The Only SNL Holiday Sketch Countdown You Need

Note: This was originally 15 social media posts from December 11, 2020 thru December 25, 2020. I thought this would be a great place to compile them all and provide my definitive list on the top SNL holiday sketches ever.

I love a great number of things, but two of the things I love most are the Christmas season and Saturday Night Live.

Of course my Christmas memories are from as early as I can remember, and I have loved Saturday Night Live since even before I was allowed to watch it. It helps being a pre-teen when Chris Farley, Mike Myers, and Phil Hartman were in the cast. I am even one of the few people who believe the cast right now is brilliant, but they just have some unfortunate, lazy writing.

So this holiday season I want to try and spread some cheer by sharing my absolute favorite SNL holiday sketches from over the years. Starting tomorrow (12/11) and running through Christmas, I will count down my 15 all-time favorites, one per day until Christmas, with just a little commentary about each.

It will be a combination of sketches, songs, and digital shorts, hopefully encapsulating not just the types of holiday content SNL puts out, but also as many iterations of the cast as possible.

While holiday sketches have been part of the show since the very first year (1975), they have increased in frequency over the past 15 years, so there may be a slight skew towards those years. But rest assured, we will get every decade in there.

To tide you over until tomorrow, here are some honorable mentions that won’t make the top 15, including the great “Holiday Jewelry” digital short (video below) from 2017. Let’s do better than that this year, husbands.

(you can search for most of these on Youtube)

“Motivational Santa” (RIP Chris Farley)

“Jingle Barack” (tell me this doesn’t look like it was made in the 80’s)

“Christmas Surprise” (love me some classic Kristin Wiig)

“Glenngary Glen Christmas” (Alec Baldwin pre-Trump!)

“Consumer Probe” (the first truly great Christmas sketch)

“Serial: Christmas Surprise” (skip it if you haven’t listened to the Serial podcast)

“Sump’n Claus”

“Dysfunctional Family Christmas” (today’s kids will never know the joy of a 30-minute infomercial for a collection of songs)

And here are two that are not safe for work or for my parents, in-laws, or grandparents to watch:

“Twin Bed” — would be in the top five if I wasn’t too embarrassed to write about it

“Elf on the Shelf” — God help me when my son turns 13…

SNL Christmas Sketch Countdown: #15

“Wish it was Christmas today”

In what was supposed to originally be just a silly time-filler, this catchy ear-worm of a song has now been performed at least seven times on SNL, all with the same quartet. (We shall pretend the one with Ariana Grande does not exist)

It has been covered, analyzed, had think-pieces written about it, and has come dangerously close to entering Christmas music canon. Pretty strange for a song with fake dinosaur sounds and the lyric “All I know is that Santa’s sleigh is making its way to the U.S.A.”.

It’s been performed with costumes, with Muppets, with different lyrics, and it remains just as weird now than it when it first aired almost 20 years ago today. I love it.

SNL Holiday Sketch Countdown: #14

“Stefon’s Tips for the Holidays”

Stefon is DEFINITELY an acquired taste, but he had a significant presence on the show, appearing 21 times over a 10-year period. The character really starts to take on a new meaning when you learn that Bill Hader wouldn’t get to see the final lines and cue cards for his appearance until the live show. He is famous for breaking during these scenes, but it’s primarily because he was reading the lines for the very first time.

This was Stefon’s last holiday appearance, and he saved some of his best material for this one.

As hard as I have looked, I have never been able to find a Menorah The Explorer show on TV…

SNL Holiday Sketch Countdown #13:

“Hillary Actually”

This one is both timely and nostalgic right now.

Besides Die Hard, there may be no more hotly-debated Christmas movie than Love Actually. Is it good? Does it try too hard to tug at heart strings? Do some of the storylines even make sense?

The movie is an annual watch for Allison and me, and we often find ourselves quoting it to each other throughout the year.

“Just in cases…”

SNL’s take on it finds Hillary Clinton using Andrew Lincoln’s recruitment tactics to try and convince electors back in 2016 to not vote for Donald Trump. Sounds a little too familiar, right?

SNL Holiday Sketch Countdown: #12

“Homelessville”/”Wrappinville”

I was shocked to relearn that the original sketch in this series (“Omleteville”) is now more than 17 years old!! Some version of it has been performed six times, most recently with Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon in “Wrappinville.”

That most recent one and “Homelessville” were two holiday iterations and you can take your pick of what you like more. Do you enjoy JT screwing up and breaking character? “Homelessville” is for you. If you prefer the JT/Fallon bromance with some awkward jokes about “sacking the deck,” you want “Wrappinville”.

