Aberdeen are in action on Boxing Day for the first time in three years this afternoon as they take on Kilmarnock at Rugby Park.

The last time the Red Army received a late gift from their team on December 26, Ryan Hedges and Lewis Ferguson were on the scoresheet as they cancelled a Leigh Griffiths' goal for Dundee at Pittodrie to secure victory.

It's been a challenging few weeks for Jimmy Thelin's men, with Dons fans watching their impressive start hit a huge bump in the road in November and early December.

READ MORE: Sir Alex Ferguson documentary to air on Boxing Day showcasing his life and career

READ MORE: BrewDog co-founder James Watt and Georgia Toffolo celebrate Christmas and engagement in Ellon

But a victory over their former manager Derek McInnes' men will bring some late festive cheer, and there's been plenty of that for the Reds on Boxing Day down the years.

We took a look back at three notable Boxing day victories for Aberdeen.

Hibernian 1-2 Aberdeen (December 26, 2010)

On this day 14 years ago, Craig Brown secured his first win as Aberdeen manager with a 2-1 victory against Hibs down at Easter Road.

The former Scotland boss had only been in charge of the club for just over two weeks, but had endured a nightmare debut match at the helm for the Dons, with his side being thrashed 5-0 at Tynecastle to the other half of Edinburgh, Hearts.

The defeat was Aberdeen's seventh consecutive defeat in the Premiership, as they stayed rooted to the bottom of the Premier League. Club legend Mark McGhee had been sacked as manager the previous week, with veteran Brown brought in to try and steady the ship and fend off the looming threat of relegation.

And thanks to a solid away performance in the capital in which they set up to play on the counter attack, the Dons were able to claim a 2-1 victory which finally ended their miserable run of form and saw them climb off the foot of the table.

Join our Aberdeen FC Facebook group for all the latest Dons news

After an even opening half an hour, Togo midfielder Yoann Folly scored his first goal for the club, firing home from close range on 35 minutes after some good work from fellow summer signing Scott Vernon who burst into the Hibs box to lay on the finish for teammate Folly.

However, the Dons were unable to see out the first half, and the home side grabbed an equaliser through forward Derek Riordan in added time, stabbing home after Aberdeen keeper Jamie Langfield had spilled a John Rankin effort.

But the Dons bounced back after the interval, as they pushed for a goal to take them back in front. Skipper Paul Hartley went close with a free kick, and then Josh Magennis forced a good save from Hibs goalie Mark Brown with a header from a corner.

Northern Irish forward Magennis then squandred a glorious chance to make it 2-1, falling over at the last hurdle with the goal at his mercy after going around goalkeeper Brown.

However on 62 minutes, the visitors were rewarded for their efforts with provider Vernon turning goal-scorer, knocking home a Hartley cross with his chest from close range to put his side in front for a second time.

Hibs then desperately pressed for a leveller, but a mixture of some stout Dons defending and good fortune saw Brown's side hold on for a vital three points and helped them leapfrog Hamilton to go into 11th place in the Premier League table.

Aberdeen 8-0 Stirling Albion (December 26, 1953)

Seventy-one years ago, the Dons put Stirling Albion to the sword at Pittodrie, with iconic striker Paddy Buckley helping himself to a hat-trick.

In front of 15,000 fans, Davie Shaw's Reds raced into a 4-0 lead at half time, thanks to goals from Hughie Hay, Graham Leggat, John Hather and Buckley.

It was more of the same in the second period as Leggat and Hather found the net again, before Buckley bagged his hat trick with a quickfire double to complete the rout.

Despite finishing as runners' up to Celtic in the Scottish Cup that season, Aberdeen performed poorly in the league and ended up finishing ninth.

But in a remarkable turnaround the following season, manager Shaw led the Dons to their first ever league title, getting their revenge on the Parkhead side from the year before by finishing three points above them to claim the championship.

Buckley finished as the club's top goal-scorer with 29 strikes in all competitions, and later helped the club win the League Cup with a 2-1 win against St Mirren later that year.

Sign up to our Aberdeen F.C newsletter to get the latest headlines, transfer news and more sent to your inbox

Dunfermline 1-2 Aberdeen (December 26, 1998)

On this day back in 1998, the Dons continued their impressive run of form over the Christmas period, with a 2-1 win against Dunfermline at East End Park.

Caretaker manager Paul Hegarty had taken the job in November, and led Aberdeen into the clash with the Pars off the back of consecutive victories against Hearts and Dundee.

In true winter fashion, testing conditions meant that many of the travelling Red Army were unable to get in on time for the first 20 minutes, as Dunfermline pushed for an opening goal.

Despite the hosts having the better of the play and chances, the sides went into the half time break goalless. And then against the run of play, the Dons were then able to take the lead on 52 minutes, with defender John Inglis meeting an excellent cross from Robbie Winters at the back post to smash the ball home.

But the Pars were back on level terms just sixty seconds later, as George Shaw got a huge slice of luck, beating Aberdeen keeper Derek Stillie from outside the area with a deflected strike which looped up over the stopper.

Following on from the equaliser the Dons began to dominate proceedings with Winters and Eoin Jess passing up great chances to restore the lead.

And on 75 minutes they finally regained the advantage, with the impressive Winters driving forward into the Dunfermline half, before laying on a perfectly weighted through ball for talisman Jess, who rounded Pars keeper Lee Butler to square the ball home.

The travelling support behind the goal were sent into wild celebrations with the goal, and despite a late onslaught, Aberdeen held out to head back up the road with the three points.