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The Grinch climbing out of, or into, a chimney Image: NBC via Polygon

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A guide to all of the holiday TV specials premiering in December

‘cuz we need a little Christmas this year!

By Petrana Radulovic
Petrana Radulovic is an entertainment reporter specializing in animation, fandom culture, theme parks, Disney, and young adult fantasy franchises.
Part of The Polygon 2020 holiday guide

Tis the season for every streaming service and channel on the planet to have some sort of holiday special. Heck, some — cough, Netflix, cough — started rolling out holiday specials in October.

But now that winter’s finally in the air, it’s time for a complete roundup of specials for the actual holiday season. With so many choices across streaming and cable, a blend of seasoned holiday favorites (Freeform’s 25 Days of Christmas and Hallmark Christmas movies being their own industry), new premieres, and hybrids of both — we’re looking at you, Matthew Morrison’s Grinch — here’s a handy list to make your holiday entertainment scheduling slightly more parseable.

Christmas specials and movies you can stream now

The Great British Baking Show: Holidays: Season 3 Image: Netflix

Netflix

Angela’s Christmas Wish
The Holiday Movies That Made Us
Chico Bon Bon and the Very Berry Holiday
Tudo Bem No Natal Que Vem
Captain Underpants Mega Blissmas
The Great British Baking Show: Holidays: Season 3
Mighty Express: A Mighty Christmas
Super Monsters: Santa’s Super Monster Helpers

Hulu

CMA Country Christmas Special
Disney Holiday Singalong Special

Don’t forget about Freeform’s 25 Days of Christmas...

The annual Christmas celebration on Freeform turns 24 this year. My how time flies! Tune into Freeform... basically at almost any point throughout the day to catch a favorite holiday flick. The full schedule is available on Freeform’s website.

HBO Max

My Gift: A Christmas Special From Carrie Underwood
Looney Tunes Cartoons, Bugs Bunny’s 24 Carrot Holiday Special

Disney Plus

Godmothered

Apple TV Plus

Mariah Carey’s Magical Christmas Special

A Charlie Brown Christmas
Apple TV Plus picked up the streaming rights for the Charlie Brown specials, but if you want to catch this the traditional way, it’ll also air on PBS on Dec. 13 at 7:30 PM EDT, and will be available for free on Apple TV Plus from Dec. 11 to 13.

charlie brown and snoopy in the snow Image: CBS

Amazon Prime

Amazon Music Holiday Plays

Available Dec. 9

Netflix

Ashley Garcia: Genius in Love: Christmas
The Big Show Show: Christmas

Premiering on TV

The Great Christmas Light Fight Season Premiere (ABC, 8:00 pm EDT)

Dr. Seuss’ ‘The Grinch Musical!’ (NBC, 8:00 pm EDT — available on Hulu Dec. 10)
That’s right — Glee’s Matthew Morrison joins the ranks of Jim Carrey and Benedict Cumberbatch to portray the season’s favorite curmudgeon.

matthew morrison as the grinch
Yer a mean one... Mr. Schue....
Image: NBC

Available Dec. 11

Netflix

A Trash Truck Christmas

Disney Plus

High School Musical: The Musical: The Series: The Holiday Special
Disney Channel’s Epic Holiday Showdown
Disney Holiday Magic Quest

Available Dec. 14

Netflix

A California Christmas

Available Dec. 16

Netflix

How to Ruin Christmas: The Wedding

Cable

A ‘Saturday Night Live’ Christmas Special (NBC, 9:00 pm EDT)

Hallmark’s Christmas Schedule

The Hallmark channel has no shortage of cheesy, feel-good Christmas movies — the ones that take place in a small town where a lonely soul meets some sort of big city hot shot and the two fall in love amidst tinsel, lights, and presents! Check out the full Hallmark schedule on the website.

Available Dec. 18

Netflix

Home for Christmas: Season 2

Shudder

A Creepshow Holiday Special

Disney Plus

Disney Channel Holiday House Party
Arendelle Castle Yule Log

Available Dec. 25

Cable

Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Celebration (ABC, 10:00 a.m. EDT)

The Polygon 2020 holiday guide