When Doctor Who returned in 2005, it birthed a new tradition: the holiday special. It may have shifted to New Year's starting with the Thirteenth Doctor, but for 12 years it was a Christmas Day staple to round off the day by watching a merry addition to the Doctor's adventures through time and space.
Despite the setting, they aren't always the happiest episodes. On more than one occasion, they have served as the setting for a Doctor's regeneration, which is always a tragic affair. However, they still manage to squeeze in plenty of fun festive moments.
Eleven Goes Home For Christmas
"The Doctor, The Widow, and The Wardrobe" sees the Eleventh Doctor trying to save the Arwell family from wood creatures, before reuniting them with their father – previously thought to be missing in action in World War II.
This alone would've made for a heartwarming festive episode, but what really cinches it is the final scene where the Doctor visits Amy and Rory for Christmas after two years. After the Ponds reveal they always set him a place, the Doctor gets emotional entering the house for Christmas dinner. It's rare to see him so vulnerable – and of course, it'd happen at a time that's all about family.
Attack Of The Christmas Star
In "The Runaway Bride", Ten is tasked with figuring out how Donna Noble ended up on his TARDIS. The mystery leads him to the Racnoss, an ancient race who plan on launching their attack upon the earth on Christmas Day.
Part of their plan involves using a ship (conveniently shaped like the Christmas Star) to fire upon London. It's a fun twist on a traditional festive symbol – and very Doctor Who.
Angels Save Ten
The Titanic doesn't scream Christmas, but there are still plenty of festive touches in "Voyage of the Damned". Drawn to the ship after it crashes into the TARDIS, the Tenth Doctor finds himself unraveling a slighted businessman's plan to crash it into the earth.
Of course, he manages to save the day – despite interference from the ship's servants, the Heavenly Host, which take the form of robotic, gold, Christmas angels. They later switch allegiance, taking the Doctor by the arms and flying him up to safety. It's a strangely messianic moment, but is exactly the kind of self-indulgence audiences crave in a Christmas special.
Abigail Sings Her Final Song
Inspired by the Charles Dickens novel of the same name, "A Christmas Carol" sees the Doctor act as the Ghost of Christmas Past for miserly old man Kazran Sardick in an effort to make him kinder. The pair let Abigail – a young woman with an incurable illness – out of her cryostasis every year for one day on Christmas Eve, until she has one day left.
It's this final day that serves as the episode's most iconic moment. Finally out and alive on Christmas Day, Abigail sings her final song. Everything about it is eerily beautiful, from the snowfall to her operatic vocals. Unsurprisingly, plenty of fans consider this to be Doctor Who's definition of Christmas cheer.
The Christmas Armistice
Despite the fact the TARDIS is built to travel through time, Doctor Who rarely dips into actual historical events. When it does, the result can be magnificent – as proven in "Twice Upon A Time" when the First and Twelfth Doctor witness World War One's Christmas Armistice.
Just as in real life, this sees the British and German troops call a temporary truce on Christmas Day. Leaving their trenches, they sing "Silent Night" and play football. It's the very embodiment of the Christmas spirit, and the fact it really happened makes it one of the show's most moving festive moments.
Clara Visits Eleven In A Town Called Christmas
In his final outing, the Eleventh Doctor takes it upon himself to guard a town called Christmas on Trenzalore, where he is destined to die. He's been there for centuries before Clara is brought back to say goodbye in his final days.
With the Doctor now elderly and weak, it's up to Clara to help him pull a Christmas cracker to mark the occasion. It's a power dynamic rarely seen in the show, and all the more upsetting because of it.
Eleven Falls Down The Chimney
Another highlight from "A Christmas Carol" sees the Doctor make a very festive entrance to Kazran Sardick's house. In the episode's opening scenes, he arrives via chimney – just like Santa Claus himself.
In the Doctor's own words, "Christmas Eve on a rooftop. Saw a chimney, my whole brain just went, what the hell." It's a small moment, but the perfect blend of the Eleventh Doctor's youthful quirkiness and Christmas fun.
Ten Has Christmas Dinner With The Tylers
As the first Christmas special of the revived story, there was a lot riding on "The Christmas Invasion". It took the unorthodox route of having the Tenth Doctor bedridden for most of the episode, as he recovers from his regeneration while the Sycorax begin their invasion of earth.
Thankfully, he awakens just in time to save the day and have Christmas dinner. Set to the festive tones of "Song For Ten", he debuts his new look for the first time and sits down to eat, laugh, and pull crackers with the Tyler family. It's rare to see the Doctor in such a human light – it's something only Christmas (and Rose) could bring out of him.
Twelve And Clara's Sleigh Ride With Santa
It took seven Christmas specials, but Doctor Who finally introduced Santa Claus himself in "Last Christmas". Trapped in a North Pole science base, the Twelfth Doctor and Clara rely on the man in red to help them save the base's crew from crabs that induce dream states while killing their victims.
The culmination is a scene in which the pair ride home on Santa's sleigh. This is the epitome of festive magic, and one of the idyllic moments that helps balance out an otherwise dark episode. It doesn't get much more Christmassy than this.
Attack Of The Killer Christmas Tree
In Doctor Who's first Christmas special, Rose is tasked with guarding a slumbering Doctor while aliens invade earth. That's made tougher than usual when they face a surprise threat: a killer Christmas tree.
Like most of the show's best moments, it's so ridiculous that it's genius. Paired with a manically upbeat festive tune, the moment has yet to be topped for pure Christmas ludicrousness – nor has Jackie Tyler's line, "I'm gonna get killed by a Christmas tree!" Iconic in every way.