It’s that time of the year again, the pumpkins have been discarded or are being eaten by the neighborhood critters, the bird is being turned into sandwiches, soups, and God only knows what else, and somewhere Hermie is telling anyone that will listen that he’d like to be a dentist. That means it’s time for my Christmas TV calendar which is always more challenging than the Halloween one. For one there’s just so many good classics and unlike Halloween the networks seem to understand that these are part of our Traditions and must be cherished. However all of them seem to need a calendar, I’ll explain why later. . . Bless em.
I have to
admit I fear for the longevity of these calendars. Not just cause several
someone’s at work reported me to IT for “spam” at Halloween; I asked for names,
but they refused. You know who you are and may shame fall upon your head. JK no
sweat off my back, but just know I know that you know what you did it! The real
issue is that I use Microsoft Publisher on these calendars then turn them into
PDFs and send them out into the world. However, Microsoft hates Holiday fun cause
they are doing away with Publisher? As of October 2026, it will be removed from
Microsoft 365 subscriptions and stand-alone versions will no longer be
available for purchase. Just in time to start my holiday fun in 2026. Shakes fist at the sky! So eventually I’ll not be able to edit or open
these publisher files. In anticipation of that I tried to do this calendar in
Powerpoint to see what that would be like, because they wouldn’t touch that
program right, and even at 11X17 with the smallest margins I could get the font
had to be so small even I couldn’t read it blown up on the screen. That’s not
going to work. So, I’m going to eventually come up with another plan. I could
use my work computer and InDesign but then I’d have to haul out my work
computer, and the charger cause the thing might last about an hour and well
this is a home project not a work project and I don’t wanna do that. For the
record Microsoft suggests using Word as an alternative and I was like just
um…no. Have they ever used that program for this kind of thing?! Honestly, Microsoft
I use a lot of your projects and PUBLISHER isn’t your biggest concern of the
moment. Just saying. If you guys could focus on the actual problems within your
suite you might not have to bow down to the piece of fruit as often as you do. PS
don’t tell my Dad I said that … IYKYK. My home computer has already told me
it’s not Windows 11 compatible. I told it to suck it up I’m not in the market
for a new computer at the moment. It told me it can’t guarantee my safety. I’m
like sir you’ve seen my computer, we are safe, calm down nobody wants what I have.
Hackers everywhere rejoiced (maybe I should be reported to IT)! So, my point is
enjoy this while you can cause if the networks and streaming services don’t
kick me out … Microsoft just might put the nail in the coffin.
Not this year
however, so let’s crack on!
Now for those
of you who get the following channels, check them out cause they are showing
some fun stuff this time of year, I just don’t get them and thus they didn’t
make this calendar …. GAC, UP, TCM, COZI, ION, MeTV, MeTV(toons). MeTV(toons)
is showing a LOT of classic cartoon Crimmus (as my bestie calls it) specials
featuring the Flintstones, Inspector Gadget, Scooby Doo, Heat Miser and Snow
Miser, Cabbage Patch Kids, etc., if you get that kind of thing. I also didn’t
include Hallmark Mysteries and Movies cause a lot of what they are showing also
shows up on Hallmark. Tricky, Tricky, Tricky (said in the voice of the Magician
from Frosty the Snowman).
I’ll also add
that just cause it’s not on my calendar doesn’t mean it isn’t worthy of your
eyeballs. Like The Wizard of Oz is all over the place, I assume
cause of Wicked, but it didn’t make the cut. Same with Frozen and
Toy Story, all great films but Crimmus they are not. Also
Hallmark has two competition shows that almost made the calendar until I
realized what they were. Finding Mr. Christmas is about finding
the next Hallmark leading man, yeah no … I’m good. Baked with Love
is another competition show that Hallmark is testing out. I almost added that
one because they at least waited until December to air it unlike the same crap
that was on Food Network in November. Yeah I’m still bitter about that. Both
didn’t make the calendar cause that’s not what this calendar is about, but if
you are interested feel free to look them up. I’m not so I didn’t include them,
as loyal fans of this calendar know it’s all about me … I just share cause I’m
cool like that.
