Monday, December 1, 2014

2014 Christmas TV Specials Calendar

As I’ve said before the Christmas TV/Specials/Movies airing this time of year just fill me with the Holiday spirit. People take the time to relax, spend time together, and just enjoy the season, for the most part anyway. Like with Halloween I create a annual Christmas TV/Movie Specials calendar so as to not miss all the wonderfulness this time of year brings. Since we have a blog now I’m posting it here, yeah I know shameless plug of the blog, but yeah … so what. It’s my blog to do with as I please, well as long as it’s ok with Golden and since she’s been asking for this calendar since Nov. 1st I’m guessing she’s gonna be ok with it.

If you’ve been paying attention to your television at all you know that channels like Lifetime, Hallmark, and ABC Family have been showing “Holiday” Specials since what feels like August but I just couldn’t buy into the program until after the Dressing had been eaten. I do find it odd that a lot of the animated specials that I love so much seem to die after the first or second week of Dec. Thank goodness for ABC Family keeping the animated stop motion holiday special alive! :D 

PLEASE find below a jpeg of the 2014 Christmas TV Schedule. You should be able to save it without losing too much of the readability. You are best printing it 11X 17, if able or saving it to your favorite portable device so you can zoom in and out.


PLEASE be mindful that several shows appear on the calendar more than once, that’s to allow people to make choices. If you love Christmas Vacation but it’s the same time as Mrs. Miracle, well look at that Christmas Vacation is on the following day so I can watch Mrs. Miracle now and have the best of both worlds. That is if you plan ahead.

There are some specials on the aforementioned channels that just didn’t make the calendar. If something had to be cut for room those went first. If say ABC family was showing 3 great shows in a row I only listed one and figured while watching it you’d be alerted to the others, unless it was a show I wanted to see cause that’s right it’s all about me you are just invited in the car.

That said if I don’t have the channel I didn’t include it … again cause it’s about me. There are some great specials on the Hallmark Mysteries and Movie (or something like that) Channel, the boomerang channel, and the Inspiration channel, but alas Comcast won’t give me those channels. If you have them check them out just don’t tell me about the wonderfulness of it all or I’ll start ranting to Comcast yet again.

As always there are guidelines. . . .

First . . .  a few guidelines:
·        NO E-MAILS about taking Christ out of Christmas, it’s just a really long word and using X-Mas allows for more shows on the already full calendar.
§   Thanks for your understanding.
§   For those that don’t understand I’ll be glad to remove you from the list just let me know.
·        I live in the central time zone, the times on this calendar reflect that, adjust accordingly.
§   That said unless otherwise stated the times are PM
·        This calendar does not focus on established show “Christmas special episodes” so watch out for those … Psych for instance has a great one and Friends had some touching Christmas specials. However, that’s not what this calendar is about however.
·        This calendar contains shows I want to see, so a mixture of adult themed shows/movies and kid themed shows/movies are represented. Some are classics and some are new, so PLEASE be mindful of what is on before you sit the kids down with popcorn to watch.
§   Don’t call me cause your little one watched some holiday movie on Lifetime or and now has “questions”. . . . that’s your mess not mine.
¾       Please NOTE: The “NEW” Disney version of a Christmas Carol (the computer animated Jim Carrey version) is a little dark and can be scary (much like the original story btw), you might want to check it out before you and little man/lady plop down with popcorn and a blanket to “watch a classic.”
·        Keep an eye out for additional shows/movies that pop up throughout the month as networks change their lineups.
·        Feel free to add your own specials and traditions to the calendar that’s what it is there for.
·        For you stay at home mom’s they run specials all day long and for the most part my calendar focuses on the after work hour times since that is when I can watch.
¾       That’s right it’s all about me!

