Five Rare Christmas Specials I Watch Every Year

I talked a few weeks about how Christmas special’s have changed. So it only figures that in order to see specials the way I liked them, I gave to watch my own. Thank goodness for VHS!



Here are five Christmas specials which aren’t shown anymore but I still watch them every year.



Olive, the Other Reindeer

I talked about this one a couple years ago in my list of my favorite animated Christmas specials. This was the only one that wasn’t a classic or that I simply don’t watch every year. It’s amazing how much I love this considering when I first heard the premise I was afraid I would hate it. I thought it would be like the awful Robbie the Reindeer. But to my surprise, it was charming and I love it the story of how a dog saves Christmas.






He-Man/She-Ra Christmas Special

Ok I’ve talked about this before, and it’s a real guilty pleasure. It’s He-Man and She-Ra, what do you want? The plot is contrived, the dialogue is corny, and it barely connects to Christmas. But I don’t care I still watch it and love it. 80’s gave up tons of cool specials including The California Raisins, Alf, and Pee-Wee Herman, but this is the one that has stuck.








Rosie O’Donnell

It’s funny how time can change our perspective. There was actually a time I liked Donald Trump. Yeah that stuns me too. But even more amazing, I once liked Rosie O’Donnell. Not only did I buy both her Christmas albums, and still listen to them, but I always watch the special she made based on the first album. Yeah it’s nothing remarkable, just her singing with celebrities, but I enjoy it.







Dolly Parton

There were a couple of these but the one I’m talking about is one that many may have never seen. Back in 1988 Dolly Parton had a TV series that aired every week. It was a variety show with music and sketches, the whole nine yards. And of course it didn’t last that long. It did last long enough to have a Christmas show with Burl Ives among others, and is still a fun watch every year.







Muppet Family Christmas

So let’s talk about this absolute gem! There is no crazy plot or stupid dilemma that needs to be solved, it’s just The Muppet family all gathering and coming together. Oh ok there is a small plot, involving Piggy and her efforts to make it to Fozzie’s mothers house despite a blizzard. But it’s a minor story the special is mostly the Muppets interacting and singing songs. And I mean ALL of the Muppets including Sesame Street and Fraggle Rock. It’s probably best Muppet gathering you’ll ever see. Even Jim Henson himself puts in a cameo. I could go on and on, it’s just fantastic, but don’t watch it on VHS. You’ll find the special chopped to shreds due to the non-licensed music in it. By the way I know a lot of people would say that John Denver and The Muppets is just as good, if not better, but I never really got into that one. This one I adore.




I already did a list of animated Christmas specials I hate, but are there any rare live action Christmas specials I hate? That’s a good question and maybe I’ll be back with the answer.