{"id":2164183,"date":"2025-11-18T11:12:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-18T11:12:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2164183"},"modified":"2025-11-18T11:12:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T11:12:09","slug":"watch-22-holiday-tv-specials-movies-and-cultural-events-this-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/watch-22-holiday-tv-specials-movies-and-cultural-events-this-season\/","title":{"rendered":"Watch 22 holiday TV specials, movies and cultural events this season"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

<\/span> <\/p>\n

Christmas, they say, comes once a year, but \u201conce\u201d now lasts for days and weeks and months, as Friday\u2019s inflatable Frankenstein\u2019s monster becomes Monday\u2019s inflatable snowman. The yuletide is now upon us, even before Thanksgiving, its autumnal opening act, has served its first pumpkin pie.<\/p>\n

For someone growing up in Southern California, the season was largely understood through television, and old movies on television, where snow fell and sleighs slid and no one was walking around in shorts on Dec. 25. Back in the three-network, four-network and even five-network days, one could see all the specials and special episodes and still lead a relatively normal life. But in this time of many platforms (and with ever-more recycled content swelling the pot), one can go snow-blind. And so, to help you make your way through this blizzard, we are here, dependable as Santa, with the gift of a holiday guide.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"2025 <\/picture> <\/span> <\/div>\n

The only guide you need for holiday entertainment.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n

A caveat: I have watched only a couple of this year\u2019s new programs, which are largely unavailable to see as of this writing. (Trailers were helpful.) In some cases, networks have provided only a vague indication of what\u2019s in store. But years of experience tell me that there\u2019s a good chance that what\u2019s listed here will provide reliable entertainment, depending on your age, level of Grinchiness or how far you\u2019ve gotten into the eggnog. Enjoy!<\/p>\n

Musical events to match the season<\/h2>\n
\n
\"A <\/picture>\n
\n

Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi and BeBe Winans performing in the \u201cCMA Country Christmas\u201d special filmed in Nashville earlier this year; it will air Dec. 2 on ABC.<\/p>\n

(John Russell \/ CMA)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

\u2018The Wonderful World of Disney: Holiday Spectacular\u2019 (ABC, Dec. 1)<\/h3>\n

Disney, which owns its own television network, always sets itself a place \u2014 or two \u2014at this cross-promotional table, celebrating its 10th anniversary. New musical performances by host Derek Hough and other acts, including Aloe Blacc, Good Charlotte, Gwen Stefani and Trisha Yearwood, arrive from Florida\u2019s Walt Disney World, Hawaii\u2019s Aulani Resort & Spa and our own little Disneyland. For more of the same, and more, see \u201c40th Anniversary Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade\u201d below.<\/p>\n

\u2018CMA Country Christmas\u2019 (ABC, Dec. 2)<\/h3>\n

Filmed at the Fisher Center for the Performing Arts in Nashville, the 16th annual edition of this special is hosted by Christian music superstar Lauren Daigle and hitmaker Jordan Davis, with appearances from Riley Green, Lady A, Little Big Town, Parker McCollum, Megan Moroney, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Susan Tedeschi, Derek Trucks and the ever-present BeBe Winans.<\/p>\n

\u2018Christmas in Rockefeller Center\u2019 and \u2018Christmas in Nashville\u2019 (NBC, Dec. 3)<\/h3>\n

Reba McEntire heads to New York to host a two-hour special, highlighted by the lighting of a really big tree in the network\u2019s own backyard. Next we head to Music City, where you might have expected to find McEntire; who we will find is so far a mystery.<\/p>\n

\u2018A Motown Christmas\u2019 (NBC, Dec. 9)<\/h3>\n

Smokey Robinson and Halle Bailey are your hosts. Expect something old, something new(er).<\/p>\n

\u2018iHeartRadio Jingle Ball 2025\u2019 (ABC, Dec. 17)<\/h3>\n

Something for the youngsters, as Ed Sullivan used to say. While the tour performers<\/a> are known, the artists featured in the special are yet to be announced as of this writing. You will know some of them, all of them, or none of them.<\/p>\n

\u201840th Anniversary Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade\u2019 (ABC, Dec. 25)<\/h3>\n

More or less live from (as above) Disney outposts in Orlando, Anaheim and Hawaii, the fun starts at 5 a.m. Pacific time (though at 10 a.m. on the East Coast, so I\u2019m not sure how that works exactly). There will be stars, and if John Stamos isn\u2019t among them, I\u2019ll eat my Mouseketeer ears.<\/p>\n