Other shows
worthy of your time:
·
ABC – Disney’s Prep and Landing is adding
another special to their series. To go along with “Prep and Landing,”
by far the most creative and original thing to be created for Christmas in a
long time, they then added Naughty Vs Nice which was a good
companion to the original. This year they are adding The Snowball Patrol
but aren’t giving a lot of details about it, which is both odd and intriguing
in a world where we know most everything before it happens now a days. Something
goes sideways while Wayne and Larry are on holiday together and something about
a baby seal. However, in true - nothing makes sense on network TV fashion - they
aired all three on ABC the weekend after Thanksgiving. As you know this calendar
starts Dec. 1st. Sad Face. I’m hopeful they will show
it again during the December month, but as of now I’m not seeing it on their
schedule. However Freeform and Disney Channel have your
back. Dec. 13th they will show the original and The Snowball Patrol back-to-back
to back, one in the afternoon (freeform) and one later that afternoon (Disney) why
not all 3….who knows…it’s one of the mysteries of life, I guess. I’m also sure
it will be on Disney+ along with the shorts they created a few years ago, which
are fantastic and feature Betty White as Mrs. Claus. RIP BW! I love this series
if only cause its original and new. There’s not enough of that this time of year,
so I celebrate it when it happens. I felt the same way about 10 sleeps until
Christmas but apparently NBC was done after a few airings and that’s a shame,
it was pretty cute too.
·
Freeform – is once again doing 25 days
of Christmas and bless them for it! Their love for Claymation, for
classic movies, and family fun are commendable. Plus, did you see they are
going to show Prep and Landing (see above). It’s a channel that frankly never
disappoints. They understand the assignment and are a mainstay on these calendars
every year for that reason. Gotta love
us some Freeform! This year they feature several marathons of The Santa Claus (not
my favorite), as well as Home Alone (one of my favorites) several times
throughout the month. Not all airings made my calendar but since they are
showing them in order I applaud their efforts!
·
AMC is doing their “Best Christmas Ever”
again this year which features Christmas programming throughout the month with
a mix of popular films, classic cartoons and those movies that make you just
wanna sit down with a cup of coco while wearing a warm sweater in 90-degree
Alabama weather. Afterall, it’s not Christmas until Clark is trapped in the
attic watching old home movies while dressed like his grandma. PS AMC is also doing
a December the TwELFth Marathon on Dec. 12th showing Elf
over and over (some of this is self explanatory guys please keep up). So far
not a single Walking Dead in sight for the month of December and for that we
rejoice!
·
Rankin/Bass
Weekend – both AMC
and Freeform are celebrating the stop motion awesomeness that is
Rankin/Bass Productions with a weekend of their holiday classics like Rudolph
the Red Nosed Reindeer, The Little Drummer Boy, Frosty the Snowman, Santa Claus
is Coming to Town, The Year Without a Santa Claus. Not all of the airings made
the calendar so if you don’t see your favorite check out AMC or Freeform on the
weekend of Dec. 6th cause I’m sure it will be on at least once or
twice or three times.
·
Lifetime is once again doing their “It’s
a Wonderful Lifetime” which is the PG13 version of Hallmark. I mean
nothing all that naughty, but it doesn’t always end up at the alter either. They
are even tapping into the pickleball crazy with A Pickleball X-mas on
Dec. 20th at 7 which I find kind of clever and can’t wait to
watch. They have romantic comedies, family dramas, thrillers, and good ole
Christmas fun.
·
Hallmark took a break from their Holiday
programing to bring you some Holiday programing, a joke I reuse every year
cause I mean they make me. ALL of their premiers were in freaking October or
November … like what is that about? Get a freaking calendar people. Some of
these popped up again in December, but not all of them which is just insane to
me. I mentioned the competition shows they almost snuck by me, but I did pull
some new ones and some old favorites to add to this calendar. I love me some Scott
Wolf and will forever add his Crimmus movies as long as they continue to air
them. His dimples are just that adorable.
·
Charlie
Brown is still being
held hostage by Apple TV but you can log into Apple TV on Dec. 13th
and 14th to watch for free so mark that down on your
respective calendars. It’s a classic and deserves to be seen as often as
possible. Move aside Clark I have decided it’s not really Crimmus until Linus
drops his blanket and tells Charlie Brown what Crimmus is all about! After you
watch Charlie Brown, assuming it will allow, watch The Family Plan 2
on Apple TV a Crimmus version of this movie which I’ve heard is very good for a
fun family film based in Europe that includes action, comedy, and holiday fun. There’s
also “The First Snow of Fraggle Rock” but I haven’t seen that one
yet, however it’s Crimmus and Fraggles what could go wrong?!
