10 Best How I Met Your Mother Holiday Episodes

Season one’s iconic Halloween instalment eventually prompted a belated sequel wherein the previously unseen titular love interest transpired to be none other than guest star Katie Holmes, who our hero Ted soon grew bored of as soon as he had her in his grasp—it’s almost like the character needed to learn to stop idealizing unattainable relationships in favour of appreciating the people around him.

But it’s the earlier, bittersweet iteration of this tale, wherein Ted fails to find his Slutty Pumpkin but grows closer to Robin in the process, which made this list. Maybe it’s the all-time classic visual gag of Ted’s outdated Hanging Chad Halloween costume, maybe it’s merely Barney’s brief tenure as a shoulder devil—whatever the cause, this early classic proved the potential the show had to emerge from the shadow of predecessors such as Friends and establish a quirky, charming identity of its own.