Updated Holiday Specials

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Okay, last week I pretty much just gave an overview of what I know is showing on television this year as far as holiday episodes and specials go. I've added a few new items, and did some explanations for some of the not-as-well-known items.

Now included: ABC, CBS, NBC, TCM, ABCFAM, AMC (only through 12/19)
Cartoon Network, Disney, TBS, and Nickelodeon don't have holiday schedules posted yet.
All times Eastern.

11/23, 11am: "Thanksgiving" episode of Home Improvement (TBS) [this is the one that I mentioned a few weeks ago]
11/24, 11am: "A Frozen Moment" episode of Home Improvement (TBS) [mentioned this one on Monday]
11/24, 7pm: Merry Madagascar (NBC) [new this year!]
11/24, 7pm: Holly and Hal Moose: Our Uplifting Christmas Adventure (ABCFAM) [new this year!]
11/25, 9:30am, "Talking Turkey" episode of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (TBS) [Can't wait to see this once again, another favorite like I mentioned! :)]
11/25, 3:30pm, "The Miracle of Thanksgiving" episode of Full House (ABCFAM) [the only Thanksgiving episode of the show, remember!]
11/26, noon, 2pm, 4pm, 6pm, 8pm, 10pm: Home Alone (F/X)
11/26, 8pm: A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (ABC) [I had the hardest time understanding this special as a kid... why did Peppermint Patty invite the folkd over to Charlie Brown's?? Like, did NONE of their families have a meal planned at all?? There's also another Thanksgiving-ish special that isn't well-known (I brought it to school in third grade and nobody else in class had ever seen it!), about the first Thanksgiving with the pilgrims and Indians. It was part of the "This is America, Charlie Brown" series of specials, and was called "The Mayflower Voyagers."]
11/26, 8pm: Miracle on 34th Street (ABCFAM)
11/27, 2pm: Yours, Mine, and Ours (TCM) [not holidayish per se, but such a classic!This is the original with Lucille Ball... not the remake.]
11/28, 7pm: A Boy Named Charlie Brown (ABCFAM) [you know, I really like to say that I have seen the vast majority of Peanuts and Garfield specials that came out before 2000, but every once in a while I am thrown for a loop and realize there's ones out there I've been missing!]
11/28, 8pm: Merry Madagascar (NBC) [new this year!]
11/29, 6pm: Home Alone 4 (ABCFAM) [had no idea a 4th existed! I never saw #3, but heard it was bad, so let's go straight to #4, haha. ]
11/29, 8pm, The Santa Clause (TBS) [I can't believe how many times I have seen this film. It is easily over ten, might be closer to twenty.]
11/30, 9:30am, "Ooh, Baby, Baby" episode of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (TBS)
11/30, 8:30pm: Shrek the Halls (ABC) [haven't seen it]
11/30, 8pm, 10:15pm: National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (AMC) [now, I'm not the biggest fan of Chevy Chase's National Lampoon movies... they're all okay once... it's just after that my patience begins to wear thin... but at least it's out there]

