Few sitcoms capture the chaos and warmth of the holidays like New Girl. The loft gang turns every seasonal celebration into a perfect storm of awkward moments, over-the-top schemes, and heartfelt surprises. Throughout its run, the series had five Christmas episodes, in which each of the characters’ quirks were highlighted in festive settings: Jess’ (Zooey Deschanel) relentless optimism, Nick’s (Jake Johnson) grumpy charm, Schmidt’s (Max Greenfield) competitiveness, Winston’s (Lamorne Morris) goofiness, Cece’s (Hannah Simone) grounded wit, and Coach’s (Damon Wayans Jr.) softness beneath a hard exterior.
From botched gift exchanges to romantic tension, the show blends comedy and genuine emotion in a way that keeps fans coming back year after year. New Girl Christmas episodes make you wish that Jess and the crew were the family you were spending time with over the Yuletide season. Together, they navigate holiday disasters that feel both absurd and relatable, and bring to life touching moments that stick with viewers.
Here’s every New Girl Christmas episode in chronological order.
5
“The 23rd”
Season 1, Episode 9
In the first Christmas episode of the series, Paul, played by Justin Long, tells Jess he loves her after she gives him an anatomically correct replica of the heart of a 50-year-old non-smoker, to which Jess replies, “Thank you.” The rest of the episode mostly takes place at Schmidt’s office holiday party, where the whole gang gets to see him dress up as “Sexy Santa,” per the request of his boss Kim (Gillian Vigman). Jess tries to get advice from Nick after she realizes she doesn’t have the same feelings for Paul, but as Nick can hold no secret, he reveals to the poor guy that Jess doesn’t love him back.
Although Cece shows up to the festivities with her new boyfriend, Kyle (Stephen Amell), there are some sweet foreshadowing moments between her and Schmidt. Winston, who has spent the whole season feeling lost and directionless since he stopped playing basketball, finally finds a purpose by becoming Elvin’s nanny (Blake Garrett), the son of Schmidt’s other boss, Gina (Michaela Watkins). The episode ends with Nick purposefully missing his flight and taking Jess, along with the whole group, to Candy Lane, the most festive street in town, and waking up its residents to turn their lights back on. Giving Jess the beautiful, sparkling Christmas she yearned for is his way of making it up to her for spilling the beans. It’s a touching moment that speaks to their deepening bond at that point.
4
“Santa”
Season 2, Episode 11
“Santa” is probably the most chaotic and action-filled Christmas episode of them all. Wishing to spend as much time together before they all depart for the holidays, the group agrees to hit up multiple parties in one night. Roommates Jess, Nick, and Schmidt are all simultaneously dealing with issues in their love lives. Jess freaks out at the first party they attend, where she runs into Sam (David Walton), who tells her he regrets how things ended and wants her back. Not wanting to see or speak to him, she puts up a pretense that her and Winston are together.
Nick, who’s feeling insecure and intimidated in his relationship with his hot stripper girlfriend Angie (Olivia Munn), tries extremely hard to be daring and adventurous, even though it goes against his inherent nature. When the two try having sex at a party in a Santa sleigh, it’s disastrous, and leads to Nick insulting Angie, causing her to storm off. The two work it out after Jess advises him to be honest about how he’s feeling. After being rejected by her in the previous episode, Schmidt acts cold and indifferent to Cece, but the two end on a good note after talking it out. As for Jess, she decides to take a leap of faith and let her heart lead the way. Surprising Sam at the hospital he works at the end of the episode, the two kiss and get back together.
3
“Clavado en un Bar”
Season 3, Episode 11
Named after a song by Mexican pop rock band Maná, “Clavado en Un Bar” forgets that it’s a Christmas episode almost entirely. The episode opens in a dramatic fashion with Jess arriving at the bar where everyone is hanging out, with only 21 minutes to make a life-altering choice. She’s been offered a job at a children’s museum where she’s been volunteering – and a significant salary raise. But taking it would mean untethering herself from her identity as a teacher. As she gets guidance from the group, they all share stories about times they made professional changes in their own lives.
