# Favorite Holiday Special? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 21, 2004, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-holiday-special/270393 "2004-10-21T12:58:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-holiday-special/270393/1 "2004-10-21T12:58:17Z")
It may be a little early, but inspired by [This Thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=281978) I was wondering which was your favorite special? As in the link, I always got so excited when they came on. I loved them all and actually have most of them on vcr, although I would like to move them to DVD. I dunno, Rudolf was good, and Charlie Brown of course, but I think The Grinch is my favorite. What are yours? ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-holiday-special/270393/2 "2004-10-21T13:16:26Z")
Torn between Charlie Brown and the Grinch. Leaning toward the Grinch, esp since it was so much better than that horrid Jim Carrey/Ron Howard travesty of a movie version. ---
**Author:** ![MissTake](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misstake/32/3189_2.png) [@MissTake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissTake)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-holiday-special/270393/3 "2004-10-21T13:25:13Z")
I must watch [_A Christmas Story_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085334/) and [_White Christmas_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047673/). Those are my “Must Sees”. I never really got into the Grinch, and Charlie Brown makes me weep (the whole sad Charlie Brown Tree thing). I own both _A Christmas Story_ and _White Christmas_, but it’s not the same as watching it on TV, curled up with cocoa under a blanket at Christmas time. Now I’m going to have “White Christmas” in my head all day. I LOVE Bing Crosby. ---
**Author:** ![Agrippina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8797f3/32.png) [@Agrippina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agrippina)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-holiday-special/270393/4 "2004-10-21T13:33:52Z")
The Grinch is my favorite, but Rudolph will always have a special place in my heart. It was the ONE special I had to watch every single year growing up. “I want to be a dentist!” ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-holiday-special/270393/5 "2004-10-21T15:45:15Z")
Soft spot for Rudolph & Charlie Brown’s pathetic little tree, but nothing surpasses the brilliance of Jones, Karloff, Seuss & **The Grinch**. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-holiday-special/270393/6 "2004-10-21T15:48:01Z")
Star Wars, of course. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-holiday-special/270393/7 "2004-10-21T15:48:01Z")
Dr. Suess, Chuck Jones, Boris Karloff. It just doesn’t come any better. Hence, Grinch. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-holiday-special/270393/8 "2004-10-21T16:35:09Z")
It’s been a while since I’ve been in the habit of watching the movies and cartoons that get trotted out each year and since I have no TV, it’ll be another year before I do it again but with that being said, I do have fond memories of watching _It’s a Wonderful Life_, _The Wizard of Oz_, the \*Garfield \*cartoons, and the various stop-motion specials from the Sixties(?) when I was growing up. Oh, an _Home Alone_ too, although I expect I’m really dating myself with that one. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-holiday-special/270393/9 "2004-10-21T16:54:43Z")
Specials: 1. Grinch 2. Olive the Other Reindeer (absolutely brilliant from start to finish) 3. Rudolph Movies: 1. Miracle on 34th Street 2. A Christmas Story 3. A Christmas Carol (Alaistar Sim version) 4. The Thin Man ---
**Author:** ![caveman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caveman/32/7242_2.png) [@caveman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caveman)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-holiday-special/270393/10 "2004-10-21T18:34:34Z")
Ahh, specials! They were so much better with that old spinning “special” logo they used to use on CBS… Christmas (Animated): 1)A Charlie Brown Christmas 2)How the Grinch Stole Christmas 3)Rudloph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Hon. Mention: The Life & Times of Santa Claus Christmas (Live Action) 1)It’s a Wonderful Life 2)Scrooged 3)Mixed Nuts Halloween 1)Garfield’s Halloween Adventure ---
**Author:** ![racinchikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@racinchikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racinchikki)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-holiday-special/270393/11 "2004-10-21T19:04:06Z")
I love them all. In order, my favorites are: The Grinch Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer The stop-motion animated story about Santa Claus being an orphan child raised by fairies, with the Great Ak in it and all, and the guy who could speak bird, and the song about the little black cat with the big green eyes Charlie Brown I also have “White Christmas” on VHS after having caught part of it on TCM a couple of years ago. It’s bizarre and rambly and I can’t figure out the point of the beatnik ballet scene but I love it anyway, and I want a dress like that. I can’t wait until Christmas season starts!!! ---
**Author:** ![Gotterfunken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/58956e/32.png) [@Gotterfunken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gotterfunken)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-holiday-special/270393/12 "2004-10-21T19:11:40Z")
I still have a fondness for the Rankin-Bass specials, like **Rudolph** –but _especially_ **[A Year Without Santa Claus](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072424/)**, perhaps better known as “The One with **[Heat Miser](http://www.geocities.com/faizaferhat/miser.html)**.” Not exactly canon (who knew that Mother Nature had two kids called “Heat Miser” and “Snow Miser”? Who knew that Mother Nature even played a role in any Christmas narratives??), but I liked it. I used to like to think that “Southtown” was my hometown in Florida, where it never did snow. Imagine my joy during the Christmas season of 1989, when we experienced a significant snowfall for the first time in my life! It was like the Snow Miser and Heat Miser really _had_ reached some kind of agreement! Of course I was 17 at the time, but I still recalled that strange little show, even though by that point I hadn’t seen it in nearly 10 years, since they rarely showed it on TV (never seems to have caught on like “Rudolph” and “Frosty” and all those others). Of the Charlie Brown specials, “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” was my favorite. Linus gets too preachy in the “Charlie Brown Christmas,” IMO. ---
