- Die Hard: "All right, listen up guys. 'Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, except... the four assholes coming in the rear in standard two-by-two cover formation."
- In A Muppet Family Christmas, the Muppets of Sesame Street put on a play based on the book for the rest of the Muppets visiting Emily Bear's farmhouse. Ernie narrates and has a reluctant Bert play Mama, while Grover, dressed as a mouse, holds a bowl with a spoon in it, not touching the latter. Ernie also casts the Two-Headed Monster as Santa Claus and the other monsters as reindeer.
- National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation: Clark starts reading the book to the family on Christmas Eve, but only gets a little further than the Die Hard example does: "When what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a miniature sleigh, and...and Eddie with a man in his pajamas and a dog chain tied to his wrist and ankles. What the...?" He later shouts the final line of the poem.
- In The Santa Clause, Scott hurries through the book while reading it to his son Charlie at bedtime. But Charlie mishears the line "arose such a clatter" as "A Rose Suchak Ladder", so Scott explains the actual phrase. Receives a double Call-Back when Santa shows up. The noise results in Charlie telling his father he "heard a clatter" and a bit later, a ladder made by the Rose Suchak Ladder Company is unexpectedly leaning against their house.
- In Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?, Aunt Roo reads the story to the orphans on Christmas Eve.
- Friends: "The One With Christmas in Tulsa" opens with Phoebe reciting the poem to Joey. She claims that she wrote it herself.
- Homicide: Life on the Street: The third season episode "All Through the House" takes its title from the first line of the poem.
- Hark! A Vagrant: In "A Visit"
the narrator stops short while describing Santa when they get to his nose, since a thing placed between two ball-like round cheeks has a phallic resemblance.
- A Tumblr post complained about Christmas advertising that attempted to evoke the feel of the poem by having a narrator wax in rhyme about buying a Ford, prompting another user to reply◊ with this:Twas the night before Christmas
and I swear to the Lord
I will break your goddamn ankles
If you don’t buy this ford
- Madeline's Christmas quotes the poem in the opening line of the song "Achoo!" when all the girls except Madeline are sick on Christmas Eve:Visions of sugar plums dance in our heads
Achoo! Achoo! Achoo!
We would like to be somewhere besides in our beds
Achoo! Achoo! Achoo! - South Park directly references the Rankin-Bass special in the Episode A Very Crappy Christmas by singing "Even A Miracle Needs A Hand", with Kyle even pulling a Rankin-Bass face in one moment.
Comedy
- Jeff Dunham reads the book during his Christmas Special with Peanut providing snarky commentary after every line. This was inspired by Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy doing a similar routine on their radio program.Peanut (summarizing): a fat drunk driver, in a furry gaaay outfit, he's smoking, and you let him in the house because he said he had something for your kids!
