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- The Big Bang Theory is known for its quirky characters and focus on science. This group of friends was entertaining to watch as they went through familiar highs and lows with work, relationships, and friendships. And with 12 seasons to its name, The Big Bang Theory had the opportunity to celebrate the holidays quite a bit. The Big Bang Theory Christmas episodes were a few of the more remembered installments, but fans can’t forget about the memorable things that happened in The Big Bang Theory Thanksgiving entries either. No matter the time of year, these episodes are fun to watch, but some are more beloved by IMDb voters than others.
The Big Bang Theory was never a show that was particularly well known for its holiday specials, which is why it might surprise viewers that the show racked up 17 of them throughout the series' 12-year run. But even if the holiday specials weren't a centerpiece of the hit comedy, they were heartwarming additions.
From Halloween to Thanksgiving to New Year's Eve to Valentine's Day, The Big Bang Theory gang got to spend some of the year's most beloved holidays together.
Updated on November 16, 2022, by Lynn Gibbs:
The Big Bang Theory is known for its quirky characters and focus on science. This group of friends was entertaining to watch as they went through familiar highs and lows with work, relationships, and friendships. And with 12 seasons to its name, The Big Bang Theory had the opportunity to celebrate the holidays quite a bit. The Big Bang Theory Christmas episodes were a few of the more remembered installments, but fans can’t forget about the memorable things that happened in The Big Bang Theory Thanksgiving entries either. No matter the time of year, these episodes are fun to watch, but some are more beloved by IMDb voters than others.
17 The Holiday Summation (7.3)
Season 10, Episode 12
This Christmas episode saw the famous group of friends celebrating the holidays apart. The episode could be lower-rated because viewers missed seeing the gang altogether.
The episode shared three different points of view on the holidays. The first revolved around Sheldon and Amy's relationship as they visited Texas, the second around Penny and Leonard when they bought a Christmas tree together, and the third followed Bernadette and Howard as they tried to keep their newborn from crying. In this case, the group of friends didn't have the best Christmas, but it was still a funny episode.
16 The Clean Room Infiltration (7.4)
Season 8, Episode 11
The Christmas episode from season 8 found Penny and Amy entertaining Raj's visiting father while Leonard, Raj, and Howard attempted to trap a bird they had accidentally let into their lab. With the men running behind schedule, Amy was excited to host a traditional Christmas party in her apartment.
She had games planned, a beautiful tree, and themed food for the evening. Meanwhile, Sheldon tried ruining Amy's holiday by buying her a gift after thinking she didn't get him one. He had the tables turned on him when Amy surprised him with his Meemaw's famous Christmas cookies. Sheldon comparing the cookies to his Meemaw's hugs was one of Sheldon's best quotes. Because of Amy's themed party, this episode was one of the higher-rated ones on IMDb.
15 The Valentino Submergence (7.5)
Season 9, Episode 15
This Valentine's Day episode from season 9 also followed four different stories as Sheldon and Amy hosted a special "Fun with Flags" episode, Penny and Leonard tried to recapture the youth that they didn't realize slipped away, Raj tried to break up with his girlfriend Emily in order to date another girl (and winds up losing both), and a bombshell is dropped by Bernadette that she and Howard are pregnant.
This episode was a fun one because instead of the sappy dinner dates that the group typically finds themselves on for Valentine's Day, each couple did something unexpected that was true to their personality.
14 The Santa Simulation (7.8)
Season 6, Episode 11
This Christmas episode was one of the best episodes from season 6 on TBBT. With it being Christmas, the men gathered in apartment 4A to play a special themed game of Dungeons & Dragons. Sadly for Raj, when he got kicked out of the game early, he went dancing with Penny, Bernadette, and Amy for a change of scenery.
Unfortunately, the D&D game ends with Sheldon settling an unknown score with Santa by leaving him to rot in the game's imaginary dungeons. Between Raj joining girls night and the themed D&D game, this was a fun and festive episode.
13 The Platonic Permutation (7.8)
Season 9, Episode 9
During the season 9 Thanksgiving episode, Sheldon and Amy decided to spend the day together "as friends" after breaking up. This was the first time they spent alone time together since their breakup, but they were determined to remain friends since they had so many common interests.
Meanwhile, Bernadette, Howard, and Raj volunteered at a soup kitchen, while Leonard and Penny attempted to create their very first Thanksgiving dinner as a couple. While in the kitchen, Howard wound up meeting one of The Big Bang Theory's more famous guest stars, Elon Musk. With Howard being an engineer and astronaut, Musk was one of his greatest idols. Between the "will they or won't they?" storyline between Sheldon and Amy, and Howard's excitement over Elon, this was a great Thanksgiving episode.
12 The Tangible Affection Proof (7.8)
Season 6, Episode 16
This Valentine's Day episode from season 6 was another episode with three separate stories. While Sheldon and Amy searched for the perfect gifts for one another as a couple, Bernadette and Howard joined Leonard and Penny on a double date.
While Amy and Sheldon had a memorable Valentine's Day, Penny had some cringey moments when she ruined the group's dinner after seeing her ex-boyfriend get engaged to a beautiful woman in front of her. Despite being in a happy relationship with Leonard, Penny ruined the evening. Raj, on the other hand, threw a "lonely hearts" party at the comic book store and finally had a Valentine's Day worth remembering.
11 The Holographic Excitation (8.0)
Season 6, Episode 5
Season 6 also had a Halloween episode that revolved around the group getting ready for an epic Halloween party. With each couple going in joint costumes, fans were excited to see what costumes they came up with.
