As I do every year at Christmastime, I countdown the days with posts that celebrate the season. This year’s countdown focused on classic holiday TV specials. I tried to line up many of them in the exact date in December that they originally aired …

Hope you enjoy, Merry Christmas!!

🎅🏻 25 Days to Christmas: Aired on Christmas Eve, 1964 – in the first season of Bewitched – Samantha takes a skeptical orphan to see Santa at the North Pole in “A Vision of Sugar Plums” (S1:E15)

❄️ 24 Days to Christmas: Dr. Robert Hartley spends Christmas Eve 1975 in the hospital in “Bob Has His Tonsils Out”. Set in snowy Chicago, this is one of many Christmas-themed episodes of the Bob Newhart Show (S4:E15) …

🎁 23 Days to Christmas – The Simpson’s have done dozens of holiday episodes, but “Marge Be Not Proud” is the highest rated. Marge copes with Bart shoplifting at Christmastime. (S7:E11) …

🎅🏻 22 Days to Christmas: “Mickey’s Christmas Carol” premiered on television on 12/10/1984 on NBC. December 10, 1984. It’s one of the highest rated adaptations among dozens of Dicken’s “A Christmas Carol” on IMDB …

⏰ 21 Days to Christmas: “The Flintstones Christmas” in 1977 presented the paradox of how a Stone Age family was celebrating Christmas, when Jesus hadn’t been born yet.  I’m going with the interpretation that the Flintstones actually live in a post-Apocalyptic future and are trying to rebuild our lifestyles … in stone. 

🐻 20 Days to Christmas: Instead of hibernating, Yogi & Boo-Boo Bear stayed awake in the 1980 special, “Yogi’s First Christmas”. All of the Hanna-Barbera stars make cameos in this movie-length Jellystone Park “Animation Celebration” …

🎅🏻 19 Days before Christmas: Today is the Sixtieth Anniversary of the date (12/6/1964) the crown jewel of all Christmas Specials, “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” debuted on NBC’s General Electric Fantasy Hour. The magical Rankin/Bass animation will return to NBC tonight for a fully-restored broadcast.

☃️ 18 Days to Christmas – Today is the 55th anniversary (12/7/69) of the debut of “Frosty The Snowman”, starring the voices of Jimmy Durante (narrator) and Jackie Vernon (Frosty). This special was hand-drawn animation as Rankin/Bass wanted to specifically feature the work of illustrator Paul Coker, who drew for Hallmark cards & MAD Magazine.

🎅🏻 17 Days to Christmas – Today is the Golden Anniversary of “Twas The Night Before Christmas”, which debuted on 12/8/1974. Despite the title, the story is less about the Clement C. Moore poem than a tale about a know-it-all mouse and a town hall clock designed to make nice with a weirdly-animated Santa. Some decent Rankin/Bass songs rescue the show.

🌟 16 Days to Christmas – One of the most beloved of all Christmas specials, “A Charlie Brown Christmas” will celebrate its 60th Anniversary next year. It debuted on CBS on 12/9/1965. It continues to stand out as a heartfelt exploration of the “true meaning of Christmas” and sharp critique of growing holiday commercialism.

❄️🔥 15 Days to Christmas – Today is another Fiftieth Anniversary in the world of Christmas Specials. The legendary Heat Miser & Snow Miser duo debuted on ABC on this date in 1974. The Rankin-Bass “Year Without A Santa Claus” is based on Phyllis McGinley 1956 book of the same name. McGinley won the 1961 Pulitzer Prize for light poetry and was featured on the cover of TIME magazine.

📺 14 Days to Christmas – Today we are back to episodic Christmas specials with “Christmas at the Clampett’s”, which debuted on Christmas Night 1963. The backwoods Clampetts are puzzled by the extravagant California presents their Beverly Hills banker, Mr Drysdale, gave them. (S2:E14)

🧊❄️🧊 13 Days to Christmas – It’s below zero in MN this morning, a perfect morning to celebrate “Jack Frost”. This Rankin/Bass chestnut celebrates its 45th Anniversary tomorrow, having first aired on 12/13/1979. This special has a confusing plot stuffed into 48 minutes. It’s more about Winter & Spring than Christmas, but Buddy Hackett makes a fine Groundhog.

