There’s no better way to get into the holiday spirit than revisiting classic Christmas episodes of Friends . The beloved sitcom aired eleven Christmas specials over its ten seasons, with the flashback episode "Christmas in Tulsa" becoming a holiday favorite.
Originally airing more than two decades ago on December 12, 2002, season nine finds Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry) jetting off to Tulsa, Oklahoma for the holidays, where he must Spend Christmas and New Year there or he'd be fired.
Monica, Ross, Phoebe, Rachel, and Joey are sad that Chandler is leaving, and his co-workers in Tulsa aren't happy either - especially when they discover that the holiday bonus they were promised was actually When donations are made in their name to the New York City Ballet.
"It sucks, it sucks here, this job sucks!" Chandler said before recalling some of his past Christmas celebrations.
Here, viewers can enjoy a selection of clips from previous holiday classics from Friends , including "The One with Rachel Quit" and "The One with the Holiday Armadillos."
Selma Blair steals the show
Chandler decided to send his employees home to enjoy Christmas with their families. However, his colleague, regional vice president Wendy (Selma Blair) decides to stay with him.
Although Blair appeared briefly between the show's holiday flashbacks, she made a lasting impression in the holiday special, in which her character attempted to seduce Chandler while the two were alone in his Tulsa office.
After Monica calls to check on her husband, she discovers her former Miss Oklahoma runner-up title and becomes suspicious of Chandler and Wendy. "Do you think it's snowing in Tulsa and my husband is having sex on the copy machine," she joked.
To the surprise of Monica and the rest of the Friends cast, Chandler returns home just in time for Christmas after rejecting Wendy's advances and reveals that he has decided to quit his "stupid job."
end of an era
"Christmas in Tulsa" became the NBC sitcom's eleventh and final holiday special, as well as its final flashback episode ever.
The episode remains a holiday staple for many Friends fans who rediscover the holiday special every year. "I've always loved the Christmas episode of Friends in Tulsa," one fan confessed on X (formerly Twitter). "This is Selma Blair's best performance."
Another joked: "My future husband is spending Christmas in Tulsa and women like Chandler are better at bending his co-workers."