Although it was Halloween and everyone looked forward to a party at the comic book store, the real storyline revolved around Howard's obsession with his space mission. Now that he was Earth-side, he couldn't stop talking about his mission, which annoyed everyone around him. While Bernadette tried derailing Howard, Penny was working on her chemistry with Leonard while dressed as a sexy cop.
10 The Large Hadron Collision (8.0)
Season 3, Episode 15
The series' first Valentine's Day installment was one of season 3's best episodes. When Leonard was chosen to be sent to Switzerland on February 14th for a work trip, he decided to bring Penny for a romantic trip away.
When Sheldon caught wind that Leonard planned on bringing Penny to the Large Hadron Collider instead of him, he made it his mission to interrupt the trip until Leonard invited him instead. In the end, Sheldon and Penny caught the flu and spent Valentine's Day together sick at home, while Leonard reluctantly brought Raj.
9 The Cooper Extraction (8.1)
Season 7, Episode 11
The season 7 Christmas special found Sheldon flying home to Texas for his nephew's birth while the rest of the gang decorated the apartment and the tree.
While they decorated, the group imagined what all of their lives would be like if none of them had ever met Sheldon, playing out scenarios in their heads of where they would be instead. Although some fans felt that Sheldon got worse and worse, this episode proved that the group wouldn't be there without him.
8 The Locomotive Manipulation (8.2)
Season 7, Episode 11
Another Valentine's Day episode and another double date, only this one included Bernadette and Howard with Sheldon and Amy as they shared dinner on a romantic train ride.
Even though Sheldon made dinner a disaster for Amy by ignoring her for a fellow train admirer, it ended romantically with Sheldon and Amy passionately kissing. Meanwhile, Leonard and Penny are tasked with watching Raj's dog. Their romantic evening took a turn for the worse when Cinnamon ate their Valentine's Day chocolates. Between Amy & Sheldon's date and Penny and Leonard trying to save Cinnamon, this was a fun episode.
7 The Imitation Perturbation (8.2)
Season 12, Episode 6
The only holiday episode from the final season of the series found Sheldon and Howard at odds with one another when Howard decided to dress up as Sheldon for Halloween (making fun of him in the process).
It didn't seem like Howard and Sheldon were friends in this episode because Sheldon sought retaliation by dressing as Howard while Amy dressed as Bernadette. This costume showdown continued as both couples poked fun at each other.
6 The Maternal Congruence (8.3)
Season 3, Episode 11
Leonard made sure to let his friends know that his mother Beverly was the worst, but fans saw for themselves in season 3 when she stopped by for Christmas.
Sadly, Leonard chose not to inform his mother that he was dating Penny due to the fact that he didn't want to deal with the response he'd receive. However, when his mother informed Leonard that she was divorcing his father, he had a meltdown. To give Leonard space for the holiday, Penny and Beverly went to The Cheesecake Factory for a few drinks where they had too much to drink. Because of Penny and Beverly's shenanigans, this was a great holiday episode.
5 The Middle Earth Paradigm (8.3)
Season 1, Episode 6
The only holiday episode from season 1 found the guys attending a Halloween party across the hall in Penny's apartment. Leonard saw the party as an opportunity to bond with Penny's friends, but he got nervous when Penny's ex-boyfriend showed up.
Luckily, Penny forced her ex to leave Leonard alone and the two shared their very first kiss. What made this episode a standout was their costumes and seeing them interact with more people like Penny.
4 The Good Guy Fluctuation (8.5)
Season 5, Episode 7
Leonard found himself in a predicament during the Halloween episode of season 5 when he had to choose between staying faithful to his girlfriend Priya living in India or pursuing an attractive woman he met at the comic book store.
Leonard loved Priya, but realizing that he was attracted to other women during long-distance changed things for him. In the end, Leonard and Priya were too toxic to work. Meanwhile, Sheldon spent the episode trying to scare the rest of the guys in retaliation for them scaring him at the beginning of it. With Penny secretly crushing on Leonard while he was with Priya, this Halloween episode was a big one.
3 The Justice League Recombination (8.7)
Season 4, Episode 11
The lone New Year's Eve holiday special that the show produced took place in season 4 when the gang recruited Penny and her muscular boyfriend, Zack, to fill out their line-up of The Justice League for a costume contest at the comic-book store.
The night turned awkward when Penny got uncomfortable being around Zack and Leonard at the same time... but luckily they managed to make it to the party and win the contest after all. It was one of the best comic book store scenes on TBBT.
2 The Thanksgiving Decoupling (8.8)
Season 7, Episode 9
The series' first Thanksgiving episode didn't come until season 7 when the entire group decided to spend the holiday at Howard and Bernadette's house.
Unfortunately, the special day went sour when Penny's ex-boyfriend Zack made an appearance after it was revealed that the two former lovers were legally married after a quickie marriage in Las Vegas several years prior. Since Penny turned down Leonard's proposals so often, her marrying Zack on a whim made for an awkward evening for the whole group.
1 The Bath-Item Gift Hypothesis (9.1)
Season 2, Episode 11
The Christmas episode from season 2 is still considered one of the funniest episodes of the series, as it features Sheldon trying to come up with the perfect gift to give to Penny, only to fall hopelessly short of his goal when Penny gifted him an autographed napkin from Leonard Nimoy. The episode proved that Sheldon and Penny had one of the best friendships.
Meanwhile, Leonard became jealous of Penny's new handsome physicist boyfriend due to the fact that Penny wouldn't go out with Leonard because he was "too smart." Luckily, but sadly for Penny, Leonard got his satisfaction when Penny revealed that her new beau was married. The real kicker of this holiday episode was the gift giving though, making it the highest-rated episode.