The holiday season can be a wonderful time to relax, stay inside, and spend time with your family. For many people, this means gathering around the television to watch your favorite holiday specials.
- Good Luck Charlie: It’s Christmas!
Good Luck Charlie was one of the most entertaining Disney Channel sitcoms of its time. My biggest gripe with the series (and most others) was the audience reactions after every single joke. Thankfully, the 1 hour holiday special does not have any! Even though this special may not be the most well-known or critically acclaimed on this list, it has a special place in my heart because of how much of a wild ride it is.
- Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas
The 1999 cartoon features 3 different festive tales featuring Mickey and his friends. I grew up watching this special every year, so nostalgia plays a big role on why I enjoy it so much. There is something about Mickey Mouse cartoons (especially holiday ones) that fills me with so much joy and brings back some of my favorite memories.
- Regional Holiday Music (Community: Season 3, Episode 10)
NBC’s 2010s sitcom Community is a cult classic following a diverse study group navigating their way through community college. The season 3 episode is a musical parody about the main characters falling under a holiday spell and performing comedic bits to recruit the others to the glee club for “regionals”. My family introduced this to me a few years ago in hopes that I would enjoy it as much as they did. Not too long after my first viewing, I found myself watching it every day up until Christmas day. This is a great one-off episode also, so there is not much prior-knowledge to have had to understand.
- A Christmas Story
The 1983 classic has been a staple in my household since I could remember. Taking place in the 1940s, the movie follows a young Ralphie as he waits for a special gift on Christmas day. I have held a special place in my heart for this movie as I watch it every year on Christmas Eve. Not only is it one of the most entertaining specials to watch, but it was very relatable when I was a younger kid.
All in all, these are the holiday specials that bring me the most joy this time of year. All of the specials listed are available to rent or buy on Amazon Prime Video.