A few programs of note:
·          A Christmas Story also comes on several times this year but you have to watch it at least once during the Christmas Day Marathon that begins on Christmas Eve on TBS!
¾          Bless you Ted Turner, you crazy old man!!
·        National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, one of the best movies ever, comes on several times this year. If you don’t know the joy of Chevy Chase finally getting the lights to finally work…well I feel sorry for you and your family and the people that know you because you are missing the joy in your life. Correct that this year please!
·        The Disney Channel is doing their 4th Annual “Fa-la-la-lidays” with Christmas themed programming starting Nov. 28th through the end of December. Most of these include holiday themed shows already on the air, not very many specials which surprised me.
·        ABC Family is having a “Family Holiday Classics Marathon” on Dec. 21st, and a “Holiday Movie Marathon” on Dec. 22nd as part of their 25 Days of Christmas programming starting Dec. 1st through the 25th.
·        There is a new Debbie Macomber Christmas special, Mr. Miracle airing on Hallmark several times this season, check it out. It’s typically preceeded by her other Holiday movies Mrs. Miracle and Trading Christmas, which are also quickly becoming favorites.
·        Hallmark has other new specials including Christmas Under Wraps with Candace Cameron of Full House fame.  They will show a marathon of their “12 New Movies of Christmas” on Christmas Day.
·        On Dec. 24th Turner Classic Movies – TCM is having a “Night at the Movies – Merry Christmas” Marathon that starts at 10 AM. This will include It Happened on 5th Avenue, I’ll be Seeing You, The Shop Around the Corner, Meet Me in St. Louis, and the Man Who Came To Dinner. Check out some of these timeless classics.
·        Check out the I Love Lucy Christmas Special on CBS Dec. 7th a true comedic legend.
·        This calendar does not contain specials on channels I don’t get, such as the Boomerang channel, or the BBC, or other awesomeness like that. Those channels often show classics from my childhood and if Comcast would just let me have it … oh my bad I digress …. You don’t need to know my cable issues.
·        The “boys” in my life informed me that DIEHARD should have been on the calendar …. boys are silly … however and I couldn’t find it showing after Nov. 30th and even then it was on the Esquire channel so … yeah there’s that. Sorry fellas. I tried.

A few programs of note that are not “Christmas” related but interesting enough to make the calendar include:

o    Peter Pan Live – Dec. 4th on NBC, I love the story of Peter Pan and the idea behind it and I really don’t want this to suck.
o    CNN Heroes: An All Star Tribute – Dec. 7th – it’s nice seeing that in a world full of insanity there are some people out there trying to do good and are being recognized for it.
o    Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show – Dec. 9th on CBS – a dear friend of mine loves this and insists that it go on the calendar every year, she’s the boss.
o    CNN Film: Dinosaur 13 - Dec. 11th – A dinosaur documentary what more do you need to know. Dinosaurs are awesome….this one is about the discovery of “Sue” the largest most complete T-Rex ever found and the battle for ownership of the fossils.
o    RifTrax Riff Off Demon Bat – Dec. 16th National Geographic – The Guys from Mystery Science Theater 3000 did one of these last year and it was great, they are doing it again this year and in the hopes another success will bring back MST3K I urge you all to watch.

Anyway, the intention of this calendar, much like the Halloween one is to get your family to pause and spend some time together making memories. In this season where we spend so much time rushing around we forget to enjoy the down time and enjoy the family time. Great specials come and go and if we don’t watch they will go forever.

Today’s “classic Christmas special” may be next year’s no show on the calendar. Which is the real reason this calendar was born, if we stop watching they will stop showing. So just because you have Yes Virginia (which aired the Friday after Thanksgiving and does not appear to be airing again L boooooo CBS !!!!) on your shelf or Charlie Brown Christmas (which comes on twice this year … Dec. 2nd and Dec. 16th on ABC), take the time to watch it with your family as it airs so that it will air for years to come. 

So sit back, laugh, smile, and cry (some of these are sad, I mean who doesn’t cry when George Bailey is standing next to the tree with Mary and his friends are coming in to save the Bailey Savings and Loan, oh no did I give the end away ?!) and have a GREAT Christmas!

Marcy

 

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