Cultural performances that enlighten<\/h2>\n
\n
\"Two <\/picture>\n
\n

The Public Theater\u2019s performance of \u201cTwelfth Night,\u201d which starred Junior Nyong\u2019o, Lupita Nyong\u2019o and Peter Dinklage, is available to stream on PBS.org and the PBS app.<\/p>\n

(Joseph Sinnott)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

\u2018Great Performances: Twelfth Night\u2019 (Now streaming on PBS.org and PBS app)<\/h3>\n

Shakespeare\u2019s cross-dressing comedy of sexual confusion and mistaken identity (named for and originally performed on the last of the 12 days of Christmas), was filmed at an August performance at Central Park\u2019s Delacorte Theater as part of the Public Theater\u2019s Free Shakespeare festival. Cleverly cast brother and sister Lupita Nyong\u2019o and Junior Nyong\u2019o play castaway twins Viola and Sebastian, with Peter Dinklage, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Sandra Oh and Daphne Rubin-Vega among other well-known actors rounding out the cast.<\/p>\n

\u2018Great Performances: The Nutcracker\u2019 (PBS, PBS.org and PBS app, Dec. 16)<\/h3>\n

Even those with scant interest in classical music or dance will be osmotically familiar with Tchaikovsky\u2019s 1892 Christmas ballet, with its hit-filled score and Sugarplum Fairy. This one is performed by the English National Ballet against an Edwardian backdrop (Act I) and a Candyland (Act II) full of exotic flavor.<\/p>\n

Family friendly viewing<\/h2>\n
\n
\"A <\/picture>\n
\n

In \u201cA Paw Patrol Christmas,\u201d on CBS and Paramount+ Nov. 28, the rescue dogs have to save Christmas.<\/p>\n

(CBS)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

\u2018A Loud House Christmas Movie: Naughty or Nice\u2019 (Nickelodeon, Nov. 21)<\/h3>\n

This feature-length special is spun from the long-running, highly hectic cartoon. Lincoln Loud, a boy with 10 sisters, spins the world upside down when he hacks into Santa\u2019s Naughty\/Nice lists, turning good bad and bad good. (Santa does not escape this transformation.) Something must be done, and will.<\/p>\n

\u2018A Chuck E. Cheese Christmas\u2019 (Prime Video and YouTube, Nov. 27)<\/h3>\n

Christmas spirit is low, Santa is depressed and cartoon versions of characters from the famous pizza place decide to buck him up by throwing a surprise party, as a dark-hearted elf taking fashion cues from Orlando Bloom\u2019s Legolas gets in the way. Reportedly a back-door pilot for a full-service cartoon series \u2014 there is an audience for this.<\/p>\n

\u2018A Paw Patrol Christmas\u2019 (CBS and Paramount+, Nov. 28)<\/h3>\n

In this \u201csave Christmas\u201d special of the kid-popular series, computer-animated puppies in knit sweaters step in when a cold sidelines a sick Santa, threatening the delivery of presents and the true meaning of Christmas.<\/p>\n

Disney\u2019s \u2018Prep & Landing: The Snowball Protocol\u2019 (Disney, Nov. 27; ABC, Nov. 30)<\/h3>\n

I\u2019m a fan of this witty IP, unusually original to the small screen, featuring elves Wayne (Dave Foley) and Lanny (Derek Richardson), whose job it is to advance Santa\u2019s household appearances. In this third edition, a sort of short-story omnibus relating post-Christmas work disasters, we get good slapstick, a Busby Berkeley homage, spa parody, office comedy and a succession of coffee mugs bearing the legends \u201cIt\u2019s Nog or Never,\u201d \u201cNice List or Bust!\u201d and \u201cFa La La La Latte.\u201d (This show I\u2019ve seen.)<\/p>\n

\u2018With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration\u2019 (Netflix, Dec. 3)<\/h3>\n

Should you care to see how the Duchess of Sussex of Montecito, Calif., gets set for Christmas, Meghan Markle\u2019s inviting you in for a bit of cooking, crafting, hall-decking and who knows what, with \u201csimple how-tos to follow at home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018The First Snow of Fraggle Rock\u2019 (Apple TV, Dec. 5)<\/h3>\n

The puppet gang still tended by the reliable Jim Henson Co. return for the holidays. When only a single snowflake arrives at Fraggle Rock \u2014 they live underground, so, you know, not that surprising \u2014 Gobo, having trouble finishing his annual holiday song, heads up into the world of humans, where he meets YouTube powerhouse Lele Pons. Meanwhile, there\u2019s a new baby at the Gorgs\u2019 house.<\/p>\n

