With the Fright Night decorations safe and secure in the storage bunks for next year, the festive season is calling for the turkey centerpieces to light it up for Thanksgiving. As the fall festivities settle in and Thanksgiving draws near to compensate for the festive withdrawals of the already-gone Halloween, and the fast-approaching Christmas, there is no better way to unwind than with some classic TV episodes to keep the belly laughs full at the dinner table.

So, grab your popcorn with these 10 must-watch Thanksgiving episodes that have stood the test of time so well that the punchlines still hit like they are fresh out of the oven.

Throughout How I Met Your Mother, Ted Mosby was on the search for, well, the mother, but little did he know the show was already serving the mother of hilarity. Thanksgiving is famous for the holiday spirit of giving, or slapping, if you are from the How I Met Your Mother Universe.

This episode dives right into the legendary slap bet between Marshall and Barney, with a dramatically stinging countdown leading up to Barney’s big slap moment. 

Friends has a heavy catalog of Thanksgiving episodes from its 10 seasons, but The One with Chandler in a Box is a lesson of gratitude and appreciation with a little comedy shot. In the episode, Chandler goes all-out to apologize to Joey for kissing his girlfriend, but the catch is he has to spend six hours trapped in a giant shipping crate to prove he is sorry.

While MIA for most of the episode due to Joey’s box-napping, Chandler’s spirit remains alive and kicking with his sarcastic commentary from inside the box, filling in the blanks for everyone else. By the end, Joey forgives him as a reminder that Friends is the ultimate Thanksgiving feast, redefining friendship as the family we choose.

Gilmore Girls has always been the go-to fall season resort for a binge-watch, but its Thanksgiving episodes are the showstopper of the series. One episode that really stands out in the Thanksgiving spirit is A Deep Fried Korean Thanksgiving, where Lorelai and Rory end up unintentionally planning four different Thanksgiving dinners.

As a result, they find themselves stuffing their faces with more food than ever, proudly even crowning themselves, “The World Champions of Eating.” While the chaos that ensues is pure Gilmore Girls, it is the food swaps and the marathon eating that serve the perfect dose of Thanksgiving mayhem. And what better way to celebrate 27 years of Gilmore Girls than a holiday binge?

With the holiday cheers soon to overpower every mundane chaos, Thanksgiving is as incomplete as Halloween without a pumpkin pie minus Cheers. When the Cheers locals find themselves without any dinner plans for Thanksgiving, Carla decides to play host with her kids being away.

With the turkey taking its own sweet time in the oven, the Thanksgiving spread begins to take over the table, or, to be fair, everyone’s faces. Brawls break out, tensions rise, and before you know it, the final scene shows everyone drenched in Thanksgiving food.

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The title may not give it away, but Thanksgiving Orphans is like holding up a mirror to the chaotic holiday madness every family finds themselves tucked in last-minute preparations.

Thanksgiving is nothing without family, and speaking of which, whatever is sitcoms with the Modern Family? With familial dysfunction at its crux, Thanksgiving disorder is incomplete without a revisit to Three Turkeys which paints the perfect picture of how last-minute plans could be just as disastrous as back-up ones.

The episode follows Claire who has put Phil in charge of the turkey while she prepares a fallback in her garage. Meanwhile, Cam and Mitch’s struggle to get Lily to do what she is told leads the entire family to the doors of Jay and Gloria, who were in hiding for a secret stay-cation. Therefore, Three Turkeys are not only metaphorical, but also literal.

Instead of focusing on the Thanksgiving-themed episode for the festival focusing on failed dinners or friends and family, The Office steered clear of traditions by highlighting Michael’s relationship with Ryan as he gets involved with the latter’s startup, WUPHF.com. As Michael grapples with the decision of whether to sell the company, Pam steps in to remind him of others’ involvement, showing there is more than himself he should be considerate of.

While tradition was far off-coast, the episode was full of quirky moments like Dwight’s Thanksgiving hay festival.

Speaking of pumpkin pies and recipes for disaster, the first that pops up in every mind is The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. This episode is a pure classic that follows Will as he is more interested in shopping for himself instead of the traditional dinner. However, Uncle Phil’s no-nonsense approach to discipline soon catches up with him as Will gets the lesson of his life about the true meaning of Thanksgiving.

Despite the inspiring moments, the Thanksgiving dinner turns into a complete fiasco, wrapping the true lessons of life in a humorous Thanksgiving package.

Although this episode from Seinfeld does not fall into the exact definition of a Thanksgiving episode, it does touch on some key elements, including change, nostalgia, and the world of corporate formality ticking like a bomb on families. Jerry and George discover the mom-and-pop store they often visit has been sold to a larger corporation, but the family-run atmosphere sees a shift into something more informal.

On one side, Kramer opens up a new version of the mom-and-pop store while George finds himself amidst a Thanksgiving drama, where he is forced to sit at the kid’s table for the jacket he bought from that very store.

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While comedic suffering is a trope defining holiday seasons forever, Seinfeld’s version is like a humorous reality check of the shifting dynamics.

Serving the perfect sequel to Marshall and Barney’s running slap bet, this episode from How I Met Your Mother takes place in Marshall and Lily’s apartment for the next to next Thanksgiving. 

The episode is chaotic on another level when Lily’s father shows up, and tensions brew between Ted and Robin over who wants the transfer slap, only for Marshall to seize Slapsgiving with the unforgettable slap.

This episode has to be a fan-favorite across generations where the Friends members revisit all the past Thanksgiving disasters. The flashbacks involve ancient “fat” Monica days, Chandler’s Thanksgiving trauma, Joey trying to stuff an entire turkey, and the most iconic and unforgettable Turkey Head dance Monica does by wearing a full turkey on her head to cheer Chandler.

With that, wraps up the Thanksgiving specials, hopefully enough to fill your bellies in case the turkey decides to take off.

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Which is your favorite Thanksgiving episode? Let us know in the comments below!