·
A
Christmas Story – I’m
really disappointed by how few times this show pops up on the calendar this
year. Don’t worry 24 hours of a Christmas Story starting Christmas Eve and
running all day on Christmas day is still a thing but otherwise it’s only
showing a few other times on TBS and TNT. That’s a shame. I also can’t find A
Christmas Story Christmas anywhere. I LOVED it for all it’s nostalgic and
original glory and I’m bummed it’s not getting more love. I will tell you to
RUSH to your nearest TV with access to HBO Max to catch it before it’s gone
forever. Yes, I’m telling you to watch a streaming movie and it’s a good movie
so I will likely do it again. It’s that good people! Don’t judge me. Please
don’t report me for spam!
·
Nickelodeon is once again having an Nickmas
with tons of Christmas themed established shows, and as you all know by now (or
should) that’s not what this calendar is about. So tune in for your Paw Patrol
Christmas Themed specials, your Loud House 1 hour “movie” or the Rock Paper
Scissors Christmas themed shows cause frankly that’s clever. They are also
doing another NFL Slimetime which I admit is very entertaining but is soooo not
Crimmus. The fact that they don’t haul out the Rugrats Chanukah every year is
just sad and should result in some serious jail time for someone.
·
Speaking
of Chanukah there are a lot of specials for it on Hallmark they just
all air at the crack of dawn like 3am…4am… etc. It’s like yeah we support but
um … not really. I’m always shocked that they don’t show Adam Sandler’s 8 Crazy
Nights (which used to air on AMC but isn’t this year again). So, to my friends
who celebrate ….. sorry. Not my fault.
·
CNN
Heroes is always an
uplifting thing to watch this time of year. It will air on Dec. 6th
at 7 on CNN. Everyday people using their time and talents to help make the
world a better place and getting recognized for it. Well played CNN. Whatever
your political stance, this is a show that will make you smile and realize that
it’s not hard to make a difference, you just have to get in the game. PS you
have the ability to not only nominate people for the award but you can also vote
throughout the year and help choose who will get the award which I’ve always
thought was cool.
·
Speaking
of up lifting TV, in a time where I think we can all agree it’s very much
needed. The Kennedy Center Honors will air on Dec. 7th 7:30 on
CBS. They focus more on the celebrity side of doing good and this year will
be featuring George Straight, KISS, Gloria Gynor, Michael Crawford, and
Sylvester Stallone. If that’s not a bizarre bunch I’ve never heard of one.
Should be interesting.
Now for …the
rules. If you are an OG user of this calendar, feel free to skip ahead. If you
are new to the party, you will want to read on or face my wrath. I’m not even
adding don’t report me to IT for Spam because I mean honestly that can’t happen
again, right?!
·
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
· Late Hour Focus, but hour round fun. For you work from home people, stay at home mom’s, or employees with access to good wifi …. they run these specials all day long, and while my calendar focuses mainly on the after-work hour times since that is when I can watch, fire it up as background noise for that meeting that you are totes paying attention to while you are on mute, or while you edit that really long annoying document that you have already edited several other times but it’s fine you’ll do it again. I also don’t list things if they are on at like 3am…. You insomniacs are on your own, Marcy likes her sleepy time! See note above about this being all about me!
The goal of
all of this madness is to get us all to set aside some time to allow the
holiday cheer to enter your soul. To give those shows and stories we all grew
up with to re-fill your heart with the happiness from your childhood. Most
importantly it’s to remind us all during this super busy time of year to stop…breathe…take
a minute … recharge…. then jump back out there into the madness that is the
holiday season. Teach the new generation that our generation was way better by
making them watch the hour-long Rudolph or watch them spaz out when Ralphie
well you know *spoiler alert*. Then casually say, “hey isn’t that the guy from
the Elf movie …. Or if you are a Marvel Fan Iron Man/Spiderman movies and watch
them sit back in awe of how amazing and smart you are for recognizing him. Plus
if you play it right you get to watch Elf, or Iron Man or even better Spiderman
Far From Home.
Merry
Christmas to you all …. and I hope you each have a wonderful and safe New
Years. Here’s to a fantastic 2026 for us
all even those who reported me to IT I hope your Egnyte goes down hard but
comes back quickly ! The JPEG is posted in its original size so that if you save it, and I hope you do it's readable.
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