Alfonso Ribeiro shares a sweet family moment during the Dancing with the Stars holiday celebration

Dancing With the Holidays aired on December 2, 2025, bringing members of the Dancing With the Stars cast together for a one-hour seasonal special on ABC.

The event was hosted by Julianne Hough and Alfonso Ribeiro, who also appeared in several moments on the ballroom floor and in the audience.

The special used the message Ribeiro first shared during the Season 34 finale on November 25, when he said,

“Next Tuesday night, we are decking the halls and the ballroom for our first-ever holiday celebration.”

The special included routines from professional dancers Jenna Johnson, Daniella Karagach, Emma Slater, Pasha Pashkov, Britt Stewart, Rylee Arnold, Ezra Sosa, Jan Ravnik, Witney Carson, Brandon Armstrong, and Valentin Chmerkovskiy.

Troupe members Hailey Bills, Jaxon Willard, Carter Williams, and Onye Stevenson also took part. Past celebrity contestants Andy Richter and Reginald VelJohnson returned for appearances connected to their earlier seasons.

Family members of the cast were also shown in the audience, including Ribeiro’s wife, Angela, and their three children.

The special featured holiday-themed music throughout, along with a live performance from Pentatonix. Scott Hoying, who had competed during Season 34, returned to the ballroom with the group for that number.

Performances and on-camera moments in the Dancing With the Stars holiday special

The special opened with a routine featuring Julianne Hough, Jenna Johnson, and Daniella Karagach. Their segment set the pattern for the event, which was arranged as a series of short themed performances.

During the first half of the program, Alfonso Ribeiro shared a short family moment in the audience with his wife, Angela Unkrich, and their three children.

The interaction took place during a hosting transition as he and Hough moved between segments.

The camera captured the family together as Ribeiro paused to check in with them before returning to the floor.

Johnson and Chmerkovskiy also appeared in a skybox segment with troupe members Hailey Bills and Jaxon Willard, where they briefly interacted with Hough between dances.

Their son, Rome, appeared for a short on-camera moment with his parents during the broadcast, marking his first appearance on the show.

Emma Slater returned to the floor with two of her earlier partners, Andy Richter and Reginald VelJohnson.

The segment paired new choreography with a reunion angle that linked back to their previous time on the series.

They performed together before Slater moved into another short routine with dancers from the troupe.

Another group number featured Jan Ravnik, Britt Stewart, Ezra Sosa, Rylee Arnold, Brandon Armstrong, and Witney Carson.

The special moved quickly through these sequences, placing group and duo numbers in close order.

Between them, Hough and Ribeiro delivered transitions from the floor and the skybox. 

Guest appearances and musical performances in the holiday special

Guest involvement included several members of the current troupe. Hailey Bills and Jaxon Willard appeared in multiple skybox segments, joining Johnson, Chmerkovskiy, and Hough during breaks between routines.

Carter Williams and Onye Stevenson also took part in group pieces throughout the night, adding to the number of performers on the floor in the larger ensemble segments.

The special included the return of past celebrity contestants. Richter and VelJohnson joined Emma Slater for a reunion performance that connected the holiday special to previous seasons.

Their segment showed them in rehearsal and then in the ballroom during the recorded performance. These appearances were brief but tied the special to the broader history of the show.

Pentatonix provided the musical performance of the night. Scott Hoying, who competed earlier in Season 34, returned with the group for a live number set at the midpoint of the broadcast.

The performance acted as a transition before the final block of dance routines. Afterwards, Hough and Ribeiro guided the episode back into its closing segments, which completed the set of holiday routines and ended with a short thank-you to viewers.
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