SNL’s “Best Christmas Ever” Sketch with Matt Damon Sums Up Holiday Parenting Perfectly
The sketch should be relatable to any parent who has experienced the chaos of Christmas morning.
Saturday Night Live delivered a hilarious and surprisingly sentimental sketch when Matt Damon hosted on December 15, 2018.
In “Best Christmas Ever,” Damon and Cecily Strong play parents who are finally relaxing after another hectic holiday at their house.
“So, did you have a merry Christmas?” Strong’s character asks her on-screen husband, Damon, as the two cuddle on the couch, enjoying the calm after putting their kids to bed.
“Are you kidding me? That was the best Christmas ever,” Damon’s character answers, surprising his wife. “I had a smile on my face from the moment I woke up.”
Through a series of flashbacks we learn that while their memories might be merry now — they don’t match up to the rowdy reality of the long day. From being woken up by their kids before sunrise to secretly assembling a giant playhouse in the middle of the night, the stressful scenes should be relatable to any parent who has experienced the chaos of Christmas morning.
And that’s even before the in-laws arrive. Additional flashbacks show the couple hosting Christmas dinner at their house, with the wife’s parents (played by Beck Bennett and Aidy Bryant) attending, along with her cousin (Mikey Day), who makes things tense when politics are brought up.
Matt Damon in the “Best Christmas Ever” sketch on Saturday, December 15, 2018 in Saturday Night Live Season 44, Episode 9. Photo: Rosalind O’Connor/NBC
Back on the couch, Damon’s character asks his wife, “How about you, the hostess with the mostess taking care of everybody. How do you do it?” Strong replies that she was “just full of Christmas cheer” — and red wine, as the flashbacks reveal.
Even though the day was stressful and hectic, the husband said, “I definitely felt some Christmas magic today.” The viewers apparently felt some magic too while watching the sketch, with the comments on YouTube calling it “surprisingly sweet” and “the most relatable” SNL Christmas sketch ever.
“My parents cried sentimental tears at this. I asked them about it and they said, ‘We genuinely had those talks at the end of each Christmas,'” wrote one viewer.
An encore presentation of A Saturday Night Christmas airs Monday, December 23 at 8 p.m. on NBC. The new special is also available to stream on Peacock.
