Ranking Every Animated Nickelodeon Christmas Special on Paramount+

Hello again everyone. Welcome to my list ranking and giving somewhat hastily made mini-reviews on each of Nickelodeon's Christmas Specials streaming on Paramount+! It's nice to see whomever made the classic Nickelodeon Holiday Party stop-motion short the picture above is from [Watch on Youtube here] did their homework because each animated series featured has at least one special!

*Story includes action, emotion, suspense etc.
*Holiday spirit covers decorations, themes of family togetherness, the gift of giving, multiple holiday inclusion, etc.

39. Bunsen is a Beast

"Bunsen Saves Christmas" S1E17

Have I seen the show?:
No

Have I seen this holiday special before this review?:
No

Music: 3.5
Story*: 3
Humor: 2
Creativity: 3
Holiday spirit*: 3.5

Review: There is no main character more annoying sounding than Bunsen, so much so that I believe that the volume on the audio recordings for the character may be actually lower than other characters but his friend Mikey is almost just as grating sounding on the ears. In this special we see the cringey evil looking villain girl that ruins the show even more than it already was trying to stop Christmas and as the title of the special suggests, Bunsen saves it by creating more Bunsens to fly Santa's sleigh and that was a real stretch for I can't see that helping anything in any way. There's a random coincidence to Fanboy & Chum Chum in the teddy bears with laser beams in their eyes. I was not a fan of this or this show and I wouldn't watch this over any other special listed here.

Final rating: 1.5 out of 10 Dingle Bells

38. The Ren and Stimpy Show

"Son of Stimpy" S2E2

Have I seen the show?:
Yes

Have I seen this holiday special before this review?:
No

Music: 8.5
Story*: 6
Humor: 9
Creativity: 6
Holiday spirit*: 4

Review: This wasn't exactly a holiday special but half of it does take place on Christmas and has holiday themes of lost family and reunification, as well an appearance of Santa Clause in the big city where the animation is nice to look at but for the most part this is your typical gross out humor from a regular Ren & Stimpy episode more-so than a holiday focused special. It's alright for what it is but if you watch it you'll know what I mean.

Final rating: 2.5 out of 10 Burned Matches

37. Kamp Koral
"The Ho! Ho! Horror! Special! S1E12a

Have I seen the show?:
Yes

Have I seen this holiday special before this review?:
No

Music: 8
Story*: 2
Humor: 4
Creativity: 2.5
Holiday spirit*: 2.5

Review: Going into this Spongebob spin-off with an open mind sadly didn't help the end result for me. Maybe with a longer runtime there might have been more time to set up different, better story elements. Squidward going on the naughty list and getting coal over being bad at the clarinet was the first red flag that the humor wasn't going to be sophisticated in any form of the word, unlike its much more successful counterpart thats humor appeals to people of all ages. I never thought I'd see Santa Claus trading punches on screen, actually making contact with a human sized blown up Mrs. Puff but I guess someone thought it was needed in a Christmas special. Seeing the Kampers all take on Santa in a Paul Bunyan type way was the only okay part to me. Honestly, I'm not a fan of this show in general and I've given it a couple tries and personally wish they would have done something better with the whole show.

Final rating: 2.5 out of 10 Ballyhooing Baboons

36. Pig Goat Banana Cricket

"Happy Chalawunga!" S1E3

Have I seen the show?:
No

Have I seen this holiday special before this review?:
No

Music: 3.5
Story*: 5
Humor: 7
Creativity: 9
Holiday spirit*: 3.5

Review: I didn't know what to expect when it came to this show and although I can handle some shows with gross-out humor even I can only take so much. I'll give it to the show for its gift giving message, extreme creativity and the laughs it got out of me but even for a made-up holiday special I feel it could have had a little less disturbing parts and characters, such as Filthy the Foot.

Final rating: 3 out of 10 Sparkle Eggs

35. Aaahhh Real Monsters!!!

"Gone Shopp'n" S1E6b

Have I seen the show?:
Yes

Have I seen this holiday special before this review?:
No

Music: 2
Story*: 4
Humor: 5.5
Creativity: 5
Holiday spirit*: 3.5

Review: For a regular episode of the show I'd say this was a fine addition. That may be all that this episode set on Christmas was meant to be. The main trio of monsters are seen mesmerized by a lava lamp while window shopping in the mall before being chased throughout and I can't say it mattered in any way that it was set during a holiday and I only vaguely remember a Christmas tree in the background. I like the show enough to own a t-shirt with these characters on it but I didn't like this episode taking place on a holiday without being centric to said holiday.

