Ranking ‘A Nonsense Christmas with Sabrina Carpenter’ Guest Stars: Shania Twain, Quinta Brunson, Chappell Roan, and More

In A Nonsense Christmas with Sabrina Carpenter, the titular variety special host reminds us that it’s not only the most wonderful time of the year, it’s the ho, ho, ho-iest. Buckle up, the double entendres will not stop here.

Sabrina Carpenter has brought joy to the world throughout 2024 through her Short and Sweet Tour, her chart-topping hits like “Espresso” and “Please Please Please,” and now, by giving fans a spectacular Netflix Christmas special. She may be short — “five feet to be exact” as the lyrics to “Taste” tell us — but she sure does measure up when it comes to pop culture figures making an impact this year.

While we would have totally tuned in just to hear her renditions of “A Nonsense Christmas” and all of its outro glory (iykyk), it certainly didn’t hurt that the former Disney Channel star brought along nearly a dozen of her famous friends to sing, dance, and joke around in a series of songs and skits. From Abbott Elementary‘s creator (and fellow shortie) Quinta Brunson to country-pop legend Shania Twain, this Netflix special has something for everyone. And even though each guest star shines like the star on top of a Christmas tree, some dazzled us a little more than others.

That’s why we here at Decider have opted to rank the guest stars and cameos from A Nonsense Christmas with Sabrina Carpenter. Does it seem entirely fair? No. Is there even a common metric we used to evaluate each appearance? Absolutely not. Just like Sabrina and 2024, we are riding simply on vibes here so if the list does not line up with your own ranking, that’s okay. And hey, don’t worry, they’re all No. 1 in their mom’s eyes!

1. Jillian Bell

   Listen, we love Jillian Bell but this is a simple numbers game. Our girl made a quick appearance as Amy, the sister of Sabrina Carpenter’s character and the wife of Dave (Kyle Mooney). The sketch is about not knowing what to get your brother-in-law and aside from giving us one hilarious line where she cannot remember what her own husband does for work, Bell did not get any other big lines or moments worth highlighting. Alas, we still love her for doing it!

3. Cara Delevingne

   Cara Delevingne only appears in the variety special for a few moments as the Spirit of Ghosted Future to Sabrina’s Ghosted Past and Quinta Brunson’s Ghosted Present. She may have taken the last place on the list if not for her “Nonsense” outro pitch. “Gotta give a shoutout to my boy, Nick. Wouldn’t let him hit it, just the cane tip. Guess I stayed consistent with my strange tricks,” she sings as Sabrina recoils from pure cringe. It made for a great moment

4. Nico Hiraga

   It’s not easy playing a hateable character but Nico Haraga does it seamlessly. In A Nonsense Christmas, the Sweethearts star plays a content-creating Scrooge (literally his name) who invented “energy drink cologne,” makes skateboard videos on the internet, and ghosts girls left and right. He also fits the bill of the guy who gaslights the ladies, claiming he didn’t mean to break off contact suddenly and that he lost his phone… which he didn’t, obviously.

   “I saw you peeping my Stories,” Sabrina says as Haraga’s character responds, “That’s strange, I gotta talk to Zuck about that.”

   We can’t hate him too much, though, because just like in A Christmas Carol, he sees the error in his ways and promises to treat women right in the future. The real Christmas miracle would be him keeping his promise!

5. Kali Uchis

   It takes skill to make a song like “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” not only serious but hauntingly beautiful. Luckily for those who tuned in to watch A Nonsense Christmas, Sabrina and Kali Uchis did exactly that. What really worked about this duet was the color and tone of their voices — both sultry and pop-sounding in their own ways — blending to create a slower rendition of this traditionally silly Christmas song. The ladies also set the mood by performing in front of a roaring fireplace and next to a dimly lit tree. The mood was set and the vibes were impeccable. It immediately made me want to listen to more songs from Uchis, and more collabs from them in the future. To me, that’s the sign of a successful guest appearance.

