In the days leading up to Christmas, people are often glued to their televisions. Since 1969, ABC Family has hosted a 25 day special of Christmas programs that lead up until Christmas Day. ABC Family has a wide variety of cartoon Christmas specials. Their programs keep people eager for the holidays, such as How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, A Miser Brothers’ Christmas, and other cartoon classics that are great for families to watch together. However, they are not the only station that shows famous Christmas movies. The Hallmark Channel does a 12 day Christmas countdown where they show 12 different movies, while TBS shows the highly anticipated and acclaimed movie, A Christmas Story, which plays for 24 hours every year starting at eight p.m. on Christmas Eve. Samantha Conner ‘18 shared, “I love how ABC Family has a wide variety of Christmas movies playing every year, because all Christmas movies make me so happy.” There is a high chance that when channel surfing in December, A Charlie Brown Christmas to The Polar Express might flash up on the television.
Some people prefer Christmas comedies, like Elf or National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, while others would opt for older and more heartwarming movies, such as It’s a Wonderful Life or Miracle on 34th Street. Disney Channel provides their viewers films including Disney’s: A Christmas Carol and Santa Clause I,II and III, starring Tim Allen. However, not everyone gets in the spirit with movies and programs. Some adults prefer to just watch Christmas in Rockefeller Center or SNL Christmas, hosted by NBC. Many people have a specific Christmas special that they most enjoy for the holidays. When asked what program she looks most forward to, Izzy Martelli-Raben ’15 said, “Honestly the greatest of them all is A Christmas Story.” Everybody has their own opinion on which Christmas movie is the best one.
There is no doubt that people who do not celebrate Christmas also tune in for a nice Christmas classic here and there. Celebrating a different holiday should not prevent anyone from watching nice Christmas film during the holidays. Eric Pincus ‘18, who is Jewish, remarked, “I love Christmas movies and think that they are great to watch with family during the holidays.” However, there are a few alternative movies, such as 8 Crazy Nights and Rugrats Chanukah, which are based around the Jewish holiday, Hanukkah. No matter what religion and type of holiday celebrated, great movies can bond families together during the holidays.
While channels like ION, CBS, ABC and The CW might play a special here and there, it is undoubtedly ABC Family that takes the Christmas special crown. ABC Family covers all types of Christmas movies and will often play two or three a night. Sydney Gardner ’16 says “I can always count on ABC Family to have some Christmas special on during the holidays.” And the ratings show! In 2007 when ABC Family decided to actually countdown, their first program aired attracted over 4 million viewers. They have continued this annually since then with start dates varying from November 21st, 22nd, and 23rd.
In the words of Anna Erskine ’18,“There is nothing like watching a good Christmas special during the holidays.” Watching Christmas specials is something one would not want to miss during the holidays, because it is not the same in the spring or summer. Watching these movies is a great way to spend time with family by the warm fireplace. Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, many of these timeless films will always put a smile on your face. You can only watch so many different Christmas movies before they start repeating. However, no matter how many times we’ve seen A Christmas Story or Elf , we can all admit, the holidays would not quite be the same without these Christmas classics.