Christmas specials for Children
By dorannmwin
@dorannmwin (36392)
United States
November 30, 2010 7:36pm CST
As I write this, my children have just gotten done watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas and they are now watching the new special, Shrek the Halls.
It got me to thinking, does anyone here have a favorite Christmas special that they have got to watch every year?
For me, I don't think there is one specific favorite that I've got to watch. However, I like to catch as many of them as possible each and every year. When I was a child we would record them on a VHS every year and then watch them throughout the year. Are we the only strange family that would do something like that?
Please share your favorite Christmas special and also if you think that my family is strange for the tradition that we had as children.
2 people like this
12 responses
@craigy123456789 (1759)
•
2 Dec 10
I have always loved santa claus the movie, the one with dudley moore in it. When i was young and this first came out i went to the cinema to watch it. Now for many years it seems to always come on television around christmas time, i feel that it is a good film, shows true christmas spirit, i love it and i do make sure that i watch it every year that it is put on television. Yes there are many other films but this film does seem to stand out a lot more, and it does seem to be more realistic also. i will soon be checking to see if they will be putting it on television this year.
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
6 Dec 10
That was a favorite of mine that I'd actually almost forgotten about because it hasn't been something that I've seen available to share with my children. I wonder if I might be able to find that one on DVD so that I might be able to share it with my children.
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
7 Dec 10
I actually brought it up with my little sister today, and she doesn't remember it at all. I might have to find the cassette tape of it and burn it onto DVD so that they will all be able to see it.
@craigy123456789 (1759)
•
6 Dec 10
i don't think i have ever seen it available on dvd, it really is a classic all time favourite christmas film though.
@eshaan (6188)
• India
2 Dec 10
Sorry doranmwin...we don't celebrate christmas so i have not understood what these are ...the names of special christmas trees or they are movies....i am happy to know that there are so many things you do in christams...these are movies i think....and it would be great to spend time with family members and having fun....just let me know what these movie contain...are they christmas specials or just normal movies...
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
6 Dec 10
Most of the others are movies that you would have to have more understanding of the holiday to really be able to understand.
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
2 Dec 10
The ones that I've mentioned are specifically Christmas specials. Things like the spirit of Christmas, the legend of Santa Claus, those types of things. Other people have mentioned Home Alone and it is not specifically a Christmas movie, but it takes place during the Christmas season.
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
1 Dec 10
I don't have a favorite Christmas special.. but there are movies we watch every Christmas. There's one called 8 Crazy Nights hubby and I have watched every year since it came out. Not a kids movie! The kids usually watch the Grinch every year, Home Alone, Polar Express, and the Santa Clause movies.
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
2 Dec 10
Yep, that's the one. It's not for everyone, that's forsure. It's got some very gross humor which I'm usually not a fan of, but we've been watching this movie every year since I was like 20ish back when I did have that sort of humor.
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
2 Dec 10
8 Crazy Nights is the one with Adam Sandler isn't it? I can't say that I've seen it none the less. As far as the ones that the kids watch, however, I've seen all of those.
Last year Kathryn actually called 911 while watching Home Alone because she saw Kevin do it on the movie.
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
6 Dec 10
Yeah, I think that my sense of humor has changed a lot in the last several years as well. I used to be able to just watch comedy, but I think that having to think on a child's level at times has changed that for me.
@Nadinest1 (2016)
• Canada
2 Dec 10
We didn't record them and watch them as children....VCRs weren't invented then....but I have recorded the Christmas shows for my, now 20 year old, son and he watched them when he was younger.
So, no you are not the only crazy one out there.
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
6 Dec 10
It is always nice to know that we aren't the only crazy people in the world that did this. I'm actually doing the more modern version of it this year because I'm recording them all with my DVR for my children this year.
@gdesjardin (1918)
• United States
2 Dec 10
Hi Dora... I have to laugh because the one member of the household that loves those old Christmas cartoons the best, is my husband. Yes, my "I am so cool and a touch guy" husband loves to watch the cartoons. I like them as well, but he can actually watch them several times each during the season. I like to watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer!
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
6 Dec 10
I can watch them several times throughout the Christmas season, but my husband cannot. He was, however, disappointed last week when he got home on Tuesday to find out that he had missed getting to watch the Grinch with the kids. That is his favorite holiday special.