🎉 12 Days to Christmas – Happy Birthday to Mr. Dick Van Dyke, who turns 99 years young today. In this Christmas episode, titled “The Alan Brady Show”, Rob Petrie, the other writers, & Petrie’s family find themselves in front of the camera for the first time ever. S3:E13 aired on 12/12/1963.

🎅🏻 11 Days to Christmas – One of the all-time classic Rankin/Bass productions, “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” first aired on this date 12/14/1970. This show became the definitive Santa origin-story for many kids. Paul Frees, a prolific voice actor, plays 5 different parts, including the villainous Burgermeister. (Frees also voiced the Pillsbury Doughboy for 15+ years).

❄️ 10 Days to Christmas – On 12/15/1972, in its first season, the Bob Newhart Show featured the episode “His Busiest Season”. In it, Chicago psychologist Bob Hartley invites his less-than-festive patients to his house for Christmas Eve. Holiday hilarity ensues.

🎄 9 Days to Christmas – Frasier’s “Miracle on 3rd or 4th Street” aired 31 years ago today (12/16/93).   Like many holiday episodes, it came in the series’ first season (S1:E12).  In this story, Frasier is without his son for the holidays, working on Christmas Day.  The third act, after work at a diner – brings a great holiday twist.  

🎅🏻 8 Days to Christmas – The Simpson’s holds the title for longest ever running TV series and it debuted with this episode, on this day, 35 years ago (S1:E1, 12/17/89).  “Simpsons Roasting On An Open Fire”  was named one of the Top 5 Essential Episodes of the series by showrunner, Al Jean.  

🎅🏻 7 Days to Christmas – “How The Grinch Stole Christmas” – which originally aired on 12/18/1966 – is regularly rated one of the top Christmas specials of all time. Dr Seuss based the villainous character on himself – feeling “Grinchy” about his wife’s health issues and the commercialization of Christmas.

🎼 6 Days to Christmas – Another season 1 holiday special, the Brady Bunch episode “The Voice Of Christmas” aired 55 years ago today, on 12/19/1969. In the episode, Carol Brady suffers from laryngitis until little Cindy asks the department store Santa for help. You know what happens next … a Christmas miracle!

❄️ 5 Days to Christmas – “The Homecoming” was a made-for-TV Christmas special which preceded the creation of the Walton’s TV series. The special first aired 54 years ago today (12/19/71). In this story, the Walton family handles the day-to-day challenges of life in rural Virginia on Christmas Eve 1933 – against the backdrop of the Great Depression. The special was nominated for 3 Emmys.

📺 4 Days to Christmas – The Honeymooners heartfelt “Night Before Christmas” aired on Christmas Eve 1955. It’s still one of the highest rated Christmas specials with a 90% IMDb rating. A touching twist on “The Gift of the Magi” finishes with Jackie Gleason breaking character, introducing the cast, and wishing viewers a Merry Christmas!

🎁 3 Days to Christmas – The Happy Days episode “Guess Who’s Coming to Christmas” (S2:E11, 12/17/74) was one of my favorites as a kid. The Cunningham’s family Christmas (including Chuck!) are interrupted by Richie figuring out that Fonzie is spending his Christmas alone.

🥁 2 Days to Christmas – One of the few Christmas specials that focus on the Nativity, Rankin/Bass’ “Little Drummer Boy” premiered 56 years ago today (12/23/1968).  The story expands on the song, first recorded by the Trapp Family in 1951, and popularized by the Harry Simone Chorale in 1958.  

📺 1 Day to Christmas – As the “new girl” in the WJM newsroom, Mary is forced to work alone in Minneapolis on Christmas Eve in the Mary Tyler Moore Show classic “Christmas And The Hard Luck Kid II” (S1:E14, 12/19/70).  The heartfelt episode gets 92% on Rotten Tomatoes and was the first of many Christmas specials on the series. 

🌟 Merry Christmas! – The final Christmas Special in the countdown is “Mr Magoo’s Christmas Carol”. This adaptation of the Dicken’s classic is widely credited as the very first animated prime-time Christmas special, airing on NBC on 12/19/1962. It’s one of my favorites with terrific Jule Styne music, including the song “Lord’s Bright Blessing”. Styne was a broadway writer who also wrote, “The Christmas Waltz”, “Let It Snow!”, and “Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend”.