Mr. Hankey

Merry Christmas, my good friends! I hope Santa brought you lots of goodies today and I hope you had an awesome day.

Well, I did this for Thanksgiving and Halloween, so here it is: my ranking of all the South Park Christmas episodes! This is going to be a long one. Keep in mind that these are all my opinions, I'm sure there might be a few controversial ones in here, so feel free to share your own opinions! I also haven't seen HappyHolograms or Bike Parade, so I'm not going to be including those ones on this list.

#8: Christmas Snow

I'm sure this won't surprise many people here. I feel like a lot of us are in agreement that this was a pretty weak Christmas special. We had finally gotten a break from Randy after Season Finale, but then they had to bring him back for Christmas Snow. This one just lacked any sort of heartfelt when compared to the other Christmas specials.

#7: Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics

I just want to start out by saying that I don't hate this episode for what it is. I only rank it so low because it's now really a traditional Christmas episode, but a collection of South Park Christmas songs. I do really like the songs, and I understand the circumstances surrounding Mary Kay Bergman's death. I almost considered just not including this episode on the list, because it's kind of unfair to compare it to the other episodes that are actual stories... but I figured I'd include it anyway.

#6: Woodland Critter Christmas

Alright, this one will probably be my most controversial ranking, but I'll just say it: I didn't love Woodland Critter Christmas. I actually probably prefer Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics, but this episode probably is just objectively better. That being said, I've watched this episode and rewatched it trying see what everyone else sees in it, and I just don't. Maybe it's because it's a little more mean-spirited than the others? I did think it had some pretty incredible visuals, like when Kyle decided to become the antichrist. But it just kind of missed the mark for me.

#5: Merry Christmas Charlie Manson!

I actually love this episode, so I think that can kind of tell you how the rest of this list is going. Probably the biggest reason it's not ranked higher is because I actually didn't watch it until recently, so I don't have any previous attachment to it. It's also just a little bit less special feeling than the rest. It's a short but sweet story, with a good balance of humor and a nice (if a little sarcastic) message at the end.

#4: It's Christmas in Canada

It pains me to only put this at #4, but I can't really justify putting it any higher. This episode struck a lot of chords for me; it heavily features Ike and Kyle, I love the Canadians, and the running gag of "I guess we won't get to have a Christmas adventure this year" just really worked for me. That being said, I feel like this Christmas special doesn't nearly get the recognition it deserves, and I kind of see why it might not have stood out to a lot of South Park fans, But this was genuinely one of my favorite episodes of season 7, and "French Canada" still sticks in my head every time I watch it.

#3: A Very Crappy Christmas

I actually was going to put this one even higher, but after re-evaluating the list I decided to move this one to number three. Not to this episode's discredit, of course; this episode still rocks! Mr. Hankey's family is great, I love the boys' rendition of "Even A Miracle Needs A Hand," and this episode holds a bit of a special place in my heart since it's the first Christmas South Park special I ever saw. That being said, I did resist the temptation to put it any higher since I'm not sure if I'd be quite as fond of it without the nostalgia behind it.

#2: Mr. Hankey the Christmas Poo

Gosh, what a classic. I'm sure this is bound to be some peoples' favorite just because it's the very first South Park Christmas episode, and I absolutely see why it's so popular! The ending was perfect, I believe the first episode where Kenny didn't die, despite all the buildup and teasing of it. But really, Mr. Hankey and Kyle were the stars of this episode. It is surprisingly kind of a tense episode, and you really feel bad for Kyle; but I felt genuine relief at the ending where Chef reveals that Mr. Hankey was real all along. That being said, there is one more episode that beats this one for me, and that is:

#1: Red Sleigh Down

I mean, the plot itself is already enough to make this episode stand out: the boys and Jesus have to go to Baghdad and rescue Santa from Iraqi terrorists. But Cartman and his attempts to be "nice" really made the episode for me, like "I'm having a precious Christmastime moment, Kyle, if you don't mind." and "This is such a magical Christmas adventure, you guys." Jesus was also incredible in this episode, and the cuts to Jimmy slowly making his way through "The Twelve Days of Christmas" was just perfect. And of course, this was the episode to bring back Kenny! Maybe it's not everyone's top pick, but it's definitely my favorite episode and well deserving of the #1 spot.

23 more days until Christmas! Today, I offer you some advice: DON’T TAKE AMBIEN AND TWEET. In fact, don’t tweet at all. Twitter sucks.

i don't really understand why they scrapped mr. hankey from the show in "a problem with a poo", probably because he wasn't really funny, but it was actually kinda weird to see him go because for YEARS, like before my parents were married, my family had a mr. hankey ornament that we hung on our christmas tree (my dad got it as a christmas present from a friend in the late 90's as a joke). i never really asked who mr. hankey was when we would decorate the tree, but as i started watching south park as i got older, it made sense lol. idk, i don't really care for him, but i knew him before i even would watch the show so like i thought it was weird seeing him gone.