12/1, 8pm: A Charlie Brown Christmas (ABC) [this is the traditional one with the pageant and the little tree. There are other Charlie Brown Christmas specials, hopefully some network will air one this year]
12/1, 8pm: Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (ABCFAM) [haven't seen it but LOVE the first two!]
12/1, 8pm, 10:15pm, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (AMC)
12/2, 7pm: Pixar Short Films (ABCFAM) [probably not Christmassy, but who doesn't love Pixar?]
12/2, 7pm: Christmas in Rockefeller Center (NBC) [worth catching]
12/2, 8pm: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (CBS)
12/2, 8pm, 10:15pm, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (AMC)
12/3, 8pm: A Christmas Carol - 1938 (TCM)
12/3, 8pm, 10:15pm, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (AMC)
12/4, 7pm: Frosty's Winter Wonderland (ABCFAM)
12/4, 8pm, 10:15pm, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (AMC)
12/5, 8pm, 10:45pm: White Christmas (AMC)
12/7, 7pm: Twas the Night Before Christmas (ABCFAM)
12/7, 7:30pm: Cranberry Christmas (ABCFAM) [haven't seen it]
12/7, 8pm: Santa Claus is Comin' to Town (ABC)
12/7, 10pm: Jack Frost (ABCFAM)
12/8, 8pm: The Year Without a Santa Claus (ABCFAM)
12/8, 9pm: A Miser Brothers' Christmas (ABCFAM) [new this year!]
12/9, 7pm: Rudolph's Shiny New Year (ABCFAM)
12/9, 8pm: Santa Claus is Comin' to Town (ABCFAM)
12/9, 10:30pm: 'Twas the Night Before Christmas
12/10, 10pm: A Flintstone Christmas (ABCFAM) [cute! there are a couple of these specials too, and I like the other one btter, LoL]
12/11, 8pm: A Muppets' Christmas: Letters to Santa (NBC) [haven't seen it]
12/11, 8pm Prancer (AMC) [the trailers were so magical when I was a child, I still remember them vividly and I don't know why they left such an impression!]
12/11, 10pm: Santa Claus: The Movie (AMC) [my parents own this one on VHS and I wasn't allowed to watch it until I was like nine or ten for some reason...]
12/12, all day: Holiday Classics Marathon (ABCFAM) [will get specifics for next update!]
12/12, 8pm: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (CBS)
12/13, 8pm: White Christmas (AMC) [two duos get together to do a Christmas show. classic!]
12/13, 10:45pm: Holiday Inn (AMC)
12/14, 1:15am: White Christmas (AMC)
12/14, 4am: Holiday Inn (AMC)
12/14, 8pm: Shrek the Halls (ABC) [haven't seen it!]
12/14, 8pm: National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (AMC)
12/14, 10:15pm: Santa Claus: The Movie (AMC)
12/15, 12:30am: National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (AMC)
12/15, 2:45am: Santa Claus: The Movie (AMC)
12/16, 6pm: Pinocchio's Christmas (ABCFAM) [didn't know this existed! did you??]
12/16, 8pm: Happy Feet (ABCFAM) [sadly, I really need to see this!]
12/16, 10:30pm: Frosty's Winter Wonderland (ABCFAM)
12/17, 6pm: The Story of the First Christmas Snow (ABCFAM)
12/17, 6:30pm: Nestor, The Long-Eared Christmas Donkey (ABCFAM) [this may be a lot more far-fetched than some of the other stop-motion animated specials from the past forty years.. but it's cute. Nestor becomes the donkey that Mary rides in on.]
12/17, 7pm: Jack Frost (ABCFAM)
12/17, 8pm: Jack Frost (ABCFAM)
12/17, 10pm: Jingle All the Way (ABCFAM)
12/18, 8pm: Frosty the Snowman (CBS)
12/18, 8:30pm: Frosty Returns (CBS)
12/19, noon: Meet Me in St. Louis (TCM)
12/19, 8pm: A Muppets' Christmas: Letters to Santa (NBC) [gotta catch it!]
12/21, all day: Holiday Movie Marathon (ABCFAM) [hoping for specifics next time]
12/22, 1pm: A Very Brady Christmas (ABCFAM) [I really enjoy this special. It's the type of reunion that does a really good job, I think. The original Cindy is not in it, but the rest of the cast reprises their roles. Some of the kids are married with kids, others facing unknowns in relationships, and almost as if on cue, Carol loses her voice again but manages to get it back to sing "Adeste Fideles" on Christmas morning.]
12/22, 7:30pm: Dr. Seuss on the Loose (ABCFAM) [I had never heard of it, but a quick internet search reveals that it contains short renditions of Green Eggs and Ham, The Sneetches and The Zax. certainly looking forward to it!]
12/22, 8pm: Dr. Seuss' The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat (ABCFAM) [apparently this sucker won two Emmys. And I've never even heard of it... adding two great characters together sounds like fun!]
12/23, all day: Holiday Movie Marathon (ABCFAM) [specifics to come!]
12/23, 7:30pm: Miracle on 34th Street (ABCFAM)
12/24, all day: Holiday Classics Marathon (ABCFAM) [specifics to come!]
12/24, noon: Pinocchio's Christmas (ABCFAM)
12/24, 1pm: 'Twas the Night Before Christmas (ABCFAM)
12/24, 5pm: Jack Frost (ABCFAM)
12/24, 6pm: Frosty's Winter Wonderland (ABCFAM)
12/24, 6:30pm: 'Twas the Night Before Christmas (ABCFAM)
12/24, 7pm: Rudolph's Shiny New Year (ABCFAM)
12/24, 8pm: Santa Claus is Comin' to Town (ABCFAM)
12/24, 9pm: The Year Without a Santa Claus (ABCFAM)
12/24, 10pm: A Miser Brothers' Christmas (ABCFAM) [new this year!]
12/25, 9am: A Christmas Carol - 1938 (ABCFAM)
12/25, 11am: Jingle All the Way (ABCFAM)
12/25, 4pm: Miracle on 34th Street (ABCFAM)
(there's also a Sherlock Holmes Marathon on TCM Christmas Day, from 8pm to 8pm the next day!)