Final rating: 3 out of 10 Locked Mall Faucets

34. Fanboy & Chum Chum

"A Very Brrr-y Icemas" S2E17

Have I seen the show?:
No

Have I seen this holiday special before this review?:
No

Music: 4
Story*: 4
Humor: 3.5
Creativity: 6.5
Holiday spirit*: 7.5

Review: When the main duo of this series accidentally send the wrong Icemas wish to Man-artica I knew I was in for an interesting take on Santa and the North Pole. I wasn't as annoyed with the show as I thought I would be but didn't find myself completely infatuated either. There are some redeemable qualities that save it from being even lower like some originality in character designs but not so much in the story, humor or with all of the character's antics.

Final rating: 4 out of 10 Cups of Frosty Noggy Nog

33. Sanjay And Craig

"Huggle Day" S3E5

Have I seen the show?:
No

Have I seen this holiday special before this review?:
No

Music: 6.5
Story*: 6.5
Humor: 5
Creativity: 6.5
Holiday spirit*: 8

Review: Weird shows appeal to me at times but having an old Rocky villain as a main character of this holiday special feels a bit too far out of place for me. The character could have been a more well known celebrity or a made up character in my opinion but they must have featured him because the city the show takes place in is named Lundgren. At least the character himself is entertaining but yhe creepy Huggle Bunny is a really peculiar Santa replacement and I've seen quite a few of them in these specials up to this point; but H.B. definitely takes the cake. At the end of the episode there's a nice message about gift giving that becomes infectious to the townspeople, so props for that but overall there's nothing much here to write home about and the first song was the definition of annoying.

Final rating: 5 out of 10 Icicle Pillows

32. Catdog

"A Very Catdog Christmas" S2E20

Have I seen the show?:

Yes

Have I seen this holiday special before this review?:
Yes

Music: 5
Story*: 5
Humor: 4
Creativity: 4

Holiday Spirit: 6

Review: In my memory this special had a lot more depth to it but nowadays, it sadly doesn't hold up the best. The transitions from scene to scene feel a bit choppy at times and this episode could have gone better without the villain gang, the Greasers being in it too. This does have a catchy jingle along with a nice message at the very end though that helped make it better.

Final rating: 5.5 out of 10 Red Sports Cars

31. Breadwinners
"A Crustmas Story" S2E15

Have I seen the show?:
No

Have I seen this holiday special before this review?:
No

Music: 7.5
Story*: 6.5
Humor: 6.5
Creativity: 7
Holiday spirit*: 6.5

Review: Maybe it's my age but I found this one to be all over the place and a bit hard to keep up with at times. There were some genuinely funny bits or jokes and I can't imagine how they came up with even half of the crazy stuff that happens in this and all of the other extra random cartoons. It was fun at times and the gross out level was mostly kept to a minimum with this one, which I appreciated but the butt focused dance party scene lost it some points for sure.

Final rating: 6.5 out of 10 Loaves of Crustmus Bread

30. Angry Beavers
"Gift Hoarse" S1E3a

Have I seen the show?:
Yes

Have I seen this holiday special before this review?:
Yes

Music: 8
Story*: 6
Humor: 8.5
Creativity: 6.5
Holiday spirit*: 5

Review: Although this takes place on Arbor Day, it's pretty much the Beaver's Christmas episode but because of that it isn't very holiday themed other than that of gift giving. I remember relating to this episode as a child, feeling the jealousy Dag feels when his gift is something so small compared to his brother Norbit's much more elaborate gift. He tries to make the best of what he has but quickly loses patience, grows angry and envisions an evil scheme to destroy his brother's gift and eventually goes at it by any means necessary. The way everything plays out is a fun time and even the last scene is a slap in the face to Dag that can never win. I just wish this episode was a full special focused more on holiday themes but I remembered it being enjoyable from my childhood and it held up, it was just a bit too short and simple.

Final rating: 6.5 out of 10 Pink Salads

29. The Fairly Oddparents

"Merry Wishmas" S6E7

Have I seen the show?:
Yes

Have I seen this holiday special before this review?:
No

Music: 5
Story*: 5.5
Humor: 6.5
Creativity: 6.5
Holiday spirit*: 4.5

Review: This time around we find Timmy Turner wishing for every kid in Dimmsdale to have a "one day-after-Christmas wish" and the evil Vicki quickly causes chaos with her wish. There's some nice continuity shout-outs from the previous Fairly Oddparents Christmas special but other than the story moving smoothly and there not being any major gripes I also found myself not finding much to praise either. However, in my opinion it is worth a watch for any fan of the series that hasn't seen it.

