My Favorite Children's Christmas TV Movies

Remember back to when you were little. It's almost Christmas time and your parents are letting you stay up late to watch a "Special Presentation" on television that night. You are so excited that you may just bounce right out of your skin because of it. Maybe you will even get to enjoy a special treat, like popcorn, while watching the movie that's about to come on. So what was this special show coming on television that you were so very excited to watch? What were your favorite children's Christmas tv movies?

For me there were five particular Christmas tv movies that I always looked forward to each and every year. Even after I got married I still made time to watch them when they came on television. Now that I have children of my own it's a big tradition in our home to watch these same Christmas tv movies together every year and I hope that my daughters will continue this tradition on after they are grown with children of their own. While I know that there are many of the Christmas tv movies out there, these five are my favorite children's Christmas tv movies.

First and foremost, my number one favorite Christmas tv movie is Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer. By the time I was born this movie was already over a decade old, as were many of the other ones listed here. Made in 1969, it featured the famous voice of Burl Ives as Sam the Snowman. The voice of Burl Ives always reminds me of Christmas.

In this Christmas tv movie, Sam the Snowman narrates the story of a young reindeer named Rudolph. Rudolph just happened to be born with a bright, glowing, red nose. After Rudolph had endured taunting and teasing from the other reindeer because of his nose, he decides to strike out on his own. This movie follows Rudolph's adventure with an elf named Hermey, who wants to become a dentist, and Yukon, a prospector searching for gold.

Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a great Christmas tv movie to share with your children. It shows kids that it's alright to be different. This Christmas tv movie has a runtime of 47 minutes.

My next favorite children's Christmas tv movie would have to be Frosty the Snowman. With a runtime of 30 minutes I do know that it's not really a "movie" per say, but didn't we all call these movies when we were 8 years old? This Christmas tv movie starts out with a schoolhouse full of excited and anxious children. These children are ready to run out and play in the freshly fallen snow. But their teacher has hired a terrible magician to entertain them. The magician, Professor Hinkle, gets frustrated with his attempts to pull a rabbit out of his magic hat and finally just throws it away. In the meantime, the children have been outside building a snowman that they named Frosty. The magician's hat is blown onto Frosty's head and he miraculously comes alive. Once the magician sees this he wants his hat back.

This movie follows the struggles of Frosty and his little friend Karen to avoid the evil magician while trying to make it to the North Pole to prevent Frosty from melting in the heat of the upcoming spring. Frosty the Snowman is based on the popular Christmas song and was made in 1969.

My next favorite children's Christmas tv movie is 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. This tv movie doesn't get as much television air time as Rudolph and Frosty but it is definitely worth watching as much as they are. 'Twas the Night Before Christmas was made in 1974 and has a runtime of 24 minutes.

The plot of this Christmas tv movie is that a town named Junctionville has started receiving their Christmas letters to Santa returned to them. Apparently, Santa has received a very insulting letter stating that he doesn't exist. With the letter being signed "All of Us" Santa removes the whole town from his delivery list.

The movie follows the town's activies in their plan to find out who sent the insulting letter and to lure Santa back to their town before Christmas Eve comes and goes.

Up next on my list of favorite children's Christmas tv movies is How the Grinch Stole Christmas. This is, by no means, the live action movie with Jim Carrey. While that movie is fine and dandy, it's just not my cup of tea. My favorite is the 1966 animated version. This "movie" has a runtime of 25 minutes.

The mean ole Mr. Grinch plots to ruin Christmas for the neighboring town of Whoville. He sneaks in on Christmas Eve and steals all of the presents, decorations and even the roast beast for the holiday feast. But when Christmas morning arrives with no gifts, decorations or roast beast and the Grinch still hears the sounds of a happy town enjoying Christmas morning, he changes his ways.

Last, but certainly not least, on my list of favorite children's Christmas tv movies is A Charlie Brown Christmas. This was the first of the beloved Peanuts tv specials and one of the most loved. A Charlie Brown Christmas was made in 1965 and has a runtime of 25 minutes.

Poor Charlie Brown struggles to find the meaning of Christmas after becoming overwhelmed with the materialism of the holiday. The bratty Lucy suggests that Charlie Brown should direct their school Christmas pageant but this proves to be a difficult task. In the end, Charlie Brown does learn the meaning of Christmas with the help of his friend Linus and a little fir tree.

There are many Christmas tv movies, old and new, for you and your children to enjoy. My main suggestion is to watch them together as a family. Doing this will create special memories that your children will remember forever. Happy Holidays!!