A big part of our generation was the Christmas Holiday episodes of some of our favorite shows. Disney Channel often had different episodes for each holiday season. Most of the episodes hit the bigger holidays, such as Christmas, Halloween, and New Year’s Eve. For Christmas, a variety of Disney shows have included a special episode specifically for the Holiday. Here are some childhood favorites you can watch to get you into the Christmas spirit.
- Jessie– season 1, episode 8: “Christmas Story”
The quick summary of this episode is when the Ross parents attempt to come home for Christmas, but get stuck in a snowstorm. The Ross parents -Morgan and Christina- fear they will not be home in time for Christmas. Jessie, the nanny, is left to step in and shop for the four Ross children, Emma, Ravi, Luke, and Zuri. During this episode, Jessie is falsely accused of being a credit card thief. As the episode unravels, Jessie’s main goal is to maintain the Christmas spirit until Morgan and Christina come home to their kids.
- Suite Life of Zack and Cody-season 1, episode 21: “Christmas at the Tipton”
In this episode of the Suite Life of Zack and Cody, everyone -Zach, Cody, Carey, Mr. Mosbey, Kurt, Maddie, London, Esteban, and Arwin- ends up being snowed in at the Tipton Hotel. Even a pregnant couple-Mary and Joseph- are stuck at the Tipton to take shelter from the snow storm. Zach and Cody end up witnessing the birth of Mary and Joseph’s baby. During this time the twins -Zach and Cody- end up having an “idea”. The idea is to get their parents back together. Their parents Cary and Kurt reassure the twins that even though they are separated they still love the kids as they did when they were born.
- Hannah Montana-season 3, episode 5: “Killing Me Softly with his Height”
Miley and Lily go Christmas shopping and while shopping Miley meets a boy named Conner. Conner asks Miley out on a date, and Miley says yes. Miley soon starts to second guess herself because she finds out Conner is so short. It was not a quality she found attractive. Meanwhile, back at home Robbie Ray is facing a predicament. Robbie got a real Christmas tree, but he can’t seem to keep it straight. Robbie gets angry while attempting to fix the tree. His son Jackson interrupts. Jackon is trying to get into college so he asks Mr. Dontzig-his neighbor- to write a letter of recommendation. This sparks a Christmas prank war between Mr. Dontzig, Jackson, and Robbie Ray. All in all, Jackson got his letter of recommendation despite the hijinx, and Miley ended up apologizing to Conner for being mean about his height by dressing up as a reindeer. She meets him at his workplace as he is Santa’s Elf. The episode ends with the family having a happy Christmas.
- Austin and Ally-season 3 episode 5: “Mix-ups & Mistletoes”
This Christmas experience involves Austin and Ally’s manager Tris. Tris is organizing a holiday party where Austin and Ally will perform their new holiday single. What is a party without Santa? Tris puts Dez and Chuck (Dez’s arch-nemesis) through a competition. The competition is to see who would make a better Santa. Tris tricks Dez and Chuck into doing her work for her to see who portrays Santa better. Austin and Ally planned to distribute Austin Moon dolls, but the toy factory made a big mistake. The factory made Austin have long hair and behave like a baby. Ally and Tris try to stop Austin from handing out the dolls. All while Dez and Chuck are competing to see who is the better Santa. Austin and Ally throughout this episode try to meet under the mistletoe but are interrupted by Dez twice. And like every Disney show, the issues worked themselves out and the kids had a good Christmas party.
- Liv & Maddie-season 1 episode 10- “Fa-la-la-A-Rooney”
Liv and Maddie are two completely different siblings. Maddies focus in this episode is to convince her dad, Pete, to make the town’s Christmas tree bigger than ever. If you have seen the show, you know Maddie is very competitive. So much so, that making the Christmas tree bigger than ever, blew a fuse, and none of the lights worked. On the opposite side, her twin, Liv, being the big Hollywood singer she was, was planning on singing a duet with an aspiring singer. This aspiring singer was a young child named Jenny Keene. Liv is trying to be kind, but she finds that Jenny is way meaner than she lets on. Liv comes up with a plan to try to steal the spotlight rather than share it with Jenny. Joey, the brother, tries to get rich with a Santa theme booth, but his younger brother Parker sabotages it. Now, this is all important information because, towards the end of the episode, we end up in the town center for the tree lighting ceremony. The tree blew fuses, so Pete came up with the idea of lighting candles for Liv and Jenny to sing. They begin singing up on the housetop, and- plot twist- Jenny emerges from the gigantic present on stage wearing Liv’s matching Santa dress. Liv got jealous, and they ultimately had a singing battle on stage.
Disney Channel was a big part of this generation’s childhood. The different holiday episodes provided a series of entertainment from each show. As there are many other shows that include holiday episodes, these are some of my personal favorites. Each show’s Christmas episode contributes to the style of the show itself. For example, the certain hardships faced, or situations that demonstrate how the characters react and problem-solve pertain to the show’s productivity. Disney Channel is a nostalgic source of entertainment from our childhood.
