Your Handy Guide for Holiday Viewing
Ah, holiday TV fare. So many choices. Just like a sumptuous Thanksgiving dinner, there’s something for everyone. Some of us dig into old-fashioned, comfort fare, like “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” (the classic cranberry sauce of specials!). While others want to sample something new: perhaps the 2022 Dolly Parton TV movie direct from Dollywood (which could be as sticky sweet as my Great-Aunt Abigail’s latest creation — chocolate-covered candied yam casserole. Yikes!)
So, what’s cookin’ on cable? The Food Network serves up a basketful of holiday baking shows, including the ominously titled “Holiday Baking Championship: Gingerbread Showdown” (Nov. 28). TBS will air Will Ferrell’s “Elf” for 24 straight hours on Nov. 26 while TNT unspools 24 hours of “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” on Nov. 27. And it just wouldn’t seem like Christmas if TNT and TBS didn’t team up to present “A Christmas Story” — the annual marathon — from Christmas Eve through Christmas Day.
Over at Lifetime, it has 27 new holiday-themed TV-movies spilling out of the sack. And now we come to the king of the Christmas movie: The Hallmark Channel, who together with cable sister Hallmark Movies & Mysteries unwraps 40 first-run TV-movies for the season. We can’t list them all here — just turn on one of the Hallmark channels and you’ll find a Christmas movie. Anytime. Day or night. Except for Dec. 18, when Hallmark celebrates the Jewish Festival of Lights with the made-for-cable movie “Hanukkah on Rye.”
Streaming services like Amazon Prime Video, BET+, HBO Max, Hulu, Netflix and Peacock are spicing up their schedules with a variety of holiday specials and TV movies that you can watch anytime all season long — if you have a subscription. But, without a doubt, the “Spirit of the Season” award goes to Apple TV, which now owns the exclusive rights to the Peanuts characters but is generously inviting nonsubscribers to tune in and watch the beloved holidays specials free of charge during designated windows: “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” from Nov. 23-27 and “A Charlie Brown Christmas” from Dec. 23-25. Hallelujah!
Oh, and can’t let Turkey Day go by without a shout-out to the hometown crowd: Philly’s 6abc/Dunkin’ Thanksgiving Day Parade — the oldest parade in the nation — airs on Channel 6 at 9am, with a preshow at 8:30.
Now, pull up a chair and let’s make our way through network TV’s seasonal offerings from Thanksgiving Day to New Year’s Eve, spotlighting specials old and new, tried and true, and picked by me — just for you. Happy holidays!
Thursday, Nov. 24
“Thanksgiving Day Parade” (CBS, 9am)
“Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade” (NBC, 9am)
Friday, Nov. 25
“Frosty the Snowman” (CBS, 8pm)
“Frosty Returns” (CBS, 8:30pm)
“A Christmas Proposal” (CBS, 9pm)
“Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” (CW, 8pm)
“How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” the 1966 classic (NBC, 8pm)
Saturday, Nov. 26
“Robbie the Reindeer” (CBS, 8pm)
“The Story of Santa Claus” (CBS, 9pm)
“Silent Night — A Song for the World” (CW, 8pm)
Sunday, Nov. 27
“Mickey Saves Christmas” (ABC, 7pm)
“Olaf’s Frozen Adventure” (ABC, 7:30pm)
“The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration” (8pm)
Monday, Nov. 28
“The Great Christmas Light Fight,” season premiere (ABC, 8pm)
Tuesday, Nov. 29
“Love Actually: 20 Years Later” (ABC, 8pm)
“Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” (CBS, 8pm)
“Reindeer in Here” (CBS, 9pm)
“Michael Bublé’s Christmas in the City” (NBC, 9pm)
Wednesday, Nov. 30
“Christmas in Rockefeller Center” (NBC, 8pm)
“Kelly Clarkson Presents: When Christmas Comes Around” (NBC, 10pm)
Thursday, Dec. 1
“Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town” (ABC, 8pm)
“CMA Country Christmas” (ABC, 9pm)
“Dolly Parton’s Magic Mountain Christmas” (NBC, 9pm)
Sunday, Dec. 4
“Fit for Christmas” (CBS, 8:30pm)
Wednesday, Dec. 7
“Greatest Holiday Commercials Countdown 2022” (CW, 9pm)
Sunday, Dec. 11
“National Christmas Tree Lighting: Celebrating 100 Years” (CBS, 8pm)
“Must Love Christmas” (CBS, 9pm)
Monday, Dec. 12
“Baking It Holiday Special” (NBC, 10pm)
Wednesday, Dec. 14
“A Very Backstreet Holiday” (ABC, 8pm)
“Masters of Illusion: Christmas Magic 2022” (CW, 9pm)
Thursday, Dec. 15
“Christmas Around the USA” (CW, 8pm)
Friday, Dec. 16
“The Greatest #AtHome Holiday Videos” (CBS, 8pm)
“Hollywood Christmas Parade” (CW, 8pm)
Saturday, Dec. 17
“iHeart Radio Jingle Ball 2022” (CW, 8pm)
Sunday, Dec. 18
“When Christmas Was Young” (CBS, 8:30pm)
Monday, Dec. 19
“LEGO Masters: Celebrity Holiday Bricktacular,” Part 1 (FOX, 8pm)
Tuesday, Dec. 20
“Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town” (Encore! ABC, 8pm)
“LEGO Masters: Celebrity Holiday Bricktacular,” Part 2 (FOX, 8pm)
“Illumination Presents: Dr. Seuss’s The Grinch (2018)” (NBC, 8pm)
Wednesday, Dec. 21
“LEGO Masters: Celebrity Holiday Bricktacular,” finale (FOX, 8pm)
Friday, Dec. 23
“A Home for the Holidays” (CBS, 8pm)
“Christmas Takes Flight” (CBS, 9pm)
“How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” the 1966 classic (Encore! NBC, 8pm)
“Dolly Parton’s Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love” (NBC, 9pm)
Saturday, Dec. 24
“Home Alone” (ABC, 8pm)
“Christmas Around the World” (CW, 8pm)
“It’s a Wonderful Life” (NBC, 8pm)
“Christmas Eve Mass” (NBC, 11:30pm)
Sunday, Dec. 25
“Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade” (ABC, 10am)
Monday, Dec. 26
“The Year: 2022” (ABC, 9pm)
Wednesday, Dec. 28
“The Gift: Kindness Goes Viral with Steve Hartman” (CBS, 10pm)
Saturday, Dec. 31
“Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2023” (ABC, 8pm)
“New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash” (CBS, 8pm)
“A Toast to 2022” (NBC, 8pm)
“Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party” (NBC, 10:30pm)