THE BEST: “Miracle on 34th Street.” YEAR: 1947. WHY IT’S SO GOOD: Edmund Gwen plays one of the most convincing Santa’s on film. (20th Century Fox)

THE BEST: “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” YEAR: 1964. WHY IT’S SO GOOD: Burl Ives as a banjo-playing snowman and the legions of twitchy stop-motion animation characters. (Rankin/Bass Productions)

THE BEST: “It’s a Wonderful Life.” YEAR: 1946. WHY IT’S SO GOOD: Jimmy Stewart’s euphoric prance through the streets after he’s given his life back can warm the heart of even the most hardened cynic. His character also reminds us of the importance of good karma. (Liberty Films)

THE BEST: “Scrooge.” YEAR: 1951. WHY IT’S SO GOOD: The great Alastair Sim plays the ultimate googly-eyed Ebenezer Scrooge. (George Minter Productions)

THE BEST: “A Muppet Family Christmas.” YEAR: 1987. WHY IT’S SO GOOD: It’s the only time you can see characters from “The Muppet Show,” “Sesame Street” and “Fraggle Rock” together in the same room.

THE WORST: “Christmas With the Nuge.” YEAR: 2002. WHY IT’S SO BAD: It’s Christmas…with the Nuge. (Handout)

WORST: “Star Wars Holiday Special.” YEAR: 1978. WHY IT’S SO BAD: Han Solo risks life and limb to get Chewbacca home for the holidays. Seriously. Gear up for excruciatingly long scenes of Wookie gibberish between Chewie’s wife, father, and son. It’s George Lucas’ most painful regret captured on film for generations to laugh at. Watch it here. (Handout)

THE BEST: “White Christmas.” YEAR: 1954. WHY IT’S SO GOOD: Okay, so the “Sisters” song is annoying, but the film makes up for that with stunning dance numbers and, of course, Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” serenade. (Paramount Pictures)

THE BEST: “Simpsons roasting on an Open Fire.” YEAR: 1989. WHY IT’S SO GOOD: Homer scores the best Simpson family Christmas present ever: a hapless race dog named Santa’s Little Helper. This was also the very first full-length Simpsons episode to air. (20th Century Fox)

THE BEST: “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” YEAR: 1965. WHY IT’S SO GOOD: Charlie Brown’s search for the true, non-commercial meaning of Christmas has even more relevance today than it did in the ‘60s. Also, the dancing is really funny. (CBS)

WORST: “A Very Brady Christmas.” YEAR: 1988. WHY IT’S SO BAD: Bobby drops out of school to race cars, Jan is having marriage trouble, and Cindy has a new face. Yes, the original Cindy, played by Susan Olsen, was replaced by Jennifer Runyon for this Christmas special and we all had to pretend we didn’t notice. (Paramount Network Television Productions/CBS)

THE BEST: “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” YEAR: 1966. WHY IT’S SO GOOD: Boris Karloff’s thick as molasses voice. He sings, he narrates and is the voice of the Grinch. (MGM Television)

THE WORST: “Deconstructing Christmas” featuring Noam Chomsky. YEAR: 1998. WHY IT’S SO BAD: The famed American linguist sucks the joy out of your holidays by over-anaylising and dissecting them. (Handout)

THE BEST: “Frosty the Snowman.” YEAR: 1969. WHY IT’S SO GOOD: A children’s Christmas song brought to life with the narration of Jimmy Durante. (Rankin/Bass Productions/CBS)

THE WORST: “You Can’t Stop the Music” featuring the Village People. YEAR: 1980. WHY IT’S SO BAD: In one scene Olympic decathlete Bruce Jenner is oiled up and dressed in red leather. Merry Christmas! (Handout)

THE BEST: “Late Night With Conan O’Brien” holiday episodes. YEARS: Various. WHY IT’S SO GOOD: The late night host presides over the traditional race between the Menorah and the Baby Jesus. (Handout)

THE BEST: “A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All!” YEAR: 2008. WHY IT’S SO GOOD: Colbert is trapped in a cabin and entertained by Feist, Elvis Costello, and Willie Nelson. In a few years, this will be a classic. (Handout)

THE BEST: “A Christmas Story.” YEAR: 1983. WHY IT’S SO GOOD: Ralphie’s obsession with the Red Ryder BB gun. (MGM Studios)

WORST: “Star Trek: A Most Illogical Holiday.” YEAR: 1968. WHY IT’S SO BAD: Captain Kirk and gang encounter a wintery elf-filled planet ruled by a fascist Santa. The most illogical part of this Christmas special is that someone wasted time and money writing it. (Handout)

THE WORST: “A Muppet Christmas with Zbigniew Brzezinski.” YEAR: 1978. WHY IT’S SO BAD: WHY? Jimmy Carter’s National Security advisor sings a “Winter Wonderland” duet with Miss Piggy! (Handout)