To me, they are both classics and light years better than their sister sketches “Plasticville” and “Veganville.”

SNL Holiday Sketch Countdown: #11

“Christmas Candle”

This mock music video has a very mid-90’s feel to it which is a time that hits on the nostalgia feels for me. When I was growing up in that time frame, we had boxes stacked up in the storage room, and they would only get use once a year. They were household items my parents had picked up across the years that did not have a use in our house.

Every holiday season, my mom would wrap a few of them and have them stored near the front door. I soon learned these were the presents that were ready for people who gifted us something when we weren’t expecting it.

Friends bring a gift by unexpectedly? Have a box.

Out to lunch with someone and they bring a present? Have a box.

White elephant exchange at a party? Have a box.

Enter “Christmas Candle,” which celebrates the proven strategy of holding gifts in reserve that you can easily re-gift or pass on to someone when you don’t have anything else for them.

Our wrapped boxes were DEFINITLEY of better quality than the Christmas Candle, but the message of the song is the same…

“It’s the gift of having a gift to give away.” Plus, Kate McKinnon’s hair is a gift to us all.

SNL Holiday Sketch Countdown: #10

“Christmastime for the Jews”

First things first. Does this come from a time (2005) when our culture was less sensitive about stereotypes than we are today? Undoubtedly. There are some borderline insensitive things in here — check out the representation of the servers at the Chinese restaurant that look they are taken right out of “A Christmas Story.”

But somehow, SNL was able to convince the original queen of Christmas music herself — Darlene Love — to sing a song on top of a fake Rankin/Bass animation about what Jews might do during Christmas when everyone else is at home celebrating.

It’s a funny concept if you think about it, and they certainly hit the high notes with ideas of going out for Chinese food and watching a movie with no waiting in line. I think part of the lasting impact of this sketch is the shock factor when you see it for the first time.

“Wait, you can’t sing a song about that!” Well, they did.

SNL Holiday Sketch Countdown: #9

“Christmas Duets”

I am not usually a fan of the “let’s just put everyone on camera to do their impressions” bit, but this one brings Michael Buble in on the joke that he is one of the people who we thaw out every holiday season so we can revisit his music.

He genuinely looks like he is trying to record a Christmas album with this parade of misfits and Buble’s frustration and exasperation sells it.

Props for the deep cuts (and now not so timely references) like Scotty McCreery. Plus. Jimmy Fallon’s Justin Bieber impression is a perfect caricature of a human caricature.

SNL Holiday Sketch Countdown: #8

“Chanukah Song 1” and “Chanukuh Song 3”

There are actually four different versions of this song, recorded at different times for different audiences, but the two performed on SNL stand apart (search Youtube for Chanukuh song part 3).

This song has become such an integral part of the holiday zeitgeist in the last 25 years that it’s easy to forget it really did have a socially relevant impact.

It was intended to be about much more than drinking your-gin-and-tonic-a, but rather reminding pop culture that there are other holidays happening right now besides just Christmas.

So while you still may not know who Bowser from Sha Na Na is, this sketch still stands out as one of the best ever.

SNL Holiday Sketch Countdown: #7

“Twas the Night Before Christmas”

Imagine you are a child, and one Christmas Eve while your crotchety old grandfather sits down for his annual reading of “Twas the Night Before Christmas,” he begins editorializing about stand your ground laws in California and the high suicide rate around the holidays.

With these thoughts in your head, you have the essence of the monologue by John Malkovich in December 2008. What makes this over-the-top great is he actually delivers it to children and we get their emotionless reaction to stories about Pai Natal who will eat their toes.

May your Christmas be just a little bit merrier than these stories.

SNL Holiday Sketch Countdown: #6

“Santa’s My Boyfriend”

A note before we start these last six entries. I would say three of them are no-doubt-about-it pantheon of SNL holiday sketches and three of them are maybe not at that level but are more of a personal favorite of mine.

It’s my list, what are you gonna do?

This one definitely falls on the personal preference side, and has been one I revisit every year. As my wife can confirm, we have almost had to look for counseling a few times because of my crushes on Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, and Kate McKinnon. With two-thirds of them in this sketch plus how much I love Amy Poehler from SNL and Parks and Rec, it was bound to be near the top for me.

When these three powerhouses get together to sing a classy, catchy song about some naughty-list things about their fling with Santa, you get SNL gold.

