# Tell me your favorite Christmas TV specials **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 19, 2010, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-your-favorite-christmas-tv-specials/561213 "2010-11-19T12:44:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-your-favorite-christmas-tv-specials/561213/21 "2010-11-19T20:30:35Z")
George C. Scott’s “A Christmas Carol” and Laurel & Hardy’s “March of the Wooden Soldiers.” ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-your-favorite-christmas-tv-specials/561213/22 "2010-11-19T20:42:02Z")
The first time the Grinch was on TV, I got to see the intro to it. Then we had to leave to go to the Cantata! Broke a 6-year-old’s heart, I tell ya- Saw it the next year. Anybody else ever see “the Christmas That Almost Wasn’t?” ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-your-favorite-christmas-tv-specials/561213/23 "2010-11-19T22:00:12Z")
I haven’t seen it, because it was broadcast only once, and it was never put on commercial VHS or DVD. Reportedly the Museum of the Moving Image has a copy you can watch – Rod Serling’s _a Carol for Another Christmas_. Sort of _a Twilight Zone Christmas_. It’s reportedly excellent, and I’d love to see it. I’ll agree that the George C. Scott Christmas Carol is excellent, although I prefer the 1951 Alastair Sim movie. (Sim also voiced Scrooge in the Chuck Jones version I refer to above). ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-your-favorite-christmas-tv-specials/561213/24 "2010-11-19T22:08:37Z")
> [@Antigen](#): > > If I don’t see the animated Grinch, it’s not allowed to be Christmas yet. It is on [tonight](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=585591). ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-your-favorite-christmas-tv-specials/561213/25 "2010-11-19T22:17:41Z")
_Christmas Vacation_ is a must-see for us. “Shitter’s full!” ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-your-favorite-christmas-tv-specials/561213/26 "2010-11-19T22:21:08Z")
I like _How the Grinch Stole Christmas_ and _A Charlie Brown Christmas_, particularly for Linus’s reading of that bit from the Gospel of Luke. I’m not even Christian but I always found it moving. ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-your-favorite-christmas-tv-specials/561213/27 "2010-11-20T02:37:13Z")
I always watch Mr. Magoo, and the other thing I watch isn’t really a special, but a short that runs about 2 minutes, “Hardrock, Coco, and Jo.” I knew Christmas was close when Frazier Thomas would show that! ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-your-favorite-christmas-tv-specials/561213/28 "2010-11-20T02:54:23Z")
The X-Files ‘How the Ghosts Stole Christmas.’ ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-your-favorite-christmas-tv-specials/561213/29 "2010-11-20T03:21:00Z")
“Charlie Brown Christmas” “Christmas Story” ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-your-favorite-christmas-tv-specials/561213/30 "2010-11-20T04:11:07Z")
_The Nightmare Before Christmas_ ---
**Author:** ![gone2thedogs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c67d28/32.png) [@gone2thedogs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gone2thedogs)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-your-favorite-christmas-tv-specials/561213/31 "2010-11-20T04:17:37Z")
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Scrooged. A classic with David Johannsen ---
**Author:** ![oliversarmy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/eb8c5e/32.png) [@oliversarmy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oliversarmy)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-your-favorite-christmas-tv-specials/561213/32 "2010-11-20T04:37:56Z")
“Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol.” It’s the first Christmas show I remember and long before I knew where the story came from and long before Thurston Howell III. That’s in five-year-old time, not real time. In my memory, I loved that cartoon. I haven’t seen it in decades. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-your-favorite-christmas-tv-specials/561213/33 "2010-11-20T15:17:16Z")
_ **Love Actually** _ is a modern holiday favorite. An amazing cast and a story that pulls at your heartstrings without taking itself too seriously. ---
**Author:** ![fusoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@fusoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fusoya)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-your-favorite-christmas-tv-specials/561213/34 "2010-11-20T15:24:34Z")
_National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation_ and _A Christmas Story_ are must-views for me every Christmas. The _'Tis The 15th Season_ episode of The Simpsons is also an excellent Christmas special (and a rare gem in the later seasons of the show), and even gives a shoutout to the Mr McGoo Christmas Carol “ahhh once again you’ve mistaken something for something else!” I NEVER liked the Charlie Brown special (same goes with the Halloween one, although I always did like A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving), and I realllly don’t get all the hype about it. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-your-favorite-christmas-tv-specials/561213/35 "2010-11-21T02:56:44Z")
There was a Muppet Christmas where they all gathered at someone’s mom’s house in the country, except Miss Piggy who was delayed by snow. Can’t rememeber the name of it, but it was very entertaining and they sang Christmas songs…I have, still, a couple of Disney Sing-A-Long videotapes featuring Christmas music and scenes from Disney cartoons (mostly older, like with Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck) and they are utterly charming as background to trimming the tree…And I could happily sit down to watch A Christmas Story on TBS for the whole 24 hours and skip my Christmas altogether. I never get tired of A Christmas Story! ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-your-favorite-christmas-tv-specials/561213/36 "2010-11-21T03:11:02Z")
_A Wish For Wings that Work_ and _A Blackadder Christmas Carol_. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-your-favorite-christmas-tv-specials/561213/37 "2010-11-21T03:12:57Z")
A Christmas Carol, with George C. Scott as Scrooge. A Christmas Carol with Kelsey Grammar as Scrooge, with the volume turned down so that I can ogle Jane Krakowski but not have to listen to Kelsey try to sing. The Tim Allen Santa Claus movies. ---
**Author:** ![iamnotbatman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/858c86/32.png) [@iamnotbatman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamnotbatman)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-your-favorite-christmas-tv-specials/561213/38 "2010-11-21T03:31:15Z")
**A Christmas Story** ---
**Author:** ![Gabing\_Gaboing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b38774/32.png) [@Gabing\_Gaboing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gabing_Gaboing)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-your-favorite-christmas-tv-specials/561213/39 "2010-11-21T04:04:17Z")
I love The Garfield Christmas…the whole Grandma reminiscing about Grampa and Garfield finding the old letters…_sniff_ I always look out for The Night Before Christmas, you know, the one with the Santa worshipping clock. Although Santa was pretty much a jerk in that one. Unrequited love is not Santa’s style apparently. ---
**Author:** ![Tamarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@Tamarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamarin)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-your-favorite-christmas-tv-specials/561213/40 "2010-11-21T04:31:03Z")
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