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Scott Harbaugh's Christmas TV Viewing Guide

Happy Holidays!

There are literally tens of thousands of Christmas and holiday-themed movies, shows and specials on TV between now and New Year's Day.  Few people look forward to this time of year for the TV viewing more than me.  I have more than 100 Christmas movies and shows on DVD, and my collection continues to grow.

I wanted to wade through the thousands of listings and give you a very condensed list of the big ones on TV this season and everything on WPXI-TV.  Some of them air several times.  So, I picked a spot or two during "normal" hours for you to catch them. No list is complete, and I apologize if your favorite is missing.  Please keep in mind dates and times are subject to change, but this is what I was able to dig up in the days before Thanksgiving.

Happy Holidays and happy viewing!

-Scott Harbaugh

Thursday, November 27 (Happy Thanksgiving)
WPXI @ 9:00 am = Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
Hallmark Movies @ 10:30 pm = Holiday Inn

Friday, November 28
TBS @ 1:00 pm = Home Alone
ABC @ 8:00 pm = Disney's Prep and Landing
CBS @ 9:00 pm = Frosty the Snowman

Saturday, November 29
WPXI @ 9:00 am = WPXI Holiday Parade - LIVE
TCM @ 12:30 pm = Meet Me in St. Louis
TCM @ 2:30 pm = The Lemon Drop Kid
PCNC @ 7:00 pm = WPXI Holiday Parade
CBS @ 9:00 pm = The Story of Santa Claus

*"Meet Me in St. Louis" and "The Lemon Drop Kid" are certainly not Christmas movies. However, they have important Christmas scenes in them that are historically significant. In "Meet Me in St. Louis," Judy Garland sings for the first time "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." It's a song that has become a standard during the season. In "The Lemon Drop Kid," Bob Hope and Marilyn Maxwell perform "Silver Bells" for the first time. Both have become a tradition for me during the season.

Sunday, November 30
Lifetime @ 7:00 pm = Christmas with the Kranks
ABC Family @ 10:00 pm = National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

Monday, December 1
ABC Family @ 5:00 pm = Santa Claus is Coming to Town
ABC Family @ 8:00 pm = Elf
AMC @ 8:00 pm = Home Alone 2: Lost in New York

Tuesday, December 2
ABC Family @ 8:00 pm = The Santa Clause
ABC @ 8:30 pm = A Charlie Brown Christmas

Wednesday, December 3
ABC Family @ 5:00 pm = Prancer
WPXI @ 8:00 pm = Christmas in Rockefeller Center
ABC Family @ 9:00 pm = The Polar Express
WPXI @ 9:00 pm = SNL Christmas Special

Thursday, December 4
ABC Family @ 12:00 am = A Very Brady Christmas
ABC Family @ 6:00 pm = The Year Without A Santa Claus
Hallmark Movies @ 6:00 pm = It Happened on 5th Avenue
ABC Family @ 9:00 pm = Disney's A Christmas Carol

*"The Year Without A Santa Claus" made a cult comeback in the early 2000s thanks in large part to ABC Family. The 1974 Rankin-Bass stop animation classic pits the Snow Miser against Heat Miser for control of the North Pole and South Town, USA.

Friday, December 5
ABC Family @ 8:00 pm = Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas (movie)
AMC @ 8:00 pm = The Nativity Story
WPXI @ 8:00 pm = How Murray Saved Christmas

*Believe it or not, Frank Capra's "It's A Wonderful Life" was a box office disappointment. The movie, starring Indiana, Pennsylvania's Jimmy Stewart, didn't really garner a following until decades later when it would run dozens of times a season on various channels. NBC, has had rights to the classic movie since the mid-1990s. Traditionally, NBC airs the movie on Christmas Eve and one Saturday during the month of December.

Saturday, December 6
ABC Family @ 1:30 pm = Frosty's Winter Wonderland
WPXI @ 8:00 pm = It's A Wonderful Life

Sunday, December 7
ABC Family @ 9:00 am = The Little Drummer Boy
TCM @ 4:30 pm = Scrooge (1970)
CBS @ 8:00 pm = I Love Lucy Christmas Special

Monday, December 8
ABC Family @ 5:00 pm = The Year Without A Santa Claus
MeTV @ 7:00 pm = WPXI Holiday Parade
ABC Family @ 10:00 pm = Santa Claus is Comin' to Town

Tuesday, December 9
ABC Family @ 5:30 pm = Mickey's Christmas Carol
CBS @ 8:00 pm = Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
ABC Family @ 10:00 pm = Rudolph's Shiny New Year

*Rudolph with your nose so bright, won't you guide my sleigh tonight? Those words are iconic in song and the stop-animation classic which is 50 years old this year. Rudolph originally aired December 6, 1964. While Gene Autry sang the original song in 1949, Burl Ives sings the animated version at the end of the show.

