Christmas telly wouldn't be complete without the pained moans of labour, a merry-go-round of bouncing babies – each born riding the wave of our collective rollercoaster of emotions – and Fred Buckle (Cliff Parisi) flitting around Poplar in a Santa suit.
Call the Midwife's Christmas specials have become synonymous with the day itself.
All the joys, pains and love of the season wrapped up in a 90-minute tear-jerking watch, usually capped off with a nativity.
For over a decade Call the Midwife has been fixed in our hearts and on our screens thanks to its unrivalled ability to sum up what it means to be human.
As we close the chapter on yet another cracking festive watch from the Nonnatus nuns and nurses, what better way to celebrate its legacy than with a retrospective look at how far Poplar's champions of festive cheer and goodwill to all have come? From worst to best, we've ranked all the Call the Midwife Christmas specials.
12th Call the Midwife Christmas special (2012)
Call the Midwife's very first Christmas special finding itself bottom of the heap is no reflection on its quality. If anything it proves the franchise has gone from strength to strength, learning, adapting until it has honed its festive formula.
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In any case, it ranks the lowest because a festive special should stand out from the main episodes in the main season.
2012's special lacks the undercurrent of seasonal cheer. Rather than filtering the stories through a festive lens, they sit neatly side by side.
Still there are some great emotional beats. Nurse Jenny Lee (Jessica Raine) learns to extend compassion to the 'untouchables' of society through her connection with an elderly homeless woman grieving the loss of all of her children.
A teen mother also finds the courage to claim and care for her baby after abandoning him on the doorstep of Nonnatus house.
These stories are a much needed reminder of the frank hardships that still grind on behind the festivities.
11th Call the Midwife Christmas special (2013)
Call the Midwife's 2013 Christmas special elevates the drama to a whole new level when compared to its first.
Shelagh's wedding excitement is dampened by the burden of guilt she feels for choosing a life with Dr Patrick Turner (Stephen McGann) over her calling as a nun.
An unexploded bomb is found close to Nonnatus house and poor Timothy (Max Macmillan) is near-fatally struck down with polio days before his father's and Shelagh's nuptials.
If that weren't enough to contend with, babies are arriving amidst the chaos and Trixie is able to use her tragic upbringing as the daughter of an ex-serviceman to help a soldier cope with his post-traumatic stress.
All in all a cracking episode, which leaves its sufferers in a place of healing and the Turner wedding becoming the celebratory event it was destined to be. However, it still mostly feels like just another episode instead of a yuletide extravaganza.
10th Call the Midwife Christmas special (2014)
The episode kicks off with a touching flash-forward to 2005, to the home of a now elderly Jenny and husband Philip.
With Raine leaving at the end of the season just gone, it's a touching way to round off the characters' story.
Between Poplar's ballet of the snowflakes, tree picking and carols humming in the background, this special was perhaps the first that truly tapped into the spirit of Christmas.
That said, drama is never far behind the joy in Poplar and the stories of the young unmarried mothers wrestling with their decisions to give away or keep their babies really underpin this episode.
It's bittersweet, especially when told alongside that of the phantom pregnancy storyline where a patient discovers she was secretly sterilised by doctors years before.
This special is touching, hard-hitting but ultimately feels much more well-rounded in its balance between merriment and real-life struggles.
9th Call the Midwife Christmas special (2017)
Set during the Big Freeze, Call the Midwife is transformed into a winter wonderland. Behind the veil of magic sheathing Poplar in its blanket of snow, however, is excruciating hardship.
This period in history saw London buried under two feet of snow, which led to frozen water pipes, unheated homes and generally unbearable living conditions.
Show creator Heidi Thomas leans into the real-life circumstances through which to filter her stories.
The death of one of Dr Turner's patients opens the lid on his abusive treatment towards his family, leading to a heartwarming yet painful reconciliation.
Once again it feels a little more like an everyday episode, but it is so strong nonetheless.
Between the miracle of the presumed stillborn regaining his breathing and the lessons of forgiveness, there is something gently in keeping with the messages of the season.
8th Christmas special number (2016)
If there's one thing Call the Midwife doesn't get enough credit for it's its comedic prowess and this is one of the episodes that best highlights this.
