The "Beverly Hills, 90210" Christmas Episodes

“Beverly Hills, 90210” is not only the longest-running of our teen dramas — it’s also the one with the most Christmas episodes.

Nine, to be exact.

With the exception of its first season, “Beverly Hills, 90210” featured a Christmas episode every year throughout its run. FOX even aired “Beverly Hills, 90210: A Christmas Special” with the cast in 1994, one of several specials during the show’s 10 seasons.

Though I don’t celebrate Christmas, I have fond memories of watching FX and SOAPnet’s marathons of the “Beverly Hills, 90210” Christmas episodes. It was actually a great way for me to spend the holiday every year. Binge-watching (before it was even called “binge-watching”) my all-time favorite show for hours on end? What a gift.

It was also notable that “Beverly Hills, 90210” chose to make December 25 one of their character’s birthdays. That alone made these episodes particularly interesting, but of course, there is much more than that to love about these installments. Keep reading for a look at every single “Beverly Hills, 90210” Christmas episode.

Season 2: “A Walsh Family Christmas”

Episode 2.18

Airdate: December 19, 1991

After skipping over Christmas in its debut season, the show in season 2 gave fans a 90-minute episode showcasing the Walshes’ first Christmas in California. (It was said they returned to Minneapolis for the holiday the previous year.) Cindy has trouble adjusting to a warm-weather Christmas, leading Brandon to figure out a way to give his mom a white Christmas. Brenda befriends a man who may or may not be Santa Claus, Steve searches for his birth mother in New Mexico, and we learn Donna is a Christmas baby.

Season 3: “It’s a Totally Happening Life”

Episode 3.16

Airdate: December 16, 1992

Full disclosure: I’ve never seen It’s a Wonderful Life (or most Christmas movies, for that matter). Another disclosure: I used to hate this episode. It took me a long time to see its brilliance. The episode unfolds from the perspective of two angels, with plotlines intersecting and some scenes shown out of order before the full story is revealed. There are two breakups, a few twists in the Brenda-Dylan-Kelly love triangle, and a near-death experience. The episode’s creative storytelling isn’t revered by all fans, but I’ve come to love it.

Season 4: “Somewhere in the World It’s Christmas”

Episode 4.15

Airdate: December 22, 1993

This episode, like “Commencement” the season prior, is largely a clip show: As the plot progresses, the characters flash back to past moments in their lives — or, for us, to past scenes from the show. The Walshes’ plans to celebrate the holiday in Hawaii hit a serious snag, Dylan gets a surprise visit from two strangers, and Andrea goes to a Christmas church service for the first time. Donna and Dylan’s mistletoe kiss is adorable, but while most holiday episodes leave viewers feeling warm and fuzzy, this one ends with a gut punch: David and Donna’s breakup — on her birthday, no less!

Season 5: “Christmas Comes Each Time This Year”

Episode 5.15

Airdate: December 21, 1994

Still recovering from the house fire two episodes prior, Kelly finds it difficult to let Brandon in on what she’s going through. Meanwhile, Andrea and Jesse’s religious differences continue to complicate their marriage, Felice attempts to pay Ray to stop seeing Donna, and viewers meet the eccentric Jonesy — who’s supposed to help Dylan recover his stolen money. But perhaps what’s most notable about this episode is what it doesn’t show: Jim and Cindy visiting London to spend Christmas with Brenda.

Season 6: “Angels We Have Heard on High”

Episode 6.15

Airdate: December 20, 1995

After moving to Hong Kong, Cindy makes a surprise return to Beverly Hills… to tell Brandon she’s on the precipice of leaving his father. That’s not the episode’s only shock. Steve learns that Rush is both his adoptive and biological father, with Ian Ziering delivering some of his best acting work of the entire series. On a lighter note, Joe plans a rather unexpected Christmas / birthday gift for Donna, and on a, uh, snowier note, Colin’s cocaine habit drives a wedge between him and Kelly.

Season 7: “Gift Wrapped”

Episode 7.13

Airdate: December 18, 1996

In one of the more traditional yet still creative holiday setups, the gang pairs off two by two for a Christmas gift exchange. What the hell will enemies Kelly and Valerie get each other? The reveal is quite remarkable, and the present (at least on Kelly’s side) goes on to play a role in subsequent episodes. That’s not all Kelly has to deal with, either — like Dylan seasons before, she meets a half-sister she never knew existed. One particular plot point, Steve’s mom hitting it off with Clare’s dad, is all the more sweet given that actors Nicholas Pryor and Christine Belford are married in real life.

Season 8: “Santa Knows”

Episode 8.14

Airdate: December 17, 1997

Characters older (Noah) and younger (Zach) have trouble getting into the Christmas spirit, but things are even worse for Kelly: She continues to be sexually harassed by her boss and, unbeknownst to her, Brandon — GASPS! — cheats on her. There’s also a fairly dark plotline with David assisting a suicidal co-worker, but also plenty to love for David-Valerie shippers. My takeaway all these years later is still the same: There are few things more jolly than Nat dressed as Santa Claus.

Season 9: “Marathon Man”

Episode 9.10

Airdate: December 16, 1998

This Christmas / birthday nearly ends as badly for Donna as it did in season 4. Here, she gets a rude awakening — at her own surprise party! — when she walks in on Gina complaining about how much she can’t stand her. Speaking of Gina, this episode kicks off the Matt-Kelly-Dylan-Gina quadrangle, and, as a Kelly-Dylan fan, let me just say, the first half of the episode is much better the second. But hey, the Brian Setzer Orchestra performs!

Season 10: “Nine Yolks Whipped Lightly”

Episode 10.12

Airdate: December 22, 1999

The family drama is high as Donna and Gina try to adjust to being not just cousins but sisters and Steve tries to convince Janet’s parents to accept their marriage. Kelly gets quite the Christmas present from Matt: an engagement ring. Dylan admits to David he’d probably regret not being with Kelly for the rest of his life — and that’s before he finds out about the engagement. Things are arguably worse for birthday girl Donna, as Noah breaks up with her.

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Of course, one of the reasons “Beverly Hills, 90210” has the most Christmas episodes of all our teen dramas is that it was on the longest. But even “One Tree Hill,” which ran for nine seasons, barely featured the holiday, as I detailed in my look back at my favorite teen drama holiday episodes.

Arguably, “The O.C.” gets all the attention when it comes to Christmas episodes thanks to how beloved its four Chrismukkah installments are. But I’d argue the “Beverly Hills, 90210” collection is nothing to sneeze at. I commend the writers and producers for coming up with new ways to showcase the holiday year after year.

Like with many things in our teen drama world, “Beverly Hills, 90210” did it first and did it right.