Favorite Christmas/Holiday Specials, Movies, and TV Episodes

So what are some of your favorite Christmas/holiday TV specials, movies, or TV episodes?
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  • I’m currently working my way through all of the Rankin-Bass Christmas specials and the holiday episodes of a bunch of stuff on Disney+, myself.
  • ClimacusClimacus Shipmate
    edited December 2024
    The Vicar of Dibley with live action Nativity scenes on a farm was good fun.
  • EigonEigon Shipmate
    The Librarians did a fun episode where our heros were trying to prevent Santa from being kidnapped. It's called The Librarians And Santa's Midnight Run.
  • SparrowSparrow Shipmate
    edited December 2024
    I always watch a few of the Christmas episodes of West Wing at this time of year: In Excelsis Deo is superlative, also Noel and Holy Night take some beating.
  • I mean In Excelsis Deo.
  • I am fond of "The Bishop's Wife" (the original not the remake).
  • The real, animated Grinch.
  • The Christmas Story.
  • A Charlie Brown Christmas, A Christmas Carol (Alistair Sim) How the Grinch Stole Christmas ( Boris Karloff)
  • Rewatched the box of delights on iplayer very nostalgic.
    Always enjoy Dr who.
    Very much looking forward to Wallace and gromit.
    The older twanglets are big gavin and Stacey fans so hoping that is good.
  • I'm not familiar with many of the old classic Christmas films but have noticed them popping up on "best of" lists this year. My kids are 32 and 24, so we tend to go for things that they remember from childhood. So far this Christmas we have had Jingle all the way (tolerable, just), The Santa Clause (all of them), Arthur Christmas, Elf, Love Actually (for me), A Muppet Christmas Carol, and now we've just started the Christmas Chronicles. Most of these have been Cheery son's picks. I did ask Cheery Daughter if she wanted to make any selections and she'd like us to watch Arthur Christmas again, as she missed it due to being at work.

    Today I'll be looking at the episode list for Rev., because I think there are two specific Christmas episodes and both give an insight into the pressures clergy deal with at this time of year as well as just being reflective on the season of giving and Jesus' birth. I hope to watch those over the weekend.
  • Ooo, what is the Box of Delights?

    I have enjoyed A Cosmic Christmas, by Canadian animation studio Nelvana:

    https://youtu.be/og2TaEOAYp0?si=LoqoPTNzhm1gQcqi

  • Oh my goodness, there can never be too much Wallace and Gromit, or Shaun the Sheep too!
  • Twangist wrote: »

    Very cool! Which version? It looks like the 1980s one had the second Doctor…
  • I’m a tad confused about some of these being Christmas specials, as a bunch of them don’t have to do with Christmas or winter the way that Grinch, Charlie Brown Christmas, Rankin-Bass, etc. do.
  • ChastMastr wrote: »
    Twangist wrote: »

    Very cool! Which version? It looks like the 1980s one had the second Doctor…

    Yeah the 80s one. It feels very similar to Peter Davidson era who and led to the BBC adaptations of some narnia books
  • Cool!
  • And of course Tom Baker was Puddleglum in the BBC Narnia!
  • The Hogfather.
  • The Hogfather.

    I've got to see that!
  • Thanks for reminding me about The Hogfather, Cheery husband and children both Terry Pratchett fans and so I'll add that to the watching list!!
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nativity_(TV_series)

    Watched this 14 years ago and it was wonderful especially the last episode.
  • SpikeSpike Ecclesiantics & MW Host, Admin Emeritus
    edited December 2024
    A Very Christmassy Ted (the Father Ted Christmas special)
    Knowing Me Knowing Yule with Alan Partridge
    Ghosts Christmas special (the UK one)
  • The Hogfather.

    I just finished re-reading that! It's started me on a Christmas binge of all the City Watch books.
  • Barnabas62Barnabas62 Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    We never miss “Call the Midwife”.
  • SpikeSpike Ecclesiantics & MW Host, Admin Emeritus
    Barnabas62 wrote: »
    We never miss “Call the Midwife”.
    We are at my MiL over Christmas, so I’ll almost certainly be forced to endure it
  • Barnabas62Barnabas62 Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    Should have guessed!
  • Yesterday Cheery son and I watched Klaus, which we had not seen before and really enjoyed. I wasn't 100% clear about the ending, but I could live with that and the animation was well done
  • MiffyMiffy Shipmate
    We just enjoyed the vintage’The Good Life’ episode when Christmas (which comes in a van) is cancelled.
  • Even though it was made before I was born, IMO the Christmas special of Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads is the finest example of the genre by a country mile.
  • DardaDarda Shipmate
    Call me Mr predictable, but the 1951 version of A Christmas Carol with Alastair Sims as Scrooge will be a must over the next couple of days
  • Couldn't be more predictable than me - It's A Wonderful Life.
    Had my annual fix this afternoon. :)
  • The Disney Christmas Parade on Christmas morning! ❤️