Final rating: 6.5 out of 10 Turbo Flying Pepperoni Pizzas

28. Doug
"Doug's Christmas Story" S4E10

Have I seen the show?:
Yes

Have I seen this holiday special before this review?:
Yes

Music: 5.5
Story*: 9.5
Humor: 5.5
Creativity: 8
Holiday spirit*: 7

Review: I know not every show would attempt to tackle such a dark theme in their Christmas special but for this usually mundane show it was very surprising. However, I thought the seriousness of the issue was portrayed perfectly in some unexpected suspenseful keywords relaying the severity of the situation. The way Doug mentally handles it by conferring with his imagined counterparts of himself in the forms of a Superhero, Indiana Jones and James Bond like characters all together at the same time helping the real Doug is really neat to see. Doug pleading for his dog's life by bringing up everyone's personal relation to Porkchop doesn't quite convince the court of his innocence and eventually Porkchop has to prove it himself by having the scenario replayed but the whole thing was pretty unbelievable. I'm forgiving though and still had a pleasant time with the characters of Bluffington.

Final rating: 6.5 out of 10 Pine Cone Hockey Pucks

27. It's Pony
"Bramley Holiday" S1E18

Have I seen the show?:
No.

Have I seen the holiday special before this review?:
No.

Music: 6
Story*: 8
Humor: 7
Creativity: 5
Holiday spirit*: 8

Review:
At first I wasn't sold on the humor or story but after the first half I really enjoyed the surprisingly deep premise they explored, callbacks to earlier jokes that increasingly became funnier and the action scenes. The episode doesn't include a heavily Christmas ala Santa themed adventure but the bonds of family are strengthened through the holiday adventure as they are in real life for so many of us.

Final rating: 7 Light-up Reindeer Antlers out of 10

26. T.U.F.F. Puppy
"Doomed Christmas" S1E20

Have I seen the show?:
No

Have I seen this holiday special before this review?:
No

Music: 7.5
Story*: 8
Humor: 7.5
Creativity: 5
Holiday spirit*: 8

Review: A lot of these specials feature the main characters having to save Christmas and that premise couldn't be more on brand than when it comes to this animal James Bond inspired series. The three villains featured are very fun characters, perhaps even more appealing to watch than the main T.U.F.F. Agents, especially the annoying leader Puppy. The comedy in most Butch Hartman cartoons like Fairly Oddparents, Danny Phantom (not so much in Bunsen is a Beast) is usually pretty good and this was no exception from what I saw. There's a nice message of sacrificing one's gift for others and that's always cool to see in these. I'm not sure if this has swayed me into wanting to explore the series as a whole but my opinion is definitely more positive on this and almost every Nickelodeon show I hadn't seen before making this list but now have.

Final rating: 7 out of 10 Glasses of Nog Poison

25. Robot And Monster
"Baconmas" S1E25

Have I seen the show?:
No

Have I seen this holiday special before this review?:
No

Music: 6.5
Story*: 7.5
Humor: 3
Creativity: 7
Holiday spirit*: 7.5

Review: The subject matter covered in this very generic looking cartoon special is extremely mature compared to a normal episode when the conflict of the special covers something alluded to in our real world holiday gatherings. I wasn't sure how the resolution would come about but how they work it out by the end worked well to me and I enjoyed the whole show in general way more than I expected to. If you've seen all your favorite holiday specials on this list already and want to throw a new one on then give this a shot. There isn't a ton here at first but it has a good message.

Final rating: 7 out of 10 Glasses of Bacon Nog

24. All Grown Up

"The Finster Who Stole Christmas" S3E7

Have I seen the show?:
Yes

Have I seen this holiday special before this review?:
Yes

Music: 7.5
Story*: 7.5
Humor: 2.5
Creativity: 3
Holiday spirit*: 9

Review: I could see some people taking issue with the religious aspects of this special with the show covering Hanukkah as well as shout outs to the Christianity aspect of Christmas. The story involving Chuckie accidentally lifting a X-mas tree he believes someone "turfed" or threw away on the curb when instead they set it down for a second is flimsy at best but sets up for an uncharacteristic adventure for the usually timid character. It's odd yet interesting to see Chuckie acting out in a bad way for most of the holiday and I'll never forget the moment while watching the show as a kid when I saw Lillian come on to Chuckie when he's being a bad boy by saying it's "kind of attractive". The way the ending plays out with the writers somehow managing to get all the kids into burglar garb for a Christmas special is a feat alone but it works for the story and every time (this may be the third?) I've seen this it's better and still in some ways worse than I think it will be but I still recommend it for every Rugrats fan.