@bounce58 (17387)
• Canada
8 Dec 10
I don't think we have any specials that we regularly watch. Although we did watch Shrek the Halls, and I distinctly remember also watching it as a family last year.
Growing up, we also didn't watch too many specials. As me and my friends were always on the streets. Either playing or doing Christmas carols for money. It was a fun time, specially when we get to spend the money.
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
8 Dec 10
I never did do Christmas carols for money when I was a child. However, it certainly was a lot of fun to go out with my Girl Scout Troop and do our annual Christmas caroling. Those are actually some fond times for me.
@bunnybon7 (50973)
• Holiday, Florida
1 Dec 10
no, not strange. i did the same for my kids. my favorite even as a child has always been all the christmas carol episodes. like 3 ghosts, scrooge, or whatever new person they have. since over the years theres been many, many different people in this same scenario. they were old black and white movies when i was little of various actors and they've even changed up these years to women
Cicely tyson, susan lucci to name a couple. my favorite is probably a few years back with Henry "fonzie" Winkler. lol. @dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
2 Dec 10
I love the Christmas Carol from the book to all of the different versions of it that I've seen. I have to admit though that the one that stands out the most in my mind is the Disney Christmas Carol.
@Anora_Eldorath (6028)
• United States
1 Dec 10
We watch It's a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, The Bishops Wife, Charlie's Brown Christmas, A Christmas Carol, and the original How the Grinch Stole Christmas every single year. They are wonderful stories with great messages about the Yule season. Last year we saw Shrek the Halls for the first time and our oldest loved it.
I also love the old Rudolph, etc but last year they didn't run them or at least I couldn't find them on our stations. I am hoping ABC Family does a better job this year.
Namaste-Anora
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
2 Dec 10
I was looking through some of the things that ABC Family is showing this year and it looks like they've got some good ones. Oh, you also want to make sure and check the local network affliates on mostly Tuesdays and Thursdays. Those seem to be their days this year. Rudolph was yesterday as was The Grinch and Shrek the Halls. I think next Tuesday is Charlie Brown.
@much2say (55601)
• Los Angeles, California
1 Dec 10
Shrek the Halls - oh I missed that one . . . I wonder if we can rent that one? I used to love any of those claymation type ones - like Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer or The Year Without a Santa Claus, Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town . . . my favorite characters/number would be the Freeze Meister and the Heat Miser - love it, love it!!! Ha ha, shows you my age - we didn't have VHS back then to record those shows - I'd have to wait a whole year to see them!!! But my kids are now able to watch them whenever they want all year 'round - so no, you guys aren't strange - I'm sure a bunch of us do that!!! My "new" favorite would have to be The Nightmare Before Christmas. My daughter has a bunch of Christmas DVD's she likes - Christmas versions of familiar stories - like of the 101 Dalmations.
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
2 Dec 10
Ah, I remember them all too and I actually can remember life before the VHS recorder. I just remember the novelty of recording them and then when it was hot outside during the summer my mother would turn them on for us to help us cool off.
@invisiblelady (1655)
• Philippines
1 Dec 10
Wow! That is so cool. I never had any traditions like that with my family. Often we do random things. As for movies, we have watched tons before but never really sure of favorites - there are too many good movies to choose from!
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
2 Dec 10
There really are a lot of great ones to choose from. I think that is the reason that it is so difficult to choose just one favorite.
@teenymarie (107)
• United States
1 Dec 10
We watch Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer every year, they were my favorites as a kid. My dad loves to tell the story about the first time I watched Frosty when I was 2 and cried when he melted, then refused to watch the rest because I was upset! My girls are 2 and 3, they don't really get into Christmas movies yet, although we did watch Dora Christmas Carol :) Oh and my dad used to do that with recording them on vhs tapes!
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
2 Dec 10
I'm so glad to know that we weren't alone with the recording them on vhs tapes. I think we were, however, alone in watching them in the middle of the summer as an attempt to cool off.
@zoeandrea (47)
•
1 Dec 10
No your family's not strange. I for one watch the Home Alone series every year during the Christmas season when i was still a kid. I also watched The Little Match Girl because it was very touching. I have memorized almost all the lines Macaulay Culkin says in the movie. So your family is not strange at all. Continue the tradition.
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
2 Dec 10
I fully do intend to carry on the tradition. There are so many things that I fondly remember from my childhood and this is but one of the things that I am trying to pass on to my children. In fact, I DVRd Rudolph last night because we couldn't watch two channels at once and today my son watched it.