    https://collider.com/disney-parks-magical-christmas-parade-how-to-watch/
  • Couldn't be more predictable than me - It's A Wonderful Life.
    Had my annual fix this afternoon. :)

    and Potter got away with it yet again !!!!
  • stetsonstetson Shipmate
    edited December 2024
    ChastMastr wrote: »
    Ooo, what is the Box of Delights?

    I have enjoyed A Cosmic Christmas, by Canadian animation studio Nelvana:

    https://youtu.be/og2TaEOAYp0?si=LoqoPTNzhm1gQcqi

    I guess that's not the Nelvana Christmas cartoon with all the 12 gifts from the song as props or characters(*)?

    (*)For example, there is a pop-music group called The Leaping Lords.
  • I seem to recall always seeing Nelvana cartoons on Sunday evening CBC in the early 1980s.
  • stetson wrote: »
    ChastMastr wrote: »
    Ooo, what is the Box of Delights?

    I have enjoyed A Cosmic Christmas, by Canadian animation studio Nelvana:

    https://youtu.be/og2TaEOAYp0?si=LoqoPTNzhm1gQcqi

    I guess that's not the Nelvana Christmas cartoon with all the 12 gifts from the song as props or characters(*)?

    (*)For example, there is a pop-music group called The Leaping Lords.

    I must look for that one. This is a different one!
  • We've watched a couple of specials this week. My son very much enjoyed The Knight before Christmas, a silly time travelling knight story, but done very sweetly and we didn't find it cringey even if it was totally predictable.

    We had a repeat of Arthur Christmas yesterday as we all love it and we rarely sit together to watch a movie as a family.
  • DeeValleyBantamDeeValleyBantam Shipmate Posts: 45
    Excellent last ever Gavin and Stacey yesterday.
  • Our sons made sure we watched Mr. Bean's Christmas last night.
  • There are Christmas episodes of both Kamen Rider Gavv and Super Sentai Boonboomger out now!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PP1PejBrlo8

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_v2ZYfIPQxA
  • Excellent last ever Gavin and Stacey yesterday.
    Excellent that it is the last ever untill the next one
  • SpikeSpike Ecclesiantics & MW Host, Admin Emeritus
    Excellent last ever Gavin and Stacey yesterday.
    Tidy
  • Wallace and Gromit: Murder Most Fowl. Absolutely wonderful.
  • ChastMastr wrote: »
    So what are some of your favorite Christmas/holiday TV specials, movies, or TV episodes?

    "The Great Escape" will always be the archetypal Christmas film for me. Perhaps in a double bill with "Escape to Victory" or some similar twaddle.

    I'm mostly not a fan of the Pratchett TV adaptations. It's not that they're bad, so much as that so much of Pratchett's humor is clever wordplay that you lose a lot going from book to screen, and so I'm always disappointed that the TV adaptation isn't as good as the book.
  • MiliMili Shipmate
    Gill H wrote: »
    Wallace and Gromit: Murder Most Fowl. Absolutely wonderful.

    It's only in the cinemas for a short time and then on Netflix in Australia. It didn't seem to get much publicity here, so am glad I saw a review and caught it at the cinema. Feathers McGraw is an ice cold villain!
  • I don’t think it is in cinemas in the UK. It was on BBC1 on Christmas Day.
  • DardaDarda Shipmate
    Apparently there was a subtle homage to the late Peter Sallis (original voice of Wallace) with a brief glimpse of a coat and flat cap in the style of that worn by Sallis' character Clegg in Last of the Summer Wine hanging on a hook in the hallway. Must admit that I missed that, but recorded the programme on Christmas Day so will have to watch it again.
  • EnochEnoch Shipmate
    I've watched Murder Most Foul, the Christmas Gavin and Stacey and the Outnumbered 'reunion' and really enjoyed all three, so much so that I watched Murder Most Foul again on iPlayer.

    Perhaps I'm wrong but the Snowman doesn't seem to have appeared this year. It usually does. By chance I found quite an interesting comparison on a youtube by an American woman who I think has married an Englishman, and has settled here. It's on the cultural differences represented by the Snowman, and Frosty the Snowman - which is unfamiliar to me.
    If you're interested look here.

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