An Inside Look at the ‘Gossip Girl’ Christmas Episodes Before the Show Leaves Netflix
Gossip Girl fans will have to say goodbye to Manhattan’s elite when the series leaves Netflix at the end of 2020. But before it does, fans can get some holiday cheer courtesy of their favorite Upper East Siders watching the TV show’s Christmas episodes.
‘Gossip Girl’ only has 2 holiday-themed episodes
Unlike other TV shows that have a Christmas episode every season, Gossip Girl only featured two during its entire six-season run. While the reason behind it is unclear, it may have something to do with the show’s connection to The O.C., another popular teen drama.
Josh Schwartz created Gossip Girl with screenwriter-producer Stephanie Savage coming off of his O.C. fame. The O.C. featured Chrismukkah episodes — a combination of Christmas and Hanukkah — every season. Since the show went off the air in 2007, Chrismukkah has become one of its legacies.
So when Schwartz moved on to Gossip Girl, he may have wanted to steer clear of holiday-themed episodes. Because, really, what can top The O.C.’s Chrismukkah? Without further ado, take a closer look at Gossip Girl’s Christmas episodes and see how they rank on IMDb.
‘Gossip Girl’ Season 1 Episode 11: ‘Roman Holiday’
Originally airing on Dec. 19, 2007, Gossip Girl’s first-ever holiday episode featured snow, ice skating, lies, and scheming. Dan Humphrey (Penn Badgley) and Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively) put a budget of $50 on their Christmas gifts, which forced them to get creative.
Dan enlisted the help of his younger sister, Jenny Humphrey (Taylor Momsen), to get a tree inside the hotel where Serena and her family were living at the time. However, operation get-Serena-a-Christmas-tree couldn’t distract them from family drama. Jenny and Dan’s parents, Rufus (Matthew Settle) and Alison (Susan Misner), came to grips with the fact that their marriage was over.
Meanwhile, Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester) dealt with issues at home too. Thinking she’d convince her father to stay in New York City, Blair was in for a rude awakening when arrived from France with Roman (William Abadie), the man he left her mother for. In an effort to get rid of him, Blair tripped Roman at the ice rink and invited his ex to her mom’s holiday party.
Awarded 7.7 out of 10 stars by IMDb users, “Roman Holiday” has all the typical Gossip Girl drama with festive flair.
‘Gossip Girl’ Season 2 Episode 12: ‘It’s a Wonderful Lie’
Just barely beating out the season 1 episode with a 7.9-star rating is Gossip Girl’s second (and last) holiday episode. “It’s s Wonderful Lie” originally aired on Dec. 1, 2008, and like many of the show’s episodes, involved an over-the-top party.
Jenny discovered that Dan’s best friend, Vanessa Abrams (Jessica Szohr), had been secretly dating Nate Archibald (Chase Crawford). So what does she do? Send Vanessa to the Snowflake Ball in a see-through dress. Meanwhile, Serena and Dan questioned their feelings. As for Blair, she and Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick) bet each other they could pick perfect dates for each other.
Watch these Gossip Girl episodes and the rest of the series before it leaves Netflix at the end of 2020.
