New Girl holiday episodes, ranked
The holidays are in full swing. Before we get into our New Girl rankings, I want to provide some additional festive activities for when you need a break from the screen. If you're looking for something to boost your holiday spirit:
Search for lights: Wait until the sun sets and hop in the car (or go for a walk) and seek out the most festive light displays in the area! Oftentimes, someone has already done the work for you. Check your local newspaper or search and online and see if anyone has compiled a list of the most impressive neighborhood light displays -- if people have set their outdoor lights to music, they want to be seen! Pull together a mini route, bring a mug of hot chocolate and off you go!
Find a virtual performance: Many theater companies across the country are putting together virtual performances of It's a Wonderful Life, A Christmas Carol, The Nutcracker, holiday concerts and more. And the best part? You don't need to be nearby to participate -- you can watch performances from across the country and your family members can all participate too! From Zoom performances where you can see your family and other guests to free radio plays, you can find it all. It's not the same as watching in a theater, but it's great to find a way to support the arts & capture some festivity from the comfort of your home.
Dress up as Santa and walk around your neighborhood: This year many yearly Santa runs have gone virtual! And you can also just put on your own festive attire and do this yourself, without participating in a formal "run." This weekend, our family put on Santa outfits and took to the streets for a 5K run (my dad) or walk (the rest of us) around a 3.1 mile route of our choosing in the neighborhood. Almost instantly we started hearing honks on the street. People walking their dogs began waving. Little children yelled out, "hi Santa!" We ran into ANOTHER SANTA and gave enthusiastic waves to each other across the street. Something about wearing a crazy outfit can break you out of your shell -- while I wouldn't normally walk around and wave at people, something about being dressed up made me actively try to get the attention of others. It was one of the best holiday activities I've ever participated in. In a year, when we've actively gone out of our way to avoid other people, it felt particularly meaningful to walk around the neighborhood hoping to connect (from a distance, of course).
In addition to the many holiday movies and activities I've consumed over the last few weeks, I've also been revisiting festive TV favorites. In its seven season run, New Girl gave us four holiday episodes. And let me just say this... they're all great, so we're pretty much just splitting hairs in the rankings. Here are the New Girl holiday episodes -- ranked!
Season four's LAXmas: In a strong fourth place finish, the loftmates head to the airport together to go their separate ways for the holiday. Cece and Schmidt are both on their way to NYC. Nick and Winston are heading to Chicago. Coach is planning to go on vacation instead of visiting his family but is plagued with guilt. Jess is off to London to meet her boyfriend's family. With a winter storm heading across the country, everyone's flights are in jeopardy. Jess panics when she realizes Ryan is from a wealthy family and tries to go home, but the friends rally around and convince her to give the relationship a chance!
Does Zooey Deschanel sing?: Jess doesn't, BUT a She & Him version of God Only Knows plays over the episode's final moments.
Does Santa appear?: Yes, but in the form of a "reverse Santa," who steals Jess' presents and makes a pass at her.
Holiday magic scale: Seven. Jess charms a salty airport worker (played by Billy Eichner) and everyone risks missing their flights to go help Jess. The magic of friendship!!
Season one's The 23rd: Jess can't figure out what to get Paul, after dating for a month. When he buys her tickets to Europe (everyone wants to take Jess to Europe at Christmas!) and tells her he loves her, she realizes she's not in the same headspace. Everyone goes to Schmidt's office party, where Nick accidentally reveals to Paul that Jess doesn't love him and then accidentally gets locked on the balcony with both of them. Cece's boyfriend is the worst, and she and Jess have a heart-to-heart on the floor of the bathroom. Schmidt gives Cece custom-made perfume (and it smells AWFUL). Winston befriends a co-worker's child. Yeah, his storylines in season one weren't great... In the end, Nick takes Jess to Candycane Lane to see the holiday lights to cheer her up and it's magical.
Does Zooey Deschanel sing?: It's a no from Jess, but a yes from a She & Him holiday song.
Does Santa appear?: Only in the form of Schmidt playing a sexy Santa at his office's holiday party.
Holiday magic scale: Nine. Nick gets an entire neighborhood to turn on their lights after hours... now that is true magic.
Season six's Christmas Eve Eve: While this episode does feature some small appearances from Robby (UGH), it's still very solid overall, thanks mostly to some excellent Nick/Jess friendship moments and Schmidt/Winston shenanigans. After Jess convinces the loft (on Halloween, no less) to participate in a secret santa gift exchange, disaster ensues on the 23rd when some planned presents fall through. Nick bought himself the sunglasses Jess purchased for him as a gift, so she flies Reagan to California to surprise him. Even thought Megan Fox only appears in a few scenes, she really makes them count. Schmidt accidentally refuses package delivery for Winston's gift to Cece, because Winston ordered it using once of his alias names, leading to a hilarious confrontation with a package delivery woman and Winston listing the names of all of his and Cece's inside jokes. Nick has to work late at the bar and says he'll miss secret santa and then tries to bail to go visit Reagan, sparking a fight between him and Jess. In the end, despite some additional mishaps, everyone is together and happy with their gifts!
Does Zooey Deschanel sing?: She belts out a verse of Christmas (Baby Please Come Home).
Does Santa appear?: Only in the form of Reagan wearing a Santa outfit.
Holiday magic scale: 6. Despite a secret Santa mishap, everyone magically pulls off a surprise for Jess, featuring an appearance from Darlene Love.
Season two's Santa: There's no beating this one! As the loft group party hops across town, Cece and Winston are dealing with their latest relationship hiatus, Winston gets a cranberry stuck in his ear, Nick is having a hard time dealing with the fact that his girlfriend (Olivia Munn) is a stripper and Jess runs into Sam at the first party and he tries to apologize to her. Nick/Jess both give each other sweet advice, Cece and Schmidt patch things up, Sam helps Winston get the cranberry out of his ear and Jess decides to give Sam a second chance. In between the plot points, there are plenty of hilarious moments (including a moment between Nick and his girlfriend delightfully interrupted by Schmidt), as well as some Christmas magic in the form of Santa, making this episode my favorite of the holiday installments.
Does Zooey Deschanel sing?: Yup, she and the entire loft group pretend to be carolers!
Does Santa appear?: Not only is he this episode's namesake, but he appears at a critical moment to give Jess the final push she needs.
Holiday magic scale: Didn't you read what I just wrote? Santa appears. 10.