Final rating: 7 out of 10 Itty Bitty Bags of Macadamia Nuts

23. Back at the Barnyard

"It's an Udderful Life" S2E14

Have I seen the show?:
Yes

Have I seen this holiday special before this review?:
No

Music: 7.5
Story*: 6.5
Humor: 9
Creativity: 4
Holiday spirit*: 6

Review: Even with having seen the feature film this series was based on and being a fan of both of them I still had no idea what to expect going in to this but one thing I remember was that humans don't interact with the talking animals while they're talking so when a certain someone shows up it was an interesting surprise. The turn of events that follow are similar to the Jimmy Neutron special and that's not a complaint, but perhaps a cliche. The humor was the mainstream form of entertainment in this one compared to the focus being on action, emotion or suspense but the animation was clean and the story sailed right along nicely.

Final rating: 7 out of 10 Ferret's Cups of Cinnamon Egg Nog

22. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003)

"The Christmas Aliens" S3E12

Have I seen the show?:

Yes

Have I seen this holiday special before this review?:

No

Music: 5

Story*: 3.5

Humor: 6

Creativity: 3.5

Holiday spirit*: 8

Review:

I'm a sucker for sledding scenes and action packed chase scenes involving rocket launchers and kittens, but even with all that happening to one of the turtles, I wish they hadn't separated the four of them for the majority of this special so that they could have done something together instead. However, seeing all of their friends gathered together, Master Splinter's touching moment and a few more charming parts really helped boost the following score. The action in this episode is epic as expected, which is obligatory for any TMNT series.

Final rating: 7 out of 10 Famous Double Chocolate Cookies

21. Chalkzone

"When Santas Collide" S3E15

Have I seen the show?:
Yes

Have I seen this holiday special before this review?:
No

Music: 8
Story*: 8
Humor: 7
Creativity: 8
Holiday spirit*: 8

Review:
I enjoyed this special. It had funny parts and great songs except one that felt out of place and the story lacked a bit but other than that I'd say it's worth watching for the songs alone for any casual fan of the series. Oh, and Elvis Santa.

Final rating: 7.5 Chalkzone Santa Clauses out of 10

20. The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron
"Holly Jolly Jimmy" S2E7

Have I seen the show?:
Yes

Have I seen this holiday special before this review?:
Maybe, but I don't think so.

Music: 6.5
Story*: 6
Humor: 8
Creativity: 9
Holiday spirit*: 5

Review:
Watching the main gang on the adventure to prove the non-existence of the magical Santa Clause by proving if Jimmy can deliver presents to every kid on the planet then Santa must not exist was cool to see. Watching how the boy genius would attempt to pull this off was cool and the humor made me chuckle throughout. I thought the girls could have been implemented into the episode better or maybe should have just been with the boys the whole time but I liked Hugh and Judy Neutron's storyline, the last song was catchy and things all come together nicely in the end.

Final rating: 7.5 Dwarf Christmas Tree Stars out of 10

19. My Life As a Teenage Robot
"A Robot for All Seasons" SE5

Have I seen the show?:
Ye

Have I seen this holiday special before this review?:
No

Music: 4.5
Story*: 9
Humor: 6.5
Creativity: 7.5
Holiday spirit*: 5

Review: For fans of the teenage robot already and newcomers alike I believe this will be an enjoyable ride for all who give it a watch. The layout of the episode sets itself up as if it's going to be a take of the classic Chistmas Carol type of holiday story but instead decides to create its own story with a little suspense and some extremely fun dialogue-less action scenes before having a surprisingly nice wrap-up. It wasn't super heavy in the traditional holiday aspects of family but it definitely had enough and flew by quickly despite being twice as long as a normal episode of the series.

Final rating: 7.5 Pieces of Antimatter out of 10

18. Spongebob Squarepants (1999)
'It's a Spongebob Christmas' (Stop-motion) S8E23

Have I seen the show?:
Yes

Have I seen this holiday special before this review?:
No

Music: 8.5
Story*: 4.5
Humor: 7.5
Creativity: 9
Holiday spirit: 7

Review: I found the homage to classic stop-motion animated Christmas movies by having this episode be stop-motion as well to be very charming, however I don't believe it improved the episode much other than only aesthetically. To me, this was mostly just another episode of Spongebob except it was stop-motion, took place on Christmas and had Santa. The good humor and super catchy memorable song landed it higher than it would have since I wasn't a huge fan of the plot.

Final rating: 7.5 Jerktonium laced Fruitcakes out of 10

17. Rugrats (1991) 
"Let it Snow" S416b

Have I seen the show?:
Yes

Have I seen this holiday special before this review?:
Yes

Music: 8
Story*: 8
Humor: 7
Creativity: 6
Holiday spirit*: 6.5

Review: People in the future will wonder why this animated series about talking babies was so popular, received so many feature films, awards, seasons and spin-offs but that can be answered easily. If anyone wants an example of Rugrats in its prime then just throw this episode on. This isn't even an official Christmas special but when the Christmas tree is out early in the Pickles household for a holiday card picture the babies think the holiday has arrived. The writing in form of the minute, such as the way Stu has motion blur in all the past family holiday photos, the way the babies run around with Spike and in general with how the babies write a letter to Santa, make it "snow" and everything else is what I love to see. Also, the dialogue between Stu and Didi about the laundry machine, the words the babies say such as "forgetted", "Mischegas" instead of Michigan, "antelope" instead of envelope and more. I love the way the teamwork between the four main characters always gets the job done and all the hijinks it causes along the way. I need to go back and make sure I've seen all the episodes and then finish the late seasons I know I haven't seen.

