Boy Meets World featured five Christmas episodes, spanning its seven seasons. However, unlike most sitcoms, Boy Meets World did not feature Christmas episodes yearly. Instead, seasons 3 and 7 lack Christmas-themed episodes.
You can view our complete rankings of all Boy Meets World episodes to see where each episode ranks. However, this list will focus specifically on the Christmas holiday theme episodes.
Take a look at the best Boy Meets World Christmas episodes:
1) Santa’s Little Helper (S1, E10)
In one of Boy Meets World’s best Season 1 episodes, Shawn’s dad gets laid off before the Christmas holiday. When Alan informs Cory of Chet’s circumstances, he attempts to rectify it by gifting his official NBA basketball to Shawn.
However, Shawn throws the ball back in Cory’s face, as he’s more embarrassed that his friend knows the situation than grateful for the gesture. Ultimately, Mr. Feeny explains to Cory that true gifts are not given with condition or expectation.
Eventually, Cory pays Shawn’s portion of the class gift for Mr. Feeny without his knowledge, demonstrating his reception to Mr. Feeny’s lesson. Finally, Shawn calms down and realizes that Cory is a true friend.
2) Turnaround (S2, E12)
Classifying Season 2’s Turnaround as a Christmas episode is debatable since the plot exists almost entirely independent of the holiday. However, several references to the Christmas season are made throughout the episode.
More importantly, The Matthews’ living room is decorated with a Christmas tree and ornaments, an intentional set decoration meant to highlight the episode’s holiday theme. The air date of December 16, 1994, predated Christmas by a week.
This episode is known for Cory and Shawn’s makeover of a nerdy girl named Ingrid. With the help of Shawn’s date, Becky, the friends make Ingrid cool by changing her look and reputation.
The idea emerges after Cory unwittingly accepts an invitation from Ingrid to John Adams High School’s “Turnaround Dance.” Once he realizes that attending the dance with a “nerdy” girl may decimate his social status, he decides to take action.
As a result, Shawn tells everyone that Ingrid’s from Sweden and embellishes the nudist culture of the country to the point of popular kids flocking toward Ingrid to learn more. Ingrid wears makeup and stylish clothes to change her persona.
Of course, the moral of the episode is that trying to change yourself to appear cool will always backfire. However, it also reveals the harsh reality of high school culture during the 1990s when social status defined people’s self-esteem.
While its status as a Christmas episode is debatable, the episode is memorable.
3) Easy Street (S4, E12)
Easy Street is a standout episode in an otherwise disappointing Season 4. Cory and Shawn get jobs to earn some extra money for Christmas gifts. However, when Cory realizes his bosses, Mr. Fontaine and Mr. Martini are mobsters, he quits.
In typical Shawn fashion, he takes over for Cory and starts doing drug runs and other favors for the Mafia. Initially, Shawn rationalizes his behavior as a means to buy Christmas gifts for his family and friends but eventually realizes the stakes.
By the end of the episode, Cory convinces Shawn to quit the job and return home to hang out with his family on Christmas Eve. Despite a seemingly far-fetched storyline, it serves its purpose to encapsulate the ethos of Boy Meets World.
While the episode is undoubtedly Christmas-themed because it takes place during the holiday season, it does not revolve specifically around Christmas.
4) Santa’s Little Helpers (S6, E11)
This Season 6 Boy Meets World Christmas episode has a nearly identical name to its Season 1 predecessor, Santa’s Little Helper. However, in this case, the title is plural and involves Cory and Topanga trying to reunite Shawn and Angela.
Of course, their efforts prove futile as Angela Moore is unwilling to get back with Shawn Hunter during the episode. Additionally, it represents some of the lowest points in Cory and Topanga’s increasingly cringeworthy relationship.
Shawn and Angela eventually reunite in the subsequent season but ultimately go their separate ways at the end of the series. While this Christmas-themed episode created a lovely holiday feel, it foreshadowed the demise of the best Boy Meets World couple.
5) A Very Topanga Christmas (S5,E11)
A Very Topanga Christmas is the worst Boy Meets World Christmas episode, primarily because it’s such a departure from the regular plot. Unlike the series’s other Christmas episodes, this one feels like an entirely different show.
Topanga spends her first Christmas at Cory’s house as the couple realizes their traditions are in direct contrast. The plot is particularly odd because Topanga’s upbringing was previously established as non-traditional and progressive.
Although the episode aims to resolve their conflict by highlighting how differences can be healthy in a relationship, the plot seems forced and unfamiliar. As a result, many consider this the worst Christmas-themed episode for the Boy Meets World series.
Boy Meets World Christmas Episodes List
- Season 1, Episode 10: Santa’s Little Helper
- Season 2, Episode 12: Turnaround
- Season 4, Episode 12: Easy Street
- Season 5, Episode 11: A Very Topanga Christmas
- Season 6, Episode 11: Santa’s Little Helpers