Wednesday, December 10
ABC Family @ 8:00 pm = National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
AMC @ 8:00 pm = The Santa Clause 2

Thursday, December 11
ABC Family @ 9:00 pm = Scrooged
TCM @ 9:45 pm = Holiday Affair

Friday, December 12
AMC @ 7:00 pm = White Christmas
ABC Family @ 7:30 pm = The Santa Clause
ABC Family @ 9:30 pm = Miracle on 34th Street (1994)

Saturday, December 13
TCM @ 8:15 am = Meet Me in St. Louis
ABC Family @ 1:00 pm = Prancer
ABC Family @ 5:30 pm = Mickey's A Christmas Carol
AMC @ 7:00 pm = Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
ABC @ 9:00 pm = National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
CBS @ 9:30 pm = Frosty Returns

Sunday, December 14
ABC Family @ 9:30 am = Disney's A Christmas Carol
AMC @ 8:00 pm = The Santa Clause 2

Monday, December 15
ABC Family @ 8:00 pm = The Year Without a Santa Claus
ABC Family @ 9:00 pm = The Polar Express

Tuesday, December 16
ABC @ 8:00 pm = A Charlie Brown Christmas
WPXI @ 8:00 pm = Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas
ABC Family @ 8:30 pm = Home Alone

*Peter Robbins is the voice of Charlie Brown in "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and other Peanuts cartoons of the 1960s. That alone is really no big deal. The big deal is knowing Robbins was 9 years old during voice-taping of "A Charlie Brown Christmas."

Wednesday, December 17
ABC Family @ 6:30 pm = Home Alone
WPXI @ 8:00 pm = Michael Buble's Christmas in New York
ABC Family @ 9:00 pm = The Santa Clause

Thursday, December 18
ABC Family @ 3:00 pm = Prancer
TCM @ 8:00 pm = A Christmas Carol (1938)
TCM @ 9:15 pm = Scrooge (1970)
TCM @ 11:15 pm = Scrooge (1935)

Friday, December 19
TCM @ 12:45 am = A Carol for Another Christmas
TCM @ 2:15 am = Beyond Tomorrow
ABC Family @ 6:00 pm = Home Alone
ABC Family @ 8:00 pm = Elf
ABC Family @ 10:00 pm = National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

Saturday, December 20
ABC @ 8:00 pm = I Want A Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown
ABC Family @ 8:00 pm = Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas - Movie

Sunday, December 21
WPXI @ 12:00 pm = WPXI Holiday Parade
ABC Family @ 1:00 pm = The Little Drummer Boy
ABC Family @ 1:30 pm = Nestor, The Long-Eared Christmas Donkey
TCM @ 2:00 pm = Christmas in Connecticut (1945)
TCM @ 4:00 pm = Holiday Affair
ABC Family @ 7:30 pm = Home Alone

Monday, December 22
ABC Family @ 6:30 pm = Santa Claus is Comin' to Town
ABC Family @ 7:30 pm = The Year Without A Santa Claus

Tuesday, December 23
ABC Family @ 7:00 pm = Home Alone
ABC @ 8:00 pm = Shrek the Halls
ABC Family @ 9:00 pm = The Polar Express

Wednesday, December 24 (Christmas Eve)
WPXI @ 2:00 am = WPXI Holiday Parade
TCM @ 9:30 am = The Great Rupert
TCM @ 6:00 pm = Meet Me in St. Louis
ABC Family @ 7:00 pm = National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
WPXI @ 8:00 pm = It's A Wonderful Life
TBS @ 8:00 pm = A Christmas Story (24 hour marathon)
ABC Family @ 9:00 pm = Elf
AMC @ 10:00 pm = Christmas in Connecticut (1945)

Christmas Day
AMC @ 12:00 am = Scrooged
WPXI @ 5:00 am = WPXI Holiday Parade
TCM @ 6:00 am = 3 Godfathers
PCNC @ 7:00 am = WPXI Holiday Parade
ABC Family @ 8:30 am = 'Twas the Night Before Christmas
TCM @ 11:00 am = A Christmas Carol (1938)
TCM @ 12:15 pm = Holiday Affair
ABC Family @ 5:00 pm = National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
ABC Family @ 7:00 pm = Elf
ABC Family @ 9:00 pm = Home Alone