Final rating: 7.5 out of 10 Guava Melon Sized Hailstones

16. The Casagrandes
"A Very Casagrandes Christmas" S2E2

Have I seen the show?:
No

Have I seen this holiday special before this review?:
No

Music: 8.5
Story*: 6
Humor: 7
Creativity: 6
Holiday spirit*: 8

Review: Being a Loud House spin-off series, comparatively, each character's energy in this show seems to be more amicable than at least the Loud sisters (maybe not Lincoln Loud) from the little I've seen, but I haven't seen enough of either to judge efficiently. For my first experience with this family I had a superb time from the start of this special. The colors, animation style, background art and sleigh bell background music keeping it cheery and giving it a general charm even in the small moments is what makes it shine. Although excuses are given, I wasn't a fan of how everyone in town continuously arrives to the Casagrandes' home before the halfway point of the episode but I'll bet it's difficult to write them into gathering organically only to be kicked out before saving the day, which I thought felt weird. Either way, it's a nice sentiment all in all by the end and cool to see the big group gathering more friends from around the town to a nice song. All is well and gifts are exchanged between everyone before another family knocks at the door to make a quick surprising cameo appearance and that was sweet to see.

Final rating: 7.5 out of 10 Llama Smiley Faces

15. Rocket Power
"A Rocket X-Mas" S3E18

Have I seen the show?:
Yes

Have I seen this holiday special before this review?:
Yes

Music: 9.5
Story*: 7.5
Humor: 6
Creativity: 3.5
Holiday spirit*: 8.5

Review: Things start off with the Rocket family discussing their monetary problems while window shopping which leads to the kids and their friends deciding to walk people's dogs around town for some extra dough to buy their Dad a new long/surfboard. I really liked the quick montage of the dogs being introduced to the gang, each having a funny attribute similar to their owner. Seeing Uncle Tito dressed up as Santa was fun to see but I wish he had a happier storyline. I believe a snowy location like a cabin or resort featuring everyone snowed in after a bunch of skiing and snowboarding could have worked much better but seeing a snowless Christmas in the city of Ocean Shores and snowless holiday special was interesting to see pulled off in itself. I was always and still am a sucker for any writing that has to do with a character that's passed away before the show began (Chuckie Finster's mother in Rugrats) so when Raymundo tells Otto and Reggie that their late Mother is the real reason Christmas traditions not being held up by them is the reason he's upset but then realizes what really mattered to their mother was that they spent time together as a family was a touching moment to me. Tito's story ends greatly, which is well deserved for one of the greatest animated characters of all time. All in all, it's a classic Rocket X-mas (eve actually).

Final rating: 8 out of 10 Ladies Dancing

14. Rugrats (2021)
"Traditions" S1E14

Have I seen the show?:
Yes

Have I seen this holiday special before this review?:
No

Music: 7.5
Story*: 8.5
Humor: 8
Creativity: 5.5
Holiday spirit*: 10

Review: At this point in the reboot series of Rugrats the team behind it seems to have worked out many, if not all of the initial flaws many had with the premiere episode that had awkward CGI animation that made the babies feel a bit uncanny valley. The special feels very homely, like they got the rhythm down for that cozy Rugrats holiday feel and they combine Hanukkah and Christmas while giving the former as much coverage as the latter, which you only tend to see in most Klasky Csupo produced cartoons such as As Told By Ginger and All Grown Up. The ending has a great bit with the two holidays combined and Grandpa Boris, always a personal favorite of mine, really shines throughout this episode. Rugrats fans that are fond of the old holiday specials should be sure to give this a watch 'til the end. It's surprisingly mature and realistic at points when the parents are discussing religion and just about all the parents, grandparents and babies have good lines. Plus, Spike is featured, and who doesn't love Spike?!