Streaming holiday films for (almost) everyone<\/h2>\n
\n
\"A <\/picture>\n
\n

Alexandra Breckenridge as Santa Claus in \u201cMy Secret Santa,\u201d streaming Dec. 3 on Netflix.<\/p>\n

(Diyah Pera \/ Netflix)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

\u2018A Merry Little Ex-Mas\u2019 (Netflix, now streaming)<\/h3>\n

Alicia Silverstone<\/a> is a divorced architect about to sell her house who decides to throw one last holiday party. Her ex-husband (Oliver Hudson) arrives packing new girlfriend Jameela Jamil, which would make anyone jealous. Melissa Joan Hart is in it, too, always a recommendation.<\/p>\n

\u2018A Very Jonas Christmas Movie\u2019 (Disney+, now streaming)<\/h3>\n

I can\u2019t name a single Jonas Brothers<\/a> song, but I can heartily recommend this trains-planes-and-automobile story, which finds the trio supernaturally hindered from getting home from Europe for Christmas. (Santa may be involved.) This is the other show I\u2019ve seen.<\/p>\n

\u2018Champagne Problems\u2019 (Netflix, Nov. 19)<\/h3>\n

Minka Kelly plays a hotshot executive \u2014 shorthand for misguided, unfulfilled \u2014 out to acquire a French Champagne vineyard. Stopping over in Paris before heading out into the countryside \u2014 shorthand for life as it should be lived \u2014 she has a magical night with handsome Frenchman Henri (Tom Wozniczka), who, wouldn\u2019t you know, turns out to be the son of the man (Thibault de Montalembert, from \u201cCall My Agent\u201d) whose company she\u2019s out to buy.<\/p>\n

\u2018Jingle Bell Heist\u2019 (Netflix, Nov. 26)<\/h3>\n

Love and larceny combine as Olivia Holt, \u201ca sharp-witted retail worker,\u201d and Connor Swindells, \u201ca down-on-his-luck repairman,\u201d independently plan to rob the same London department store on Christmas Eve. (Strangely enough, this is how I met my wife.) The presence of Peter Serafinowicz and Lucy Punch is icing on the gingerbread.<\/p>\n

\u2018The Merchants of Joy\u2019 (Prime Video, Dec. 1)<\/h3>\n

This documentary outlier follows five families (like, you know, the Mafia, but nicer) who fight for dominance and survival in the New York City Christmas tree trade. The title does not appear to be ironic.<\/p>\n

\u2018Oh. What. Fun.\u2019 (Prime Video, Dec. 3)<\/h3>\n

Michelle Pfeiffer plays a type A supermom (last name Clauster, for the Santa vibe) who, having been accidentally abandoned by her family (for the \u201cHome Alone\u201d vibe) closes up shop, hits the road and lets the rest of them mishandle Christmas themselves. The not-to-be-sneezed-at cast includes Denis Leary, Eva Longoria, Joan Chen, Felicity Jones, Chlo\u00eb Grace Moretz, Dominic Sessa, Danielle Brooks, Devery Jacobs, Havana Rose Liu and America\u2019s sweetheart, Jason Schwartzman. It also comes with a new Gwen Stefani song, \u201cShake the Snow Globe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018My Secret Santa\u2019 (Netflix, Dec. 3)<\/h3>\n

In order to score her daughter half-price snowboard lessons, single mom Taylor (Alexandra Breckenridge) disguises herself as an old man in order to play Santa at a ski resort, like you do. Ryan Eggold is the handsome hotel manager who, as you might expect, complicates matters.<\/p>\n

\u2018Merv\u2019 (Prime Video, Dec. 10)<\/h3>\n

When Anna (Zooey Deschanel, out of her \u201cElf\u201d costume) and Russ (Charlie Cox) split up, it sends their adorable terrier into a depression. (Also, it\u2019s Christmas.) When all three leave the snowy north for Florida sun, it\u2019s anyone\u2019s guess what\u2019ll happen.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.latimes.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Christmas, they say, comes once a year, but \u201conce\u201d now lasts for days and weeks and months, as Friday\u2019s inflatable Frankenstein\u2019s monster becomes Monday\u2019s inflatable snowman. The yuletide is now upon us, even before Thanksgiving, its autumnal opening act, has served its first pumpkin pie. For someone growing up in Southern California, the season was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2164184,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2164183","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Watch-22-holiday-TV-specials-movies-and-cultural-events-this.com2F1b2Fdc2F2656f6c1455aaed376fae773.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2164183","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2164183"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2164183\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2164185,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2164183\/revisions\/2164185"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2164184"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2164183"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2164183"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2164183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}