Christmas TV Specials Charlie Brown, Rudolph, Frosty and More

Every year as Thanksgiving draws closer, the subject of when Christmas TV specials are airing is sure to come up in our house. We all enjoy gathering around the family TV each year to watch Christmas TV specials. I remember anxiously awaiting the night we could watch Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer way back in my childhood years. Across the years, I have shared the annual tradition of watching Christmas TV Specials with my children and now with my grandchildren. The love of Christmas TV Specials like Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and Charlie Brown Christmas has been passed from generation to generation. Searching for when Christmas TV Specials will air has become more complicated over the years as the number of stations has grown. For instance, I know that Charlie Brown is normally on ABC so I assumed ABC Family was the place to look for the annual Thanksgiving and Christmas TV Special. Not so, Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and Charlie Brown Christmas air on ABC, not ABC Family.

ABC Family is not the same as ABC. It originally was known as the Family Channel but is now owned by Disney ABC Group. While having two stations with the same call signs in their name may make it confusing to plan to watch the right channel, having more Christmas TV specials available is good for the family. This year ABC Family has added some original premier shows to the line for a countdown to the 25 days of Christmas. The classic Christmas TV specials begin in December with some airing more than once. Until then, ABC Family has lined up other Christmas TV specials to build up to the moment the 25 Days of Christmas begins. Premier shows like Cuba Gooding's Snow Dogs, and A Dennis the Menace Christmas will make the days before the Christmas TV specials start more enjoyable.

Here are some of the Christmas TV Specials that we will be watching. Check your local stations to see which channel they are shown on for you.

Nov 25 Charlie Brown Thanksgiving-

Nov 27 Charlie Brown Thanksgiving- Second Airing

Nov 30 Dennis the Menace Christmas

Dec 1 Dr Suess How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Dec 2 The Polar Express

Dec 5 Frosty's Winter Wonderland (airs again on Dec 13)

Dec 8 Charlie Brown Christmas

Dec 10 Santa Claus is Comin' to Town

Dec 10 Rudolph's Shiny New Year (airs multiple times)

Dec 11 Rudolph and the Island of Misfit Toys

Dec 13 Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July

Dec 16 Charlie Brown Christmas

Dec 17 I saw Mommy Kissing Santa Clause

Dec 23 White Christmas

Not all of the major stations have their Christmas TV schedules listed yet so we will be holding out hope for the original versions of Rudolph and Frosty and looking for which station is going to air Miracle on 34th Street. If the classic original versions are not found on TV we'll watch a DVD or a You Tube version. With today's technology, there's no reason to miss your favorite Christmas TV special.