Final rating: 8.5 out of 10 Sleigh Bell Earrings

13. The Wildthornberrys
"Have Yourself a Thornberry Little Christmas" S2E19

Have I seen the show?:
Yes

Have I seen this holiday special before this review?:
Yes

Music: 6
Story*: 9
Humor: 7
Creativity: 8.5
Holiday spirit: 8.5

Review: Watching this episode can feel like a downer at some points, including an all time low point emotionally for a main character of the series and maybe one of the only animated holiday specials to ever feature a main character breaking down into tears like this (don't quote me on that) but it's all worth it in the end and upon my rewatch I ended up rating this much higher than I would have initially. It hits on all levels with a wide variety of animals including the king of the jungle and my personal favorite, the always majestic elephant so what more can I ask for from a Wildthornberrys Christmas special? It had and did it all.

Final rating: 8.5 Christmas Geese w/ Hard Sauce and Plum Puddings out of 10

12. Danny Phantom
"The Fright Before Christmas" S2E8

Have I seen the show?:
Yes

Have I seen this holiday special before this review?:
Yes

Music: 8.5
Story*: 8.5
Humor: 6.5
Creativity: 8.5
Holiday spirit*: 9

Review: This special impresses me in multiple ways. They somehow wrote an entire episode full of rhyming dialogue and it works pretty well for the most part story-wise, which must have taken a lot of work. I always forget the Ghost Writer villain is voiced by Will Arnett and cracks me up when he calls Danny a "Scrooge-like urchin" for hating on the holidays so much. The rhyming narration from Arnett coupled with the rhyming dialogue really gives the special a unique feel and isn't done in any other listed here. The action is pretty cool at points, and the jokes are fine but not outstanding. The story is different with everyone mad at Danny in his Phantom form, including his friends but watching him break free from the book he's trapped in by teaming up with the most unlikely suspects was very unforeseen by me and pretty wholesome to see happen on the "one day of tranquility." A cheerful ending for a superb special that's worth the time if you're a fan of the series.

Final rating: 8.5 out of 10 Livers for Lunch

11. The Loud House
"11 Louds a Leapin'" S2E2

Have I seen the show?:
Yes

Have I seen this holiday special before this review?:
No

Music: 8.5
Story*: 8
Humor: 7.5
Creativity: 6.5
Holiday spirit*: 9

Review: Most of this special was the usual easy going antics of each sister with their unique personality traits but towards the end I really liked the song that aides in concluding the grumpy neighbor's emotional story by having the Christmas spirit inspire the Louds to help him feel "that's what Christmas is all about." There's a progressive same-sex family moment, a classic mistletoe kiss that wouldn't happen otherwise and an ending that made me almost tear up, which I didn't see coming so don't sleep on this one if you haven't seen it.

Final rating: 8.5 out of 10 Spoonfuls of Figgy Pudding

10. Invader Zim
"The Most Horrible X-Mas Ever" S2E1

Have I seen the show?:
Yes

Have I seen this holiday special before this review?:
No

Music: 7.5
Story*: 8.5
Humor: 10
Creativity: 9
Holiday spirit*: 5.5

Review: During this holiday outting for the human Dib and Invader Zim we find Zim and his sidekicks Gir and Minimoose first on the side of the road before abducting one of Santa's helpers and eventually creating a living Santa suit that's taking over Zim's body and stopping him from taking over the world- while Dib attempts to stop it all from happening. I love Zim's use of Earthpigs, Earthmonkeys, and Filthies as terminology for adult humans and children, plus his classic filthy horrible humans line. This show may appear a bit demented looking but almost always retains a positive, upbeat atmosphere in general and some holiday cheer is snuck in here and there. The laughs are aplenty and an unlikely team up of characters help keep things interesting so the time flys by. Also, I definitely didn't have hardcore giant mecha battle scene on my Invader Zim X-Mas Special BINGO card but that was a welcome surprise. This one was a fun time.

Final rating: 9 out of 10 Cases of Uranium-238

9. Rugrats (1991)
"The Santa Experience"

Have I seen the show?:
Yes

Have I seen this holiday special before this review?:
Yes

Music: 8.5
Story*: 7
Humor: 8
Creativity: 5
Holiday spirit*: 10

Review: Hearing a Christmas rendition of this classic opening theme song was a great way to set things off but with this being a full length special, it kind of moved at a slower pace than other episodes at times but I still ate it all up because early seasons of this show was my childhood. The line Angelica yells "Santa's a fake! RUN FOUR YOUR LIVES", the cut to her being muffled followed by the tree chopping scene between Didi and Betty, Grandpa hitting his thumb from Spike's bark and more is all grade A comedy to me when it comes to a show like this and it still works for me. How Angelica's evil gifting plot for Phil and Lil backfires and the "Santa" down the chimney stuff leading up to another, more friendly Santa that talks to Chuckie in such a friendly voice gives off a calming feeling, that changes how he feels about him after he was scared of him beforehand. The ending with the phone call realization is one of the best, I felt it in my heart and then Angelica's gift gets me every time.