The nuns and midwives' culture shock when they land in balmy South Africa during the festive period lends itself to many subtle moments of hilarity that remain in keeping with the otherwise serious subject matter.
All thoughts of a holiday vibe promoted by Trixie (Helen George) and her comments on suitable bathing-suit attire for the modern woman are banished by the realities of their situation – heat, spiders, bites and a lack of beauty supplies to say the least.
There is a playfulness to the episode which adds balance to the heaviness of the child polio sufferer and the phantom pregnancy.
There's even room for romance as the topic of an engagement between Trixie's ex-fiancé Tom Hereward (Jack Ashton) and nurse Barbra (Charlotte Ritchie) is discussed.
While it is not festive in the traditional sense, it does feel like a Christmas special in the way of taking the audience out of Poplar and giving us a unique perspective of their nursing vocation.
7th Christmas special number (2019)
There's something about taking the Nonnatus house inhabitants out of Poplar that just makes them funnier.
Here the team are again blessing viewers with another Christmas-cackler influenced by their new environment, Scotland's Outer Hebrides.
A place where not even Phyllis's pinched Fiery Jack ointment can warm up Trixie and the gals.
Sister Monica Joan (Judy Parfitt) carries much of the humour when, after being left behind with Sister Hilda and Sister Frances, she disobeys her orders to remain in Polar and treks all the way to Scotland after tricking Sister Hilda into funding her trip.
Again the team buck up against cultural differences when Fred's gesture of a Christmas tree inflames the denominational divide between Nonnatus' nuns and the local presbyterians. All is resolved but it becomes a lovely nod to being accepting and aware of one another's differences.
Trixie connects with an orphaned teen, Effie who struggles with drink, while nurse Crane helps Effie learn to let go of the shame she feels at being the product of unmarried parents.
There's also something very spiritual about Sister Monica Joan's 'reprehensible' behaviour being rewarded when she sees the white stag she felt she was being called by God to witness.
She had faith in herself and God's asking of her where others didn't and if that isn't representative of the season, what else is?
6th Christmas special number (2015)
Call the Midwife has created a quirky, lovable family out of the exuberant mix of young and older nurses and nuns in Nonnatus house, and like all families they quarrel.
Nevertheless, when a bitter tiff breaks out between Sister Monica Joan and Sister Evangelina over tinsels and trees, Christmas indulgence and modest celebration, it's hard to watch.
Things escalate dreadfully until an ill Sister Monica Joan, afflicted with pneumonia, runs away, causing panic.
Of course she is found and bonds are mended but that doesn't make it any less of an emotional upheaval to watch, one that feels wholly relatable for some families during the festive period.
Naturally there are touching births – even a surprise baby born to an unsuspecting mother at 46 after losing her only child – but it is the feuding nuns that steal our attention most.
A little nod to Patsy (Emerald Fennell) and Delia's secret relationship persevering despite the constraints of the time too makes the two's romance just feel like a little slice of magic.
This episode is the perfect mix of joy and sadness and all that comes in between, covered in the flurry of snow that greets Poplar.
5th Call the Midwife Christmas special (2020)
If you like your Call the Midwife Christmas special to capture the innocence and magic of the season then the 2020 episode definitely ticks those boxes.
The circus comes to town, bringing with it an extra helping of fun to the festivity from which one particular Nonnatus nurse benefits in the most exuberant of ways.
Nurse Phyllis Crane is the epitome of Christmas spirit when cancer sufferer Mr Percival introduces her to the wonders of his circus life.
There is a certain vulnerability and dream-like innocence to her as she dons the acrobat attire and swings on an elevated swing, crying out "Whee!"
The dating woes of Trixie – who is forced into joining the marriage bureau – are also captivating. The bureau scene feels wholly akin to the Hinge/Tinder dating scene of modern times and thus adds plenty of comedy and relatability while evoking sympathy.
There is also room for heroism in the episode when Reggie saves two children from a fire and of course there are the traditional tear-jerking births.
A true stand-out amongst the festive specials, even if we do have to say a subdued goodbye to Nurse Dyer (Jennifer Kirby).
