When it comes to Christmas-themed episodes on TV, it doesn’t get better than sitcoms. These classic shows renovate themselves enough in each episode to allow new stories to be told, new twists to be presented, and new approaches to the characters to be proposed to viewers. In the case of Christmas, many different styles and plots can evolve out of the festive holiday.
However, this is not the case forModern Family,because it’s not your average sitcom. This mockumentary about a big California family growing inside their own hilarious tornado of personalities doesn’t follow a typical narrative structure, because it consists heavily of documentary tropes. But the writers managed to stay within the basic sitcom formula for 11 seasons of comedy gold. And as expected,Modern Familyalso has its signature Christmas episodes.
Weirdly, there aren’t many Christmas episodes (Halloween actually felt more importantin the show). It seems that although Christmas episodes are very successful in the sitcom universe,Modern Familyis anything but typical in its portrayal of the usual situations of families. There are only six, and we gave them a rewatch and ranked them. It was a great revisit to a family that everyone misses and could relate to. Here is the ranking of everyModern FamilyChristmas episode.
Modern Family
Modern Family’s Christmas episodes:
Undeck the Halls
Express Christmas
The Old Man and the Tree
White Christmas
Stuck in a Moment
The Last Christmas
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6The Old Man and the Three — Season 5, Episode 10
The Old Man and the Threeplays the same tone as otherModern Familyepisodes in the middle of the series, when it had already found its sought-after pace and dynamic style of storytelling. Unfortunately, this was also a cause of unbalance between the stories, because some of them felt great, while others didn’t. The episode isn’t based on anything specific. It just separates all characters into different stories, and not all of them feel “Christmas-y."
Related:Friends: The Holiday Episodes, Ranked
Phil tries to break a record on the elliptical machine. Claire bonds with Gloria’s mom, and Gloria gets jealous. Haley and Alex work as Santa’s helpers in the mall, and things don’t go well. Thebest part of the episode stars Cam, Mitchell,and Lily, as they are seemingly unaware they are entering a charity event. Their lifestyle is nothing like that, but a hilarious moment happens when Mitchell arrives with presents for Pepper’s party (who celebrates something called the “12 Gays of Christmas”), and Cam offers presents galore to charity. Imagine a kid asking who Robert Mapplethorpe is, and you’ll get the idea.
It’s not a very funny episode, and the proof is in Jay and Manny’s story, which involved bonding when they try, and fail, to find a real Christmas tree in the woods.
5Stuck in a Moment — Season 10, Episode 10
Stuck in a Momentis one of thebest “dad” episodes ofModern Family. It also has a great Christmas dynamic when merging all storylines into one for the the mid-season finale of one of the last seasons of the show.
Haley can’t find the proper moment to tell her family that she’s pregnant. Jay, Gloria, and Manny receive a box of presents from Colombia, and the box has a banana spider that’s capable of turning on the TV and chilling on the Christmas tree. Of course, the celebration moves over to the Dunphy household. The problem is that Phil has a house-showing, and takes their tree and presents over to guarantee the sale, but Claire doesn’t let them go easily. Cam and Mitchell are at a mall, where they decide to give Cal (their nephew) a memorable Christmas by putting him on Santa’s lap. The problem is that Santa has a grudge against Mitchell and won’t let the men know what Cal wished for Christmas.
The episode ends on a high note at the Dunphys home when Haley reveals to everyone that she and Dylan are having a baby, and reactions differ. This one is am especiallygreat “Gloria” episode.
4Undeck the Halls — Season 1, Episode 10
In the first Christmas episode in the entire series, writers went for a surefire formula. They don’t complicate themselves by forcing characters into one storyline, preferring to let each part of the family resonate on its own by highlighting something basic about themselves that will work in a holiday setting.
Undeck the Hallsputs the Dunphys in a dilemma. There’s a cigarrette burn on the couch, and Phil and Claire threaten to leave the children without Christmas because none of them confess. The problem is that Phil then follows through on every threat he’s ever made.
