December 17, 2012
Sorry I have been slacking off on the blog writing, but there has been a lot of TV to watch these days. But now we have made it to what I like to call Christmas break (and what TV now likes to call midseason finale time) and I can finally catch up on some stuff like “Nashville” and “Revolution.” But more importantly, I can watch all the awesome Christmas TV specials and movies during this time.
Christmas TV specials were always, well, special at our house growing up. It was a time to get in our jammies and grab a bowl of popcorn (from the popcorn maker, not the microwave) and park ourselves in front of the TV for some holiday cheer. To this day, I still get excited for them. I’m OK there won’t be any new TV for the next few weeks because my DVR needs a break and all the good Christmas TV is coming on!
Here are my very favorites:
“The Year Without Santa Claus”
I didn’t really appreciate this one until I was older. Now I love all the Rankin and Bass stop-motion animation. This one is especially great for the Heat Miser/Snow Miser songs.
“A Garfield Christmas”
I loved this sarcastic cat growing up. I read the comics and watched the Saturday morning cartoon. So when they made a Christmas special, I was front and center in my PJs.
“Frosty the Snowman” We don’t get much snow here. And usually not enough to make our own full-size Frosty, Snowmageddon 2011 being the exception. But I believe every snowman not matter how big or small should have a hat. Just in case there is some magic in the hat.
“The Nutcracker”
One of the few ballets I understand and love. Any time I hear the songs from it, I just want to get up and do my own version of the ballet. My cat always looks at me like I’m crazy when I actually do pirouette around the house.
“A Claymation Christmas” This one animates some of the best Christmas carols and has Claymation dinosaurs as hosts. It taught me what the heck wassailing is, though I prefer the “Here we come a waffling” version. And I love the “Carol of the Bells” led by Maestro Quasimodo. It doesn’t come on TV anymore really so my family bought the DVD so we could watch it.
“Prep and Landing”
A relative newcomer on this list, but it is so tinsel. This might be the cutest Christmas special ever. It was so good it spawned two sequels. They are good too but not as good as the original.
“A Charlie Brown Christmas”
A classic every kid should watch at least once a year if not more. Charlie Brown taught me the true meaning of Christmas. Him and the Grinch.
“How the Grinch Stole Christmas”
One of my family’s holiday traditions is to watch “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” the cartoon not the full-length feature film, on Christmas Eve. I hope to teach my 4-year-old niece the words to “You’re a Mean One Mr. Grinch” this year.
“Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”
My most favorite Christmas special of all time. Christmas is not complete until I have seen this at least once. And I love the music from this one so much, I found myself singing out loud at the grocery store one day when “The Most Wonderful Day of the Year” came on.
Comments
kevin 5 months ago
and the Hallmark Channel has great stories too. No violence included!
John5214 1 month, 1 week ago
Can we still use the work "christmas"? I thought that was illegal now. Surely we don't want to make anyone upset, do we?
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