The festive period provides little rest for clubs across England and the Premier League, as the fixture list ramps up heading into the new year. Boxing Day is one of the most treasured days of the footballing calendar, with a catalogue of games up and down the country. Over the years, we’ve seen a number of thrilling affairs take place on 26th December and a plethora of shining performances from some of the most famed players.

Quite incredibly, only seven players have scored a hat-trick on Boxing Day in the Premier League, with Nottingham Forest’s Chris Wood the latest player to join that elite club. His starring performance in the North East in December 2023 left St James’ Park stunned and perhaps most notably Eddie Howe, who signed the towering centre-forward for £25m from Burnley less than two years prior without getting any real return on his investment.

GIVEMESPORT has dug back through the history books to find some of the most sparkling showings the top flight has staged, as we take a look at seven players to score a Premier League hat-trick on Boxing Day. Without further ado, here are the selections…

1 Thierry Henry

26th December 2000: Arsenal 6-1 Leicester City

Arsenal ran riot at Highbury as they swept aside the visiting Leicester City 6-1. Thierry Henry netted his first Gunners hat-trick on his 50th league appearance for the North Londoners as his side regained their title hopes. The dazzling French forward opened the scoring with a well-placed half-volley that beat City’s goalkeeper Tim Flowers before Patrick Vieira added the second shortly after the half-time interval. Foxes striker Ade Akinbiyi pulled one back minutes later to give the visitors hope but that was soon shattered when Henry spun Matt Elliot and rolled the ball home to make it 3-1 not long after the hour mark.

Freddie Ljungberg netted the fourth of the Boxing Day affair with a hooked finish and then Henry got his hat-trick, having rounded Flowers with trickery before sliding the ball home. To compound the Foxes’ miseries, Arsenal captain Tony Adams added a sixth to round off the conclusive win. “United have to drop a level and we have to be more consistent before I can talk about catching them back for the title,” Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger said post-match.

2 Kevin Phillips

26th December 2000: Bradford City 1-4 Sunderland

While Henry was firing in the goals in the capital, Kevin Phillips was also netting a hat-trick, helping his Sunderland side secure a resounding 4-1 victory on the road at Bradford City. Niall Quin broke the deadlock just before half-time and then Kevin Phillips netted his first of the afternoon shortly after the break, beating Bradford shot-stopper Gary Walsh. The prolific frontman scored another in quick succession before the hosts pulled one back through Robbie Blake, who volleyed home Ashley Ward’s knockdown. Blake’s goal turned out to be a consolation as Phillips completed his hat-trick 10 minutes later to make it four. He could’ve had a fourth, too, but for a missed penalty in the 87th minute, as Walsh denied the England international.

3 Robbie Fowler

26th December 2001: Bolton Wanderers 0-3 Leeds United

Robbie Fowler netted all three of Leeds United’s goals as they secured a convincing victory away at Bolton Wanderers. The ex-Liverpool forward opened the scoring in a flash, firing home past Jussi Jääskeläinen within 2 minutes and then shortly after grabbing a second. Fowler didn’t complete his hat-trick until the 89th minute when he knocked the ball past the onrushing keeper before faking the shot to make room for a simple tap-in. He perhaps should’ve scored four but he missed his 84th-minute spot-kick. Victory for the visitors moved them up to third, one point adrift of league leaders Arsenal whilst defeat for the home side left them teetering just above the relegation zone, having won one from eight.

4 Dimitar Berbatov

26th December 2011: Manchester United 5-0 Wigan Athletic

Manchester United moved level with their rivals Manchester City at the summit of the Premier League table with victory, as they thumped Wigan Athletic 5-0. Park Ji-sung opened the scoring after great endeavour from Patrice Evra on the left before Wigan forward Conor Sammon was harshly shown a straight red card for catching Jonny Evans with a flailing arm. Heading into the break, Dimitar Berbatov fired in a left-footed strike from close range to put the hosts 2-0 to the good.

The ex-Tottenham Hotspur striker added his second just before the hour mark, having spun his marker with a clever turn before toe-poking past Ali Al Habsi. Antonio Valencia got in on the act to make it four 15 minutes from time, thundering home a low-drive effort from the corner of the penalty area. And, to round off the hammering, Berbatov completed his hat-trick after cooly converting a penalty won by Park Ji-sung.

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5 Gareth Bale

26th December 2012: Aston Villa 0-4 Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur ran riot at Villa Park, although, at half-time the Boxing Day affair was goalless. After a flurry of first-half chances, Jermain Defoe finally broke the deadlock in the 57th minute, beating Brad Guzan with a clever poked finish and then four minutes later Gareth Bale used his pace to get beyond the last line of defenders before rounding the keeper and rolling home. The Welshman netted another in the 73rd minute and then completed his hat-trick just over 10 minutes later, lashing in from 10 yards out. Bale would go on to join Real Madrid for a world record fee worth £85.3m at the end of the season after netting 21 times in the league whilst laying on eight assists.

6 Harry Kane

26th December 2017: Tottenham Hotspur 5-2 Southampton

Tottenham Hotspur picked up three points in a seven-goal Boxing Day thriller as they demolished Southampton 5-2. Harry Kane netted his sixth hat-trick of 2017 and broke the record for the most Premier League goals scored in a single calendar year, surpassing Alan Shearer’s 36-goal total at Blackburn Rovers in 1995.

The England forward scored the opener in the 22nd minute when he nodded home Christian Eriksen’s wicked curling delivery and shortly after Son Heung-min played the ball across the six-yard box for him to tap home his second of the afternoon. Dele perfectly placed a 20-yard low-driven effort just after the half-time interval to make it three before Son added a fourth two minutes later. Kane completed his hat-trick with a marvellous chipped finish sandwiched between two consolation Saints goals from Sofiane Boufal and Dušan Tadić.

Kane ended the campaign with 30 goals but remarkably missed out on the Golden Boot, as Mohamed Salah netted a whopping 32 times for Liverpool in his debut season. Notwithstanding that, the Spurs ace went on to win the Golden Boot at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, helping the Three Lions to reach their first semi-final since 1990.

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7 Chris Wood

26th December 2023: Newcastle United 1-3 Nottingham Forest

Chris Wood is the latest Premier League player to score a 15-minute Boxing Day hat-trick after firing Nottingham Forest to a 3-1 victory at St James’ Park against his former club Newcastle United in December 2023. The hosts took the lead after Alexander Isak converted from the penalty spot but Wood levelled the scores on the stroke of half-time with a simple close-range finish. Not long into the second half the 70-cap New Zealand international was at the double and this time with an absolute cracker.

He picked the ball up on the left and turned inside Dan Burn before producing a delightful left-footed dink over Martin Dúbravka to put the visitors 2-1 to the good, silencing the home crowd. And on the hour mark, Wood made it three to complete his hat-trick, rounding the keeper before slotting home to take his total to seven goals for the season. The newly appointed Forest boss Nuno Espírito Santo picked up his first victory in charge of the East Midlands club as his side rose to 16th, two points clear of the relegation zone.