**Author:** ![pasunejen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/58956e/32.png) [@pasunejen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pasunejen)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-holiday-special/270393/13 "2004-10-21T19:15:59Z")
> [@Skopo](#): > > Linus gets too preachy in the “Charlie Brown Christmas,” IMO. Dunno why, but that was always one of my favorite parts. Anyway, I’d have to go with **Rudolph** as my animated favorite and **It’s a Wonderful Life** for live action. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-holiday-special/270393/14 "2004-10-21T20:31:14Z")
> [@Skopo](#): > > I still have a fondness for the Rankin-Bass specials, like **Rudolph** –but _especially_ **[A Year Without Santa Claus](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072424/)**, perhaps better known as “The One with **[Heat Miser](http://www.geocities.com/faizaferhat/miser.html)**.” In the interest of equal time: [Snow Miser’s Cooler](http://www.biggerboat.net/snowmiser/snowmiser.htm). ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-holiday-special/270393/15 "2004-10-21T20:32:57Z")
I hate teh Rankin-Bass ‘specials’. All of them. Frosty, Year without a Santa Clause, Little Drummer Boy, Rudolph, Santa Clause is coming to Town, all suck in my book. The Grinch if number one. Olive the other Reindeer is fantastic. Charlie Brown is great but to me the false note is the happy ending. I mean those brats would never come over and cheer up Charlie Brown. (Sorry I’m feeling a bit bitter) Emmet Otter’s Jug Band Christmas is really cute. Movies A Christmas Story The Nightmare Before Christmas Die Hard A Midnight Clear It’s a Wonderful Life I also have an audio tape of Patrick Stewart doing his one man show version of A Christmas Carol which I listen to every year. ---
**Author:** ![Jenny\_Haniver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Jenny\_Haniver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenny_Haniver)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-holiday-special/270393/16 "2004-10-21T20:40:49Z")
Specials: 1)_How The Grinch Stole Chrismas_, of course. 2)\* Emmett Otter’s Jugband Christmas\* (deep scary voice)Riverbottom Nightmare Band! (/deep scary voice), tied with The Muppet Christmas Special. 3) _The Snowman_ – the one where there’s no dialogue, and the kid’s snowman comes to life and they fly. (Is _Santa Claus is Coming to Town_ the one with Burghermeister Meisterburgher in it?) Movies: 1. _It’s a Wonderful Life_ 2. _The Muppet Christmas Carol_ (I like muppets.) (And, their Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come brings The Freaky like it’s never been brought before. Actually, he’s what I pictured when I first read the description of a dementor in Harry Potter.) 3. _Holiday Inn_ (Yes, even though most of the story doesn’t take place at Christmastime.) tied with _Miracle on 34th Street_ ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-holiday-special/270393/17 "2004-10-21T20:46:17Z")
> [@pasunejen](#): > > Dunno why, but that was always one of my favorite parts. > > \ I agree, that was always the part I liked best. Well, that and the end where the tree is transformed. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-holiday-special/270393/18 "2004-10-21T20:48:07Z")
Ah well, movies are different. Hmmmmm. Miracle on 34th Street, the original version. Its a Wonderful Life. Scrooged - up until the end where it petered out. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-holiday-special/270393/19 "2004-10-22T00:47:47Z")
For animated specials, it’s a tough call between _Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown_ and _How the Grinch Stole Christmas_. Both are top-notch. I also need to give a call-out to _It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown_, _Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer_, and _Frosty the Snowman_, though they can’t compete with the top two. For movies, no Christmas is complete without _It’s a Wonderful Life_ and the original _Miracle on 34th Street_ (accept none of the updated versions). Both of these must not be colorized, of course. _A Christmas Story_ is not essential, but highly recommended. And there has to be some version of _A Christmas Carol_, though I’m not too picky about which one. The Muppet one was wonderful, but I don’t think it’s been long enough for it to be a real tradition yet. ---
**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-holiday-special/270393/20 "2004-10-22T03:47:16Z")
Yes, _Santa Claus is Coming to Town_ is the one with Herr Burghermeister. My favorites are _How The Grinch Stole Christmas_, _Santa Claus is Coming to Town_ and _A Charlie Brown Christmas_. _The Year Without A Santa Claus_ and _Frosty The Snowman_ (the original one) are pretty good, too, and _Frosty’s Winter Wonderland_ (the one where he meet Crystal) is passable. The Santa in _Rudolph_ and how mean he is to Rudolph just ruins that show for me. The recently made _Frosty Returns_ is crap. And _Rudolph’s Shiny New Year_ is pretty damn bad too. Same for _Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July_. Christmas-related movies: _Miracle on 34th Street_ (the original), _Christmas Story_, _Die Hard_ and _Lethal Weapon_. I hate _It’s A Wonderful Life_. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-holiday-special/270393.md?page=2)