AARP Hearing Center
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United Features Syndicate/Courtesy Everett Collection
Remember how excited you got waiting for Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer or A Charlie Brown Christmas to air during the Christmas season? The good news is that many of our most-beloved TV holiday specials can still be streamed online. Whether you’re watching alone for a trip down memory lane or with your favorite brother or sister over the holidays or, best yet, introducing your grandkids to Frosty and the gang, check out these 10 wonderful TV holiday classics.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)
The longest-running Christmas special in history, Rudolph has been broadcast every year since 1964. Its puppet-based stop-motion animation, narration by Burl Ives and uplifting message about celebrating our differences made it an instant classic.
Watch it: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, on Vudu
A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
This meditation on the meaning of Christmas was considered a risky departure from much of popular TV at the time, with no laugh track and a jazz score by the Vince Guaraldi Trio, but it went on to win a Peabody, an Emmy and the hearts of generations of American kids.
Watch it: A Charlie Brown Christmas, on Apple TV+
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966)
Before Jim Carrey went green for the live-action version, the animated original brought to life Dr. Seuss’ whimsical tale of a Christmas-hating creature (voiced by Boris Karloff), and set his misanthropic antics to song.
Watch it: How the Grinch Stole Christmas! on Amazon Prime, Peacock, YouTube
Frosty the Snowman (1969)
Narrated by comedian Jimmy Durante, this cartoon builds on the hit song's storyline and sends Frosty and his young savior to the North Pole as they try to escape the heat.
Watch it: Frosty the Snowman, on Vimeo, YouTube
Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town (1970)
What better way to introduce Fred Astaire (who narrates) and Mickey Rooney (who voices Santa) to a new audience than through this puppet-animated rendition of Santa's origin story, as a young Kriss Kringle growing up in gloomy Sombertown.
Watch it: Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town, on Vudu, YouTube
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