Here's your guide to holiday TV
Posted Nov 30th 2005 1:00PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Industry, Programming, Festivus
- The TV holiday season kicks into high gear with Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer. It's on CBS at 8pm. Meanwhile, over on NBC we have the annual Christmas in Rockefeller Center, with Al Roker and musical guests Sheryl Crow and Rod Stewart lighting the Xmas tree. TNT has A Christmas Story at 8. The Brian Setzer Orchestra Christmas Extravaganza airs on some PBS stations tonight, but check local listings throughout December.
- December 1 through the 25, ABC Family has their annual 25 Days of Christmas, with tons of specials, including original movies like Christmas in Boston and Chasing Christmas, and classic specials like The Year Without A Santa Claus, Rudolph's Shiny New Year, Frosty's Winter Wonderland, Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town, Nestor The Long-Haired Donkey, The Little Drummer Boy, and movies like Home Alone 2 and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Check listings.
- This Friday, December 2, NBC has Harry Connick, Jr. in The Happy Elf. It airs at 8pm, as does the classic Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town, over on ABC.
- On Dec. 4 at 8pm, AMC has Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire in Holiday Inn. At 10:15pm on AMC, French Stewart hosts Entertainment Weekly's Best Holiday Movies.
- On Dec. 5, Lifetime has Recipe For A Perfect Christmas at 9, with Bobby Cannavale and Christine Baranski. DIY has Creative Juice For The Holidays at 10pm.
- Dec. 6: A Charlie Brown Christmas airs on ABC at 8, followed by another special, Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales.
- On Dec. 7 at 8pm, HGTV has The White House Christmas 2005, which has a behind the scenes look at how they do the decorations.
- Did you know that Linus and Lucy has a younger brother named Rerun? He's the focus of I Want A Dog For Christmas, Charlie Brown, which airs Dec. 9 at 8pm on ABC.
- On December 10 at 8, NBC has the movie classic It's A Wonderful Life. At 8:30, ABC has Jim Carrey in the overblown How The Grinch Stole Christmas.
- Dec. 14 at 8pm: TNT has Christmas In Washington, with Carrie Underwood and Rascal Flatts.
- On Dec. 15, ABC has Tim Allen in The Santa Clause.
- On Dec. 17 at 2, Nickelodeon has the Rugrats Chanukah Special, while that night at 8pm CBS has Frosty The Snowman.
- National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation airs on NBC at 8pm on Dec. 18.
- A Home For The Holidays is hosted by George Lopez and Jamie Lee Curtis and focuses on adoption. It's on CBS, Dec. 21 at 8pm. Also at 8: PBS has Renee Fleming: Sacred Songs and Carols, followed by Christmas With The Mormon Tabernacle Choir and A St. Olaf Christmas In Norway (I wonder if Rose from Golden Girls will be there?).
- On Dec. 22 at 9 and Dec. 25, PBS has country singer Josh Turner in concert with Christmas In Belmont.
- On Dec. 23, BBC America has a special from the Wallace & Gromit people, Creature Comforts - Merry Christmas Everybody. It's followed by Christmas Lights, a comedy about two friends who become rivals in a holiday decoration contest.
- On Christmas Eve at 8pm, PBS has Arthur's Perfect Christmas. Also at 8, NBC has another showing of It's A Wonderful Life. At 9, ABC has I'll Be Home For Christmas, with Jonathan Taylor Thomas. TV Land has holiday episodes of many shows, including The Brady Bunch, Night Court, Wings, and Cheers. And several stations will have Christmas Eve religious services starting at 11:35 or midnight.
- On Christmas Day, Regis and Kelly host the Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade at 10am on ABC. That night at 9 you can catch Valerie Bertinelli, Peter Falk, David Cubitt and William Russ in Finding John Christmas. It's on CBS.
- More Rugrats fun on Nickelodeon on Dec. 26: A Rugrats Kwanzaa airs at 8:30.
- Throughout December: holiday episodes of all your favorite shows, from current shows to syndicated shows like Friends and Everybody Loves Raymond and all the classic shows on TV Land. Check local listings.
- And let's not forget New Year's Eve! At 8pm, PBS has Live From Lincoln Center, with The New York Philharmonic. At 10pm, ABC has Dick Clark's Primetime New Year's Rockin' Eve 2006, with Ryan Seacrest and Clark himself. On FOX at 11, Regis Philbin (who seems to host everything these days) has New Year's Eve Live. And at 11:30, NBC has New Year's Eve With Carson Daly. (The next day, don't forget all the college football on every station in the world, and then on Jan. 2 you can catch the Tournament of Rose's Parade on NBC at 11am.)
Celebrate the 4th by watching television!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-01-2005 @ 9:38AM
Cory said...
What about the original How the Grinch Stole Christmas?
Reply
12-01-2005 @ 10:00AM
Jen said...
The original How the Grinch Stole Christmas aired the week before Thanksgiving on TBS. I haven't seen it scheduled to air anyplace else.
Reply
12-02-2005 @ 11:46AM
Cara Quinn said...
Very informative web page! We live in Alberta. Will
we get all of the above shows and are the times relevant to us? For ex. what time would and 8pm show be for us?
Reply
12-05-2005 @ 12:12PM
Valerie said...
Very helpful. We live in hurricane affected Louisiana and no longer get a TV Focus in our newspaper. I feel like I'm missing a lot.
Reply
12-14-2005 @ 11:01AM
Christina said...
what about A Garfield Christmas- do they not show this one anymore? Anyone know?
Reply
12-14-2005 @ 11:07AM
Christina said...
what about A Garfield Christmas- do they not show this one anymore? Anyone know?
Reply