holidays of Future Passed" (2011) - This is one of the better episodes in the series that deals with the future, featuring numerous gags that stand out to make it one of the more enjoyable Christmas episodes as well. Besides having numerous laugh out loud moments, it has a heartwarming story without being too sappy either.

6. "Tis the Fifteenth Season" (2003) - Mr. Burns gives Homer a Joe DiMaggio rookie card, not knowing anything about it. Homer then takes it to Comic Book Guy who empties his cash register for it, leading the Simpsons to shop at the expensive mall, Springfield Heights Promenade, where Homer blows all the cash on a talking Astrolabe.

7. "Grift of the Magi" (1999) - A toy company takes over Springfield Elementary to pay for ramps to be installed after Bart breaks his coccyx and is in a wheelchair. They then use the school just to create a toy called Funzo who ends up killing other toys and terrorizing people. Gary Coleman also makes an appearance as a security guard in a well done cameo.

The rest of the Christmas episodes are fine as well, though these are the best of the bunch.