Lorelai Gilmore once said, “Everything’s magical when it snows,” and every Gilmore Girls fan has their favorite winter episodes.
Yes, Gilmore Girls is known for being a fall show, which might be due to the autumnal vibe of the opening credits. However, Lorelai (Lauren Graham) always made it clear that winter is her favorite season, and the show was sure to include winter elements every year in the original 2000 to 2007 run as well as the 2016 revival, A Year in the Life.
Whether you stick your head out the window to say “I smell snow” or a wintery forecast makes you say, “Oy with the poodles already,” it’s always a good time to curl up with the best winter episodes of Gilmore Girls. Scroll down to see a guide to our favorites:
“Love and War and Snow” (‘Gilmore Girls’ Season 1, episode 8)
Welcome to the very first snow episode. Lorelai wakes up in the middle of the night to open a window and breathe in the air — because she can smell the snow coming tomorrow. She accidentally wakes Rory (Alexis Bledel) up as she giddily listens to a recent answering machine message from Max (Scott Cohen).
Once the snow hits, Rory ends up spending the night at her grandparents’ house which gives Lorelai a chance to spend the night with Max. However, an unexpected visitor interrupts what could’ve been a romantic night.
“The Bracebridge Dinner” (‘Gilmore Girls’ Season 2, episode 10)
This Gilmore Girls episode has everything: snow, a Stars Hollow tradition, Richard (Edward Hermann) and Emily (Kelly Bishop) in Stars Hollow and Jess (Milo Ventimiglia) being mischievous. The first snowfall has already hit and now it’s time for the annual snowman-building contest.
However, the snow has ruined travel plans, leaving the Independence Inn with a full-fledged Victorian theme dinner and no guests. Lorelai decides to invite the town (and Rory invites her grandparents) to enjoy the lavish dinner and horse and carriage rides. Lorelai and Luke (Scott Patterson) get to enjoy a horse-drawn carriage and Jess invites himself along for Rory’s ride.
“That’ll Do, Pig” (‘Gilmore Girls’ Season 3, episode 9)
Lorelai finds a way to actually bond with Emily when Gran (Marion Ross) comes to town, and Rory is working on building bridges too. She wants to be friends with Dean (Jared Padalecki), despite having recently dumped him for Jess. When Dean’s little sister wants Rory to go to the winter carnival with them, Jess suddenly changes his mind about attending “stupid town things” and is anxious to take his girlfriend to the event.
“Women Of Questionable Morals” (‘Gilmore Girls’ Season 5, episode 11)
Lorelai smells the first snow of the season and drags Luke out of bed to smell it. However, it quickly becomes a terrible day after her car gets snowed in and a dozen other minor inconveniences. She’s ready to end her long relationship with snow after such a bad day, so Luke builds an ice rink in her front yard to make her feel better. Talk about a romantic gesture!
“Merry Fisticuffs” (‘Gilmore Girls’ Season 7, episode 10)
The list of things to love about the seventh season of Gilmore Girls is very short. However, this episode makes the list because it offers exactly what the title implies. It’s the holiday season, and Christopher (David Sutcliffe) and Luke finally get into a real fight. After seeing Lorelai cooing over Luke’s newborn niece, Chris is once again concerned about Lorelai’s feelings for her ex. Chris and Luke see each other across the town square and charge at each other, knocking down the town’s Christmas decor as they go.
“Winter” (‘Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life’ episode 1)
A decade after the series finale, Gilmore Girls returned via a four-episode Netflix revival. The first episode takes place in — you guessed it — winter and shows Rory and Lorelai reuniting after some time apart. As much as it catches viewers up on where all of their favorite characters are now, the episode also starts off with so many callbacks to the moments that fans love, including Lorelai’s long love affair with the snow.
