Family-Favorite Holiday Episodes.
By Matt Roush
No holiday would be complete without Peanuts.
Not the Planters variety (though they’re always welcome), but the creation of Charles M. Schulz, whose beloved Charlie Brown specials are an annual herald that any holiday has truly begun. (When the Apple TV+ streaming service announced it had acquired rights to the animated classics last year, there was such an uproar that they were allowed to be shown on PBS.) In putting together a short list of favorite Thanksgiving and Christmas episodes and specials, there’s no better place to start than A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965), which set a high bar yet to be surpassed, and 1973’s second-tier but equally heartwarming A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.
I was the perfect target audience, all of 7 years old, when A Charlie Brown Christmas first aired, glued to the tube as Charlie Brown railed against the commercialization of the season — ironically, I can still recall the Coca-Cola ads of the special’s first sponsor — while haplessly directing a Christmas play and hunting for the perfect tree. (How many times have you seen a scrawny sapling and referred to it as a “Charlie Brown” tree?)
Linus thankfully grounds us all with a heartfelt recitation of the Nativity story as a reminder of Christmas’ true meaning, and while the special ends with the singing of carols, it’s Vince Guaraldi’s jazzy score that stays with me. (Every year, I play the CD while decorating our own non-Charlie Brown tree.)
Linus, that Peanuts philosopher, also provides the “First Thanksgiving” lesson in A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, as a junk-food feast is prepared for Peppermint Patty, Marcie and Franklin before they all head to Charlie Brown’s grandmother’s house for a more appropriate family dinner. (Snoopy and Woodstock, decked out in Pilgrim costumes, stay behind to pull the wishbone and gorge on pumpkin pie.)
Tradition is what holiday TV is all about, and what follows is an annotated list of some of the other most memorable specials and episodes that have stood the test of time:
The Waltons, “The Thanksgiving Story” (1973): Winner of an Emmy for Joanna Lee’s script, the two-hour episode of the poignant Depression-era family drama beautifully blends humor and near-tragedy — the latter courtesy of John-Boy (Richard Thomas), who suffers a head injury at the sawmill that affects his sight and threatens his ability to take a scholarship exam. On a lighter note, brother Jason (Jon Walmsley) is put to work making moonshine for the wacky Baldwin sisters, who insist on adopting him. Parents John and Olivia (Ralph Waite, Michael Learned) are rightly appalled.
Happy Days, “The First Thanksgiving” (1978): Nostalgia is taken to extremes, when Mrs. C. (Marion Ross) is so fed up with all of her men being too focused on football to help her with dinner that she turns the TV off, and the entire cast is plunged into a 1621 flashback to re-enact the first Thanksgiving as Pilgrims. Naturally, hep cat “Master Fonzie” (Henry Winkler) has an in with the Indians, who are also invited for the inaugural feast.
Friends, “The One Where Ross Got High” (1999): You can’t discuss Thanksgiving on TV without mentioning this ’90s mega-hit, where Turkey Day among the beloved ad hoc family of BFFs was always a major event. I’m also partial to the 1997 episode where Chandler (Matthew Perry) spends the day cracking jokes from inside a box (long story), but I’ll never forget my spit take when Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) serves her ghastly trifle — her excuse was the cookbook pages getting stuck together — and Ross (David Schwimmer) reacts with, “It tastes like feet!”
The Andy Griffith Show, “Christmas Story” (1960): On Christmas Eve, department store owner Ben Weaver (Will Wright) has Sheriff Taylor (Andy Griffith) arrest moonshiner Sam Muggins (Sam Edwards). In keeping with the spirit of the law, Taylor has Muggins’ wife and two children jailed as well, and then moves the Christmas party he, son Opie (Ron Howard), Barney (Don Knotts), Aunt Bee (Frances Bavier) and girlfriend Ellie (Elinor Donahue) had been planning over to the jail. Weaver is touched by the Christmas spirit and tries to get himself arrested so he can join in the fun. After several attempts he’s finally successful and opens a suitcase full of gifts from his store for everyone.
Dick Van Dyke Show, “The Allen Brady Show Presents” (1963): The script for the annual Christmas show is torn up by star Alan Brady (Carl Reiner) with a different idea in mind: to have the episode performed by the writers and their families. What follows is a show within a show featuring skits, song, dance and yuks featuring Buddy (Morey Amsterdam), Sally (Rose Marie), producer Mel (Richard Deacon), Rob (Dick Van Dyke), wife Laura (Mary Tyler Moore) and son Ritchie (Larry Mathews). It’s the first time Reiner as Alan Brady is seen on the show (he’s dressed as Santa Claus). At the end, they even break the fourth wall by la-la-la-ing the Dick Van Dyke Show theme song. It’s truly a Broadway holiday.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show, “Christmas and the Hard Luck Kid II” (1970): We were just beginning to fall in love with Mary as Mary Richards in the classic sitcom’s first season when she took one for the team, giving up not only Christmas Day but also a lonely Christmas Eve in the WJM newsroom. (Wait for the priceless moment when Mary finds a blank check in her card from a sheepish Lou Grant.) The ending — with Lou (Ed Asner), Murray (Gavin McLeod) and Ted (Ted Knight) arriving to cheer her up — gets me every time.
M*A*S*H, “Dear Dad” (1973): The first of many “letters home” episodes from the Korean War front captures the series’ seriocomic tone especially well, as Hawkeye (Alan Alda) regales his stateside father with Christmastime anecdotes both humorous (Radar mailing home a Jeep in pieces) and harrowing (Hawkeye performing field surgery dressed as Santa). Still heart-wrenching to watch today.
Seinfeld, “The Strike” (1997): Better known as the “Festivus for the rest of us” episode, as bellowed by Frank Costanza (Jerry Stiller), who created the faux December holiday as an outlet to air grievances, avoid shopping and erect a plain aluminum pole. (It even inspired a Ben & Jerry’s flavor.) A gift for those with an aversion to seasonal sentimentality.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964): The longest continually running Christmas special in TV history is the best of the Rankin/Bass stop-motion fables, a celebration of misfit nonconformity and a charming retelling of a pop standard. The Abominable Snowman gave me nightmares as a kid, but the unforgettable Burl Ives brings eternal comfort as the minstrel snowman narrator.
Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966): My heart grows three sizes just thinking of rewatching, yet again, this delightful and tuneful Chuck Jones adaptation of the Seuss perennial, about the green grouch (voiced by Boris Karloff) who plots to rob Whoville of all things Christmasy. Slice me some roast beast, Grinchy!