SNL Holiday Sketch Countdown: #5

“Mr. Robinson’s Christmas”

Only in Mr. Robinson’s neighborhood would you find someone trying to scam you with a Cabbage Patch doll with a head made of cabbage. One of the best recurring sketches in SNL history, the holiday version deserves its place among the top holiday offerings as well.

Eddie Murphy — who joined the cast at 19 years old — remains one of the most talented cast members ever and his Mr. Robinson sketches still live on in relevancy 35 years later.

When so many of SNL’s holiday sketches represent some slice of white Americana Christmas, it’s at least interesting to see this take on an underprivileged Christmas.

SNL Holiday Sketch Countdown: #4

“Schweddy Balls”

A note before we go forward. If the word “mother” in any way applies to your relationship with me (mother, grandmother, mother-in-law, Virgin mother) please forgive me for two of these last four sketches. It takes a high level of immaturity to find humor in the nude male form and you just might not be there yet.

Anyway, good old Pete Schweddy and his holiday balls.

This sketch and the Wamapoke County bit from Parks and Rec always crack me up with their spooks of NPR, but the SNL version with Ana Gasteyer, Molly Shannon, and Alec Baldwin takes it to another level.

SNL head honcho Lorne Michaels famously fought to keep this sketch in the first half hour of the show back in 1998. Typically, the more mature sketches were stuck in the late night slots. He knew audiences trailed off as the show went along, but he was sure this would be a hit. And he was right.

This sketch is part of holiday iconography now and has become ultra-famous for its spot-on take of public radio. Enjoy sinking your teeth into some holiday balls this year.

SNL Holiday Sketch Countdown: #3

“Best Christmas Ever”

This sketch attained instant classic status two years ago when Matt Damon and Cecily Strong sat down at the end of a long Christmas day to talk about why it was the Best Christmas Ever.

As the parent of a 13- and 9-year old, this hits home because the lead-up and anticipation for Christmas often gives way to the insanity of the day when December 25th actually arrives. It often feels like a major event that requires eight weeks to organize that you know from the beginning is not going to go as planned when it happens.

Have I stayed awake all night building something? Yes

Have our kids woken us up before 6 AM on Christmas? Yes

Have there been enough inappropriate comments from elder relatives to fill a novel? Oh, Yes

But at the end of the day, parents can at least sit down in a quiet house and say “we survived.” That’s often the best thing about Christmas for a parent — that you made it happen one more time.

SNL Holiday Sketch Countdown: #2

“D*** in a Box”

You know what the Emmy Awards are, right? They are the premier awards show for television, recognizing the best in all things small screen in a particular year.

It’s important to know, no matter what you think about this sketch, that IT. WON. AN. EMMY. A song about putting male genitalia in a gift box and giving it as a Christmas present won an Emmy.

Drawing inspiration from any number of early 90’s R&B music videos (Color Me Badd’s “Earth, The Sun, The Rain” is a good example), Andy Samberg and Justin Timberlake absolutely stick the landing in mimicking the genre.

This song was so popular, it spawned two spinoffs (research on your own, please) and launched the career of Lonely Island, the Samberg-led group with five albums, a couple movies, and multiple Emmy and Grammy nominations.

But on this Christmas Eve, as our families begin to gather, I hope you are able to receive as much joy as the two ladies in this video. May the gift of this sketch bring you warmth and cheer, and my wish is that all of your boxes are filled with the things that will make you happy.

SNL Holiday Sketch Countdown: #1

“Winter Wonderland”

Certainly falling into the category of “personal favorite” as opposed to “SNL classic,” this is usually a video that kicks off the holiday season in our house.

In his best Otis Redding impression, Garrett Morris (who should have sung every week) and the rest of the original 1975 cast sing a soulful and fun version of the Christmas classic that, in less than three minutes, mirrors the make-up and paradigm of that first group. The ladies (Radner, Curtin, Newman, plus help from host Candice Bergen) are tight, talented, and harmonious while the guys (Chase, Akroyd, Belushi) play the role of goof balls, prioritizing the playfulness over the performance.

Besides “Consumer Probe,” there are not too many classic Christmas sketches from the 70’s, but for SNL buffs, this representation of the entire cast is a highlight of that group as they sought to find their footing and place in the show.

How I know this is a great sketch is it is one where you can decide to either watch it or listen to it and it’s equally great with either. Just like this song sets the stage for our annual holiday season, this first troupe set the stage for what would become almost 45 years of classics that stand the test of time.

I hope you enjoy watching it, especially if it’s your first time. Merry Christmas everyone and thanks for going through this journey with me!

• Ryan Kirksey (@ryankirksey on twitter, @kirkseycomics on instagram)