Christmas TV Specials That Always Bring the Holiday Cheer
- Bea
- Dec 25, 2024
- 4 min read
Everyone’s got their favorite Christmas traditions, whether it’s stringing up popcorn for some homemade garlands or having a gingerbread house build-off with your loved ones. For us, nothing beats getting into the Yuletide mood than relaxing in front of the TV and putting on our favorite Christmas TV specials–some from recent series that have grown in popularity and others that we find ourselves tuning back into every December for the past couple of years.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966)
Decades before Jim Carrey donned the Grinch suit and portrayed the horrid Who-hater that we’ve all become familiar with, the renowned animator Chuck Jones (many know him from his work on Tom and Jerry) decided to adapt Dr. Seuss’s book into a Christmas TV special that would turn into a timeless holiday classic. How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, a 25-minute-long animated special that aired on CBS in 1966, features the voice-acting talents of film icon Boris Karloff, who serves as both the narrator and the Grinch himself, to humorous effect.
Perhaps what makes this TV special so well-loved over the decades is that it unabashedly contains everything that a good old Christmas special should have: popping colors, stirring music, riveting (and rhyming!) dialogue, character, humor, and a whole lot of cheer. All this serves as the decorative gift wrapping that packages the heart of such a classic Christmas story, something that we all love (and need) to hear from time to time: “Maybe Christmas doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.”
The End of Time, Parts 1 and 2 (2009)
Doctor Who has cemented itself as one of Britain’s most popular television series. Aside from its usual cycle of seasonal programming (or as the Brits like to call it, series), Doctor Who is also known for its epic-style Christmas and New Year specials. Story-wise, these specials take one of three forms: one, they close out a major arc that has been established in the regular season; two, they introduce a new character, such as a new Doctor or a companion; or three, they’re simply holiday-inspired stories where the Doctor goes on a sidequest often without their regular companion or a one-off special guest companion.
The End of Time has a massive responsibility in living up to the scale of the show, considering it does multiple things: it closes out the Tenth Doctor’s storyline, as well as that of its then-showrunner Russell T. Davies, and introduces the Eleventh Doctor. If you have no idea what Doctor Who is about, some of the following words might be a little confusing.
After leaving Donna Noble behind with no memory of their time together, he is determined to continue his journey alone. The Ood warn the Doctor of the return of the Master, and sure enough, he does so on Christmas Eve. Meanwhile, somewhere in the Galaxy, the President of the Time Lords reveals a plan to bring them back to the Doctor’s universe by implanting the sound of drums into the Master’s head as a child. To save the Earth, the Doctor shoots the starpoint, pulling the Time Lords back into space. The Master intervenes when they attempt to shoot the Doctor and dies, restoring everyone on Earth. Just when he thought the fight was over, the Doctor sees Wilfred, Donna’s grandfather, stuck in a radiation chamber. Feeling extremely overwhelmed from everything that has happened, the Doctor enters the chamber in place of Wilfred, where the radiation triggers his regeneration. After one last trip to return Wilfred home and visit all of his companions, the Doctor locks himself inside the TARDIS and regenerates into the Eleventh Doctor.
Though it may not be like the usual warm and fuzzy Christmas specials offered up by other shows, Doctor Who always delivers a grand story that is sure to be memorable for years to come. If anything, Doctor Who is a master at delivering holiday vibes alongside epic adventures across space and time. Now on his Fifteenth iteration, we can’t wait to see what the Doctor does this Christmas accompanied by none other than a special guest companion played by Nicola Coughlan.
Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas (Community Season 2, Ep. 11)
This episode is widely known as one of, if not the best, episodes of the NBC hit. In fact, plenty of the show’s fans point to Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas as their gateway episode or the one that made them tune in to the rest of the series.
Community is known for exploring different styles and mediums in some of their episodes and in this one, it’s stop motion. Abed wakes up on the last day of the semester seeing everything in stop motion animation then goes to school and tells the study group. The group then enlists the help of their Psychology professor, Professor Duncan, in order to stop the delusion. Abed claims that all he needs in order for everything to return to normal is to find out the true meaning of Christmas.
When Abed finally reaches the North Pole, Professor Duncan returns and reveals that he may have discovered the source of Abed’s delusion. He reads aloud the card Abed received from his mother that year, telling him that she won’t be celebrating Christmas with him this year because she has a new family now.
Abed, who isn’t particularly great at dealing with change, has retreated into a stop motion universe inspired by the Christmas special he and his mother used to watch, as a way to try to hold on to his and his mother’s relationship. Hearing it again from the Professor causes Abed to become “frozen” and the study group comes in to save him from the Professor, by telling him that the true meaning of Christmas is the sheer act of people coming together to put meaning into Christmas through love and friendship. This act gives Christmas new meaning to Abed and allows him to melt.
The episode serves up both good comedic writing and a heartfelt story perfect for the holiday season.
Final Thoughts
For many of us, celebrating Christmas by watching our favorite TV shows has been a long-standing tradition that adds warmth and magic during the holiday season. The nostalgia they bring reminds us of the true Christmas essence—not just the gifts and decorations but the love and memories we create in this special time. So this year, may you have a wonderful Christmas with your loved ones and let the holiday magic light up your spirits!
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