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As the air turns crisp and the leaves begin to fall, it’s time to trade pumpkin spice and candy corn for gratitude lists and shopping plans—the holiday season is here. For many, Thanksgiving marks the official start of the holiday season, the festive time of year that includes Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa, and concludes at the start of the New Year.
Traditionally, Thanksgiving lands on the fourth Thursday of November and is a day to give thanks for the blessings and harvest of the preceding year, while Christmas takes place annually on the 25th of December and is commemorated by blessing family and friends with thoughtful (or pricey) gifts. However, both holidays have iconic TV show episodes dedicated to their existence. Festive episodes of our favorite shows are often so memorable that viewers tend to leave wanting more of them. One Twitter user wrote, "I think TV shows should have more than 1 Christmas/holiday episode a season. Make it a chunk of episodes. Wrong?"
Another added: "I need a streaming service that allows me to compile multiple playlists of only holiday episodes of tv shows and movie that I can stream."
You too can celebrate the glorious Holiday season by checking out iHeartRadio's Holiday Stations like North Pole Radio hosted by Santa and iHeart Christmas R&B. In honor of the blissful vibes that the holiday season brings, check out our list of best Thanksgiving and Christmas episodes from some of our favorite Black television shows.
Happy Holidays!
Everybody Hates Chris
"Everybody Hates Thanksgiving" (Season 2, Ep. 8)
Julius' successful younger brother joins Chris' family for Thanksgiving dinner and Julius works hard to prepare the perfect Thanksgiving meal. - IMBD
The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air
"Talking Turkey" (Season 1, Ep 12)
Will's taskmaster mother visits for the holidays and puts the kids to work preparing a thanksgiving dinner, but preparations soon go awry - IMBD
Black-Ish
"Auntsgiving" (Season 3, Ep. 7)
Pops' older sister Almaviligerais unexpectedly arrives for Thanksgiving, much to everyone's delight except Ruby, who can't stand her ex-sister-in-law. While Bow and Dre go on their last vacation before the baby arrives, the kids try to figure out why Ruby hates Almaviligerais so much. - IMBD
Insecure
"Lowkey Thankful" (Season 4, Ep. 3)
While Molly's family celebrates Thanksgiving together, Issa and Ahmal decide to do their own thing; when Lawrence joins Friendsgiving at Condola's house, the new couple breaks some awkward ground. - Rotten Tomatoes
Martin
"Feast or Famine" (Season 3, ep. 11)
On Thanksgiving, the women challenge the men to a cooking competition, with disastrous results. Singer MILLIE JACKSON guest stars. - IMBD
The Bernie Mac Show
"Thanksgiving" (Season 3, Ep. 22)
The Mac family is invited over to one of Vanessa's teachers for Thanksgiving dinner; who are all vegetarians.- IMBD
Living Single
"Let's Stay Together" (Season 2, Ep. 12)
The gang throws together an impromptu New Years gathering and invite Kyle, whose visiting his family in Cleveland for the holiday. Synclaire gets the role of the renegade nun but is upset that the job is in California and she will have to leave Khadijah behind. Khadijah gets a surprise visit from Scooter. - IMBD
The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air
"Deck The Halls" (Season 1, Ep. 15)
Will realizes that Ashley has never experienced a real Christmas before and goes out of his way to let her have one. He decorates the inside of the mansion and also the outside fully, upsetting some of the neighbors. - IMBD
Black-Ish
"Black Santa/ White Christmas (Season 1, Ep. 10)
Certain that his annual office Christmas party needs a black Santa, Dre goes out of his way to fill the red suit, even though the head of HR already got the job. Meanwhile, Bow doesn't feel like competing with Ruby over who cooks the big holiday dinner. - IMBD
Martin
"Go Tell It On The Martin" (Season 3, Ep. 13)
Martin's big Christmas TV show is almost ruined by a suicidal madman. BEBE and CECE WINANS sing Christmas carols. - IMBD
Martin
"I Saw Gina Kissing Santa Claus" (Season 1, Ep. 15)
Martin dresses up as Santa for Tommy's Big Brother program. - IMBD
The Bernie Mac Show
"A Christmas Story" (Season 1,)
Bernie Mac loves Christmas and is eager to give a Mac family Christmas to the kids. The kids just want a dog and Uncle Bernie will not allow that, so the kids start treating Bernie unkindly. Bernie struggles with what to do because of their attitude. An angel, in the form of a dog, pays a visit and the kids learn the meaning of selflessness. - IMBD
Moesha
"A Class Act Christmas" (Season 4, Ep. 9)
"The employees at Class Act, including Moesha and Hakeem, are held hostage during the Christmas holiday by an older man dressed as Santa Claus." - IMBD
Everybody Hates Chris
"Everybody Hates Christmas" (Season 1, Ep. 11)
Rochelle and Julius don't have enough money to get Chris his new Walkman that he wants for Christmas. Drew tells Toyna the truth about Santa Claus, which makes Tonya question about other things her mom and dad told her. - IMBD