4th Call the Midwife Christmas special (2018)
This Christmas special deserves its high place among the rankings as it coincides with the debut of May Tang (April Rae Hoang), Shelagh and Patrick's adoptive daughter from Hong Kong.
Her journey to Poplar, and in turn to becoming part of the Turner family, is incredibly touching.
Call the Midwife's decision to have both Shelagh and Patrick fall in love with May separately is shrewd as it makes their choice to foster her feel equal and makes May feel doubly wanted.
There are also the familiar hijinks from Sister Monica Joan to keep us entertained when she fakes an illness so she doesn't have to go to Mother House with the rest.
However, as is Call the Midwife's nature, everything has substance and what initially seems like a funny practical joke on Sister Monica Joan's behalf unearths her deep-rooted fear surrounding her mortality and its connection with the Mother House – a place where she would likely be nursed at the end of her life.
The episode doesn't forget that it's Christmas either. Fans are treated to their annual nativity scene, a church choir and a donkey.
3rd Call the Midwife Christmas special (2021)
Lucille (Leonie Elliott) and Cyril's winter wedding is filled with many bumps along the road (even one on Lucille's face when a drunken fall up the stairs results in a black eye).
Yet, despite the haematoma-draining leeches (for the swollen eye of course) and all the other hiccups the wedding is a beautiful celebration.
Nurse Crane manages to make the day extra special by rounding up the Poplar children Lucille had delivered in the past.
Now older, those children serve as her bridal attendants in place of her sisters, who would have been bridesmaids had they been able to come from Jamaica.
It's a truly touching gesture for the homesick bride that elevates the already sweet and emotional festive wedding.
2nd Call the Midwife Christmas special (2023)
Child-like wonder is evoked again when Sister Monica Joan – resigned over her 'impending death' – gets a reminder that there's still much to live for.
Her friends at Nonnatus embark on a mission to recapture one of her favourite childhood Christmas memories by reenacting the special event in present day.
It's wondrous and uplifting, especially when she begins to view life through the hope of nurse Nancy's daughter Collette (Francesca Fullilove).
It would have been a perfect episode, heartwarming births and all, had Sister Monica Joan's thought that she was dying not felt like a random plot device.
Still, it was an excellent episode that left us feeling warm and Christmassy.
1st Call the Midwife Christmas special (2022)
The number one spot has to be awarded to 2022's Christmas cracker of an episode. The return of fan-favourite family the Mullocks is a welcome one, even if it means more trials and tribulations to come.
The love between the Mullocks is strong but the strain of raising a child affected by the thalidomide crisis has touched them all, especially Mrs Mullocks, who is preparing to give birth again.
Trixie is able to use her personal struggles with alcohol abuse to support Mr Mullocks, who is on a slippery slope to ruin. At the end we see each family member get the care and understanding they need.
There are much brighter spots in the episode when the unlucky-in-love, yet hopelessly romantic Trixie gets engaged to Matthew (Olly Rix).
We also adored seeing Reggie (Daniel Laurie) buck against the restraints of his loving, yet over-protective pseudo mum Violet when he insisted he play his guitar in Poplar's Christmas talent show.
With this small act of stubbornness he reminds her that his Down's syndrome is not a limitation and that he is stronger than she thought.
The Call the Midwife Christmas special is available to stream now on BBC iPlayer. Call the Midwife season 13 will debut on Sunday 7th January 2024.
TV writer, Digital Spy Janet completed her Masters degree in Magazine Journalism in 2013 and has continued to grow professionally within the industry ever since. For six years she honed her analytical reviewing skills at the Good Housekeeping institute eventually becoming Acting Head of Food testing. She also freelanced in the field of film and TV journalism from 2013-2020, when she interviewed A-List stars such as Samuel L Jackson, Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson. In 2021 she joined Digital Spy as TV writer where she gets to delve into more of what she loves, watching copious amounts of telly all in the name of work. Since taking on the role she has conducted red carpet interviews with the cast of Bridgerton, covered the BAFTAs and been interviewed by BBC Radio and London Live. In her spare time she also moonlights as a published author, the book Gothic Angel.