Final rating: 9 out of 10 Professional Santas

8. As Told By Ginger
"An Even Stevens Holiday Special" S1E17

Have I seen the show?:
Yes

Have I seen this holiday special before this review?:
Yes

Music: 6.5
Story*: 10
Humor: 6.5
Creativity: 7
Holiday spirit*: 10

Review: In this special Ginger Foutley decides to throw an "even steven" holiday party to celebrate her heritage by having it split between Hanukkah and Christmas. Ginger's friend Dodie becomes annoyed at this but is an annoying character anyway, so whatever. Carl Foutley, Ginger's brother doesn't believe in Santa anymore because he used to wish for his buma** Dad to come home for Christmas and it evidently never came true. As by way of Christmas miracle, Carl's friend Hoodsey tells this sad story without names to a street corner Santa that's also Carl and Ginger's bum Dad that then decides to visit his old family for the holiday. Carl and his father Jonas have a nice, yet angrily awkward conversation as usual in the show whenever they talk but it always ends well with Jonas and the family. I love this show with all my heart, like a lot of these shows, but I'll always have a deeper respect for these deeper shows. Plus, Ginger's Mom Lois Foutley is one of the greatest characters ever made.

Final rating: 9 out of 10 Street Corner Santas

7. Rugrats (1991)
"Babies in Toyland" S9E17

Have I seen the show?:
Yes

Have I seen this holiday special before this review?:
Yes

Music: 6.5
Story*: 9.5
Humor: 9
Creativity: 8.5
Holiday spirit*: 9

Review: I always loved this special as a kid and it still holds up to me now. Back then I used to especially enjoy imagining visiting a Toyland place like this with my family and it having "The Nutcracker" elements, such as The Mouse King in which the babies see as an actual, living Mouse King and his army that they must fight and defeat. Angelica is running around complaining while all of their parents and some of the grandparents are stuck in a cabin that's been snowed in with fake snow from one of Stu Pickles inventions gone awry, per usual. Everything going down in this adventure has a nice mix of the real world suspense and imagined scenario suspense in the world the babies see, and is especially high on the action front compared to an average episode of the series. I wasn't a fan of the song towards the end of the special but I loved the sequence leading up to it, how Angelica imagines her reindeer doll in living form and has a change of heart. The way the adults spend their time locked up together having an old fashioned Christmas, appreciating the simpler things in life was short but sweet and ends in disaster, of course. The babies all decide to gift their personal possessions to a baby in a manger doll before Grandpa Lou finds them, and we see the locked up family singing, having a jolly time together again. Angelica gives the babies gifts but forgets Dill and does something super uncharacteristic and touching, which was awesome to see. After Grandpa Lou saves the day in this one everyone sings a Christmas song together and there's an obligatory shot of Santa flying his sleigh across the sky saying "Ho-Ho-Ho" while throwing presents, which I enjoy seeing even though it kind of felt unneeded. Its runtime is lengthy but for one reason or another parts of this special pop into my mind from time to time and I always have a jolly ole' time.

Final rating: 9 out of 10 Abandoned Hot Cocoa Cups

6. The Ren & Stimpy Show
"A Scooter For Yaksmas" S5E6

Have I seen the show?:
Yes

Have I seen this holiday special before this review?:
No

Music: 10
Story*: 10
Humor: 10
Creativity: 10
Holiday spirit*: 10

Review: The first half of this special hits on all levels with a massively creative holiday song that must have taken some very far out ideas to put it together. Some familiar holiday themes are explored involving gift giving when Stimpy doesn't get what he asked for from Ren and all of that was enjoyable to watch. The facial and body expressions of the characters, as well as the detailed animation, was like no other. The second half of the episode gets pretty random but that comes with the territory and it wraps up nicely. I wish I'd known of and seen this holiday special long ago but am happy to have finally seen it.

