Tied for number 26 on my list of favorite holiday movies/specials are Winnie the Pooh and Christmas Too and Spongebob's "Christmas Who?" In addition, I think Obscurus Lupa had the best Christmas specials of 2011 on TGWTG.
25. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Any version or story with Rudolph in it, really. I know it's probably a cop-out, but get used to it on these lists (I promise not to make too many more, but there will be more). It's another classic that's been told in different ways, but the stop-motion animated movies are probably the ones we all remember. The Bumble (Abominable Snowman) terrified me as a kid, so that's why it's at the back of this list (but at least it's there).
24. The Mystbusters Holiday Special. This is the one where they made the holiday-themed Rube Goldberg machine activated by Mentos and Coke. It's very entertaining. They also apply a classic science fair experiment to a bunch of would-be Christmas trees (they accidentally knock off the tree lot's entrance sign because their truck is too tall) to see which needles drop the least and how green each one looks.
23. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. Much like NC's "F--- you, it's Die Hard" justification, this is on the list because of the one scene that's Christmas-related. And that's the part where Santa shows up and gives the kids weapons and such to fight the White Witch's army. F--- yeah! Even if the White Witch has outlawed Christmas, Narnia is still covered in snow for much of the movie, so you can think cool thoughts while you watch it during the summer.
22. Santa Conquers the Martians. It's been said before that this movie is so bad it's good, so watch it with friends. I did and I still cherish that time we spent together. That's more than I can say about Mars Needs Moms, but Santa Conquers the Martians is a much better film even if it's based on the same concept (except Santa instead of moms) and has older movie technology.
21. A Johnny Bravo Christmas. Our favorite meat-head Johnny tries to get to the North Pole because he'd lost his and his mama's letters to Santa in the couch back at Thanksgiving and only found them again on Christmas Eve. He's accompanied by little neighbor girl Susie, and Donny Osmond shows up again. Good times.
20. A Very Special Family Guy Freakin' Christmas. Featuring Stewie as Baby Jesus, who ends up having to perform his part to A)prove to Santa he can be good, and B) stop his mother on her anti-Christmas rampage after things go horribly wrong at the Griffin household.
19. Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special. This stand-up themed special features Brian Haner, who had previously appeared in a live holiday performance that found its way to YouTube. In addition to Achmed's "Jingle Bombs," he provides music for Bubba J's "Roadkill Christmas" and Jeff's reading of The Night Before Christmas which is constantly interrupted by Peanut contradicting and insulting the both of them. Haner never gets to speak, so to hear his solo performances you should probably check out his YouTube channel.
18. A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All. It was hard to choose where this one was placed on the list (before or after Dunham), but the soundtrack won a Grammy, so in the end it placed higher. I don't like Colbert as a character, but the songs were good for the most part and it was more or less entertaining. If I were to compare it to South Park, he'd be Cartman and Stewart would be Kyle just based on the song they sing together where John tries to sell him on Hanukkah.
17. Merry Christmas. It's more common to find New Year's celebrations in anime, but this episode of Hamtaro included it when Laura wanted something but didn't want to ask her parents for yet another thing, so her friend Kana tells her to write a letter to Santa Claus. The hamsters do the same, but they of course have owners. So they make a wish for Santa to visit their wild hamster friends too. There's also a segment where the hamsters (in the dub, anyway - I haven't seen the Japanese version) sing a song over a montage of them spending time with their owners.
16. The Year without a Santa Claus. What happens when Santa gives up on Christmas? Probably the same thing that would happen if the Care Bears stopped caring - the end of the frickin' world (lots of sad kids). He's feeling under-appreciated and decides to cancel Christmas, needing encouragement from the kids to change his mind. Also, two elves go on a search when a reindeer runs away and Mrs. Claus must stop the Miser Brothers from fighting and causing chaos. Yes, if there's anything we took away from this movie, it was the Miser Brothers, which is why the modern-made sequel focuses on them. It was good too, but not as much as their original appearance. Mickey Rooney voices Santa in both movies (cue clip from the first Care Bears movie every time NC reviews a movie with him in it).
15. All I Want for Christmas. This is the Christmas episode in season one of 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter. Now that Paul is a stay-at-home dad, he wants to make the holiday extra special for his family instead of just buying them souvenirs from airport gift shops like when he used to travel for his old job. The episode does not disappoint and includes a singing performance by Katey Segal. However, the dog Paul lets Kerry adopt is never seen again in the series. The other seasons' Christmas episodes are good too, but this is the only one with John Ritter in it and so it gets put on the list.
14. The Most Horrible X-mas Ever. I've seen both versions of this, and I prefer the broadcast version rather than the DVD version. That's not to say Nick hadn't screwed Invader ZIM in the first place by this point, but at least they allowed this episode to be finished and aired in time before cancelling the show. I didn't catch all the differences, but Mr. Slushy calling them "Zam and Doob" instead of "Zim and Dib" really got on my nerves even if it was intentional. Either way, the episode is hilarious if even a bit disturbing at times, but that's the show.
13. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. The first one was good too with the story of the snow-shoveling old man reconciling with his family, but the second one with the pigeon lady really got to me. I especially like the part at the end where Kevin gives her one of the turtledove pendants and says that they'll be friends forever. Her story teaches you that you shouldn't judge people on appearances and that you should learn to love again even if you're heart's been broken.
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