Throughout the episode, viewers get a glimpse into the characters’ past, from Winston’s time in Latvia to Schmidt’s journey into marketing to Nick’s days as a law student. To top it all off, there’s a fun and heartwarming scene that portrays how Jess and Cece first met. It may not be a rich Christmas-themed episode, with only a few string lights in the background and a holiday reference involving a Christmas tree lot in one of the backstories, but it’s a great entry. Audiences get to explore more of the character’s origins, learning how they became who they are in the present.
2
“LAXmas”
Season 4, Episode 11
“LAXmas” takes the whole gang to Los Angeles International Airport. They have all decided to celebrate the holidays in various places: Jess is headed to London to see Ryan’s (Julian Morris) family, Nick and Winston are headed to Chicago, Coach is having a solo vacation in Hawaii, and Cece and Schmidt are headed to New York (Long Island and Manhattan, respectively). When their flights are delayed, they all get stuck at LAX. While there, Ryan texts her a picture of his family’s home. Seeing their mansion, she feels intimidated and starts spiraling about meeting the wealthy bunch, and lies to Ryan about her flight being canceled.
The episode has some pretty great moments. In the luxe first class lounge, Schmidt hilariously and dramatically puts a man in his place who tries to barter Cece for sex. It’s tender seeing Coach struggle with the guilt of ditching his family and cute little nieces in Detroit for his beach holiday. Nick and Winston, who are on standby, go to great lengths to get seats on the next available flight. Naturally, Jess makes friends with the snarky and disgruntled flight attendant, played by Billy Eichner, and secures them seats. But as everyone is getting ready to board their flights, they realize Jess is staying in town. Nick and Winston risk everything to encourage her to go to England. She makes it on board without knowing Ryan bought a ticket to LA to be with her.
1
“Christmas Eve Eve”
Season 6, Episode 10
In the last Christmas episode of the series, everyone but Jess is over Christmas, and they want to forego doing anything big or going through the annual hassle of picking out presents. Compromising, they agree to do a Secret Santa. When Jess gets Nick, she thinks of the perfect gift for him: flying his long-distance girlfriend, Reagan (Megan Fox), into Los Angles to spend the holiday with him. But when Nick decides to fly to Seattle to be with her, Jess tries hard to get him to stay, leading to a fight and forcing Jess to reveal the surprise. The moment also hints at a spark still existing between them.
Jess spends the whole episode trying her hardest to get everyone in the festive spirit. It’s a little bit sad to watch, and things only get sadder at the gift exchange, when Jess realizes she forgot to write her own name down when they drew names. Working together as a team and with Robby (Nelson Franklin), the group surprises Jess with a magical and festive display outside the loft. There’s fake snow, elves, lights, a Christmas tree, a choir, and Darlene Love herself performs “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home).” The whole thing is a recreation of Jess’ childhood Christmas, and viewers couldn’t help but to feel as moved as she did at that moment.
- Release Date
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2011 – 2018
- Network
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FOX
- Showrunner
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Elizabeth Meriwether
- Directors
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Trent O’Donnell, Jay Chandrasekhar, Max Winkler, Fred Goss, Jesse Peretz, Steve Welch, Lynn Shelton, Josh Greenbaum, Russ T. Alsobrook, Bill Purple, Christine Gernon, Lorene Scafaria, Michael Schultz, Peyton Reed, Tristram Shapeero, Eric Appel, Alec Berg, Jason Winer, Michael Spiller, Steve Pink, Alex Hardcastle, Andrew Fleming, Craig Zisk, Daniel Attias
- Writers
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Berkley Johnson, Kim Rosenstock, Rob Rosell, Matt Fusfeld, Alex Cuthbertson, David Feeney, Nina Pedrad, Rebecca Addelman, Kay Cannon, Sarah Tapscott, Joe Wengert, Ethan Sandler, Adrian Wenner, David Iserson, Nick Adams, David Walpert, Lamar Woods, Veronica McCarthy, David Quandt, Joni Lefkowitz, Lamorne Morris, Rachel Axler, Christian Magalhaes, Robert Snow
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