Final rating: 9.5 Glasses of Dog Nog out of 10

5. Rocko's Modern Life
"Rocko's Modern Christmas" S2E6

Have I seen the show?:
Yes

Have I seen this holiday special before this review?:
No

Music: 9
Story*: 9.5
Humor: 9
Creativity: 10
Holiday spirit*: 10

Review: Full disclosure, I grew up on and have always loved Rocko's Modern Life. I somehow missed this cute Christmas special growing up but I enjoyed it so much that I may show one of my brothers that also grew up with the show. It just hits right in all the right ways. From immediate humor you wouldn't see these days on a kid's network with the "constipated" anthropomorphic snow cloud to the random, if a bit unneeded violence throughout it all takes me back to when this show was what was playing constantly on Nickelodeon. There's a Christmas themed intro replacing the original which sets things off in the right mood. Rocko trying to throw a little party that grows to everyone in town, his tree and gift shopping and the way he confronts the pack of wolves salesmen is perfect and hilarious except I did ding it a bit on the humor for the Fruitcake man and aforementioned cloud but I'm not a stickler so I didn't care that much, and whose to say I would have as a child or adult when this came out? Those parts are just a little immature for me these days but everything with the little non-speaking elf that's moved in across the street and has a Santa's workshop inside with a bunch of other elves was interesting to see and the scene with their names and then the song made me chuckle a couple times. I liked how Rocko's neighbor Ed Bighead thought his wife and he weren't invited to the party but his wife thinks the invite's lost in the mail so he causes trouble only for the invite to show up later on. I was pleasantly surprised by the ending and although not a ton really happens I really love the quiet scene where Rocko opens his front door and looks out at everyone and everything that follows, even the phone call crammed in at the end for some family connection.

Final rating: 9.5 out of 10 Zoomorphic Christmas Tree Dogs

4. Harvey Beaks
"It's Christmas, You Dorks!" S2E10

Have I seen the show?:
Yes

Have I seen this holiday special before this review?:
No

Music: 10
Story*: 10
Humor: 9.5
Creativity: 10
Holiday spirit*: 10

Review: Not only would I have never guessed that other than singing there is no spoken dialogue in this episode and I would have never guessed how well it would work and how much I'd love it. I haven't seen much of the show but each segment and each song in this special worked perfectly. I now can't recommend this one enough and may even show my brother since he likes most animated series. Most of these I watched alone but I threw this one on with my normie girlfriend watching and she loved it too so even if you've never seen the show be sure to check this one out!

Final rating: 9.5 out of 10 Dandelions in the Snow

3. The Fairly Oddparents
"Christmas Everyday" S1E7

Have I seen the show?:
Yes

Have I seen this holiday special before this review?:
Yes

Music: 10
Story*: 10
Humor: 9.5
Creativity: 10
Holiday spirit*: 10

Review: I love the song, the inclusion of other holiday mascots such as the Easter Bunny and Cupid except for the Jerry Seinfeld sounding April Fool, that I've never been to fond of. The idea for a special in having Timmy Turner wishing that every day could be Christmas and exploring how that scenario would play out if it couldn't be un-wished at will is a perfect premise in my opinion as this was one of those wishes I could see myself asking for if I were lucky enough to find myself with Fairy Godparents. The way the episode comes to a conclusion is very wholesome and I wish we could live in a world like that, with everyone together. When the song from earlier in the episode comes back around towards the end there's some heartwarming writing and emotion in the lyrics.

Final rating: 10 out of 10 Egg Noggys

2. Spongebob Squarepants (1999)
"Chistmas Who" S2E8

Have I seen the show?:
Yes

Have I seen this holiday special before this review?:
Yes

Music: 10
Story*: 10
Humor: 10
Creativity: 10
Holiday spirit: 10

Review: This episode has some fun creatively festive live-action Patchy the Pirate segments before it completely passes the bar on every level, such as the catchy song and jingles, non-stop hilarity and surprising ending. There are reasons this show is such a major success and this episode has everything that makes a great SBSP episode great-all while being a perfect Christmas episode in itself by following the spirit of most holiday specials overall.

Final rating: 10 out of 10 Gumdrops and Pennywhistles

1. Hey Arnold!
"Arnold's Christmas" S1E11

Have I seen the show?:
Yes

Have I seen this holiday special before this review?:
Yes

Music: 10
Story*: 10
Humor: 9
Creativity: 9.5
Holiday spirit*: 10

Review: Over the years when I've thought of a Nickelodeon Christmas special this is the episode and show I think of first. The affect this story has on me, in that it brings me to tears, I believe is shared by almost everyone that watches this heartbreaking and heartwarming story. If you haven't seen it and are reading this, please watch it. The story is just completely impeccable-the story of a boy that wants to do nothing but help people and do good in this world and how his belief in the spirit of Christmas helps carry him through completing a near impossible task for someone he gets for secret Santa and how that good spirit of his is almost crushed before it's saved by the most unlikely Christmas angel. That scene, and the reunification between father and long lost daughter ending is beyond magnificent. It brought me to tears again even just now reading the episode's transcript to check if they were described as a Christmas angel in the show as well, which they were. "Christmas is special. It's about showing people you care about them." is said by Arnold in the beginning and it's short and sweet and true. This is truly an immaculate work of art and I'm always impressed by how much it does every time I see it. Bravo.

Final rating: 10 out of 10 Pairs of Spimoni Christmas Boots

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Merry Christmas to all that celebrate and Happy Holidays to all!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jordan Bushert

Entertainment Journalist

What's on Paramount+

Contact, Twitter & more of my projects:

Jordan Bushert's Linktree