6. Tyla

   Not only did Tyla show up and absolutely sleigh slay her duet to “This Christmas” with Sabrina, she graced us with her presence by reminding the world that she is a gift. The South African-born singer arrived dressed only in a bow that wrapped around her entire body. Their harmonies were killer but we couldn’t help but marvel at the work of art that she donned for the song. Mix that with the massive red jewel necklace and it is clear that she came to stand out.

7. Meg Stalter and Owen Thiele (Tie)

   It only felt fair to rank Hacks star Meg Stalter and Theater Camp actor Owen Thiele together seeing as they came in as a pair for their skit. The stars played Sabrina’s hilariously concerned besties who did their best to convince her that “Nick,” the new man in her life, is really Santa. You can tell that they are really friends with the singer because their chemistry was amazing but by far, one of the best parts of the show is when Thiele accidentally uses the Nerf gun Nick brought him to shoot Stalter. The trio do their best to stave off their laughter but it just gave us a Saturday Night Live-worthy break moment!

8. Quinta Brunson

   God bless Quinta Brunson for taking time out of her busy schedule — including prepping for the highly-anticipated Abbott Elementary and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia crossover and promoting two Abbott holiday episodes — to show us she is 100 percent that girl. Brunson plays Allie — a.k.a. the Spirit of Ghosted Present — and grills Hiraga’s Ebby Scrooge on why he didn’t take her to go see Wicked like he promised. Her appearance was brief but it was a long time coming for fans who know that the two actresses have bonded over their short stature in the past. Shoutout to these ladies who are doing big things in a small frame!

9. Shania Twain

   Man, it feels like Christmas… thanks to Shania Twain and Sabrina Carpenter, that is. The “That Don’t Impress Me Much” singer did impress us by not only showing up as Mrs. Claus to Sean Astin’s Santa Claus, but she also fulfills Sabrina’s lifelong Christmas wish to sing together. The pair duet on “Santa Baby” and bring the house down with their sultry voices calling out for Santa to check a few items off their wish list. It was the perfect holiday rendition and we want it on Spotify, Apple Music, and everywhere else we can stream music ASAP.

10. Sean Astin

    Not only did Sean Astin dress up as “Nick,” Sabrina’s much older boyfriend — a few hundred years older, that is — he excitedly promoted the variety special by telling his fans and followers that it has been a lifelong dream to play Santa Claus. Even better, it’s a double dream come true because he’s also playing St. Nick in Elf on Broadway! Sure, he only has a few minutes of screen time in this special but he makes us laugh and spreads Christmas cheer so No. 2 feels right.

11. Kyle Mooney

    Shoutout to SNL scribes Fran Gillespie and Jimmy Fowlie and The Good Place co-executive producer Megan Amram — a.k.a the writers of this Christmas special — for pointing out what we should have realized all along: Kyle Mooney gives off oddball brother-in-law-energy. As mentioned above in the Jillian Bell ranking portion, Mooney plays Sabrina’s brother-in-law who she is stumped by when it comes to gift giving. What we didn’t previously mention is that the Y2K writer-director amazingly makes the situation 10 times funnier by being his awkward self. At one point, he even tries to assist Sabrina by giving her some gift ideas, telling her “I like food and I like pants. I like blue and I like music.” We all know someone who is impossible to gift for and Mooney plays it perfectly. Add in the fact that he pitches Sabrina an outro where he just repeatedly asks “Why is everybody always lying to me?” and you’ve got an A-plus cameo.

12. Chappell Roan

    Chappell Roan had one busy ass year so when we first heard she would be making an appearance, our excitement could hardly be contained. That said, she had four minutes and one shot to make her performance with Sabrina iconic and she did exactly that. From their blinged-out two-piece outfits in jewel tones to their perfectly harmonious voices singing Wham!’s “Last Christmas,” this hauntingly beautiful performance took our breaths away.

    All hail to this “Feminomenon.”

A Nonsense Christmas with Sabrina Carpenter is now streaming on Netflix.