Meanwhile, Cam and Mitchell attempt to make Lily’s first Christmas with them a special one, and they end up causing Santa to get fired from the mall. They try to make it up to him by basically adopting him for the holiday. Jay, Gloria, and Manny go round and round, unable to decide if they want to follow a Colombian or American tradition for Christmas. Jay is constantly pranked in the “inocente” game, and he complains because it’s not April (“inocente” is like April Fool’s Day).
The episode works solidly thanks to the Dunphys storyline. Cam and Mitchell are pure comedic bliss as well, and even Jay joins them at some point. It was a great introduction to the concept inModern Family, which strangely didn’t deliver a Christmas episode in every seasonlike other sitcoms do.
3The Last Christmas — Season 11, Episode 9
The Last Christmastakes viewers through what will be the last Christmas episode ofModern Family. Not only because it’s the show’s last season, but because the writers set it up so that it would be close to a farewell to the concept of family gatherings. It’s notone of the best episodes in the series, but it provides enough to make us feel at home.
Cam and Mitchell are hosting Christmas dinner, and Cam has issues when no one wants to sit next to each other because everyone has an issue with everyone else. The basis of the episode revolves around this, and while it’s not an innovative storytelling direction for the show, the latter part of the series really indulged in this kind of legacy episode where classic attitude is the main course.
Mitchell doesn’t know why Cam wants to take a trip home by himself; Haley rekindles with wine after having stopped breastfeeding; Manny and Luke clash over a girl; and Jay wants Claire to be more invested in his dog bed company. The best part of the episode is the conclusion, when Cam finally admits why he wants to go alone to Missouri, and the whole family panics after having a vision of the end of everything. The very last shot, when they all try to take a family photo while wearing silly outfits, has theclassicModern Familyfeel.
2Express Christmas — Season 3, Episode 10
The second Christmas episode ofModern Familyis truly one of the best. This is because it cleverly mixes every side of the family in a non-traditional Christmas setting.
Related:30 Rock: Every Christmas Episode, Ranked
The episode begins when the family is gathered at Jay and Gloria’s when they realize they won’t spend Christmas together because everyone has other plans. This causes Phil to have a pretty good idea: they will celebrate “Express Christmas,” which is basically stopping what they’re doing and preparing everything that same day. Luke and Gloria look for the angel to put on top of the Christmas tree. Haley and Claire will do the gift shopping. Mitchell and Alex will get a tree. Phil and Manny go to buy groceries.
None of the plans go great, andExpress Christmasdoesn’t go the way they expected, but likeModern Familydoes in its best episodes, it delivers anuplifting and compelling insightabout family that resonates deeply with just about every viewer.
1White Christmas — Season 7, Episode 9
White Christmasis the best Christmas-themedModern Familyepisode, because it’s the funniest by far, features the whole gang in one setting, and has that great mix of drama and comedy that the show was famous for.
In the episode, the family heads over to a cabin in the mountains that Gloria has rented, because it’s her first Christmas as an American and she wants a snowy one — “You know, like white people have.” The problem is that she miscalculates the weather, and it’s way hotter in the mountains than at home. Nevertheless, this doesn’t stop them from trying to have fun.
Andy comes along on the trip, since he and Haley are a thing, only the family doesn’t know. There’s also a surprise guest in the cabin that Cam decides to let stay because it’s Christmas. Jay announces he’s retiring and pranks Claire by telling her she won’t inherit his position as CEO at the closet company. Luke and Manny try to prank Lily by telling her a horror story, but it doesn’t go well (there’s also a great reference toThe Shiningin the episode).
The conclusion of the episode is great, and it fits perfectly with the show’s tone of family issues being solved easily and quickly. Andrea Martin, ofMy Big Fat Greek Weddingfame, plays the uninvited guest, and she provides a great comedic performance. This episode is a fantastic showcase for some of thebest characters of the entire series.
To stay in a Christmas spirit while the TV’s on, here are the best TV Christmas episodes of all time:
