For many, December means Christmas, Hanukkah, or other winter celebrations, but in the retro world of television, it is Holiday Special Season!
Often beginning well before we can change the calendar to December, the Christmas and holiday specials flood onto the small screen, from early animated and stop-motion classics to televised screenings of familiar Christmas movies. Some of these are beautifully done, and some of them are worth a thousand facepalms, but one thing is certain in my family at least, we are more familiar with some of these than we care to admit.
Now that December is here, try out your Holiday Special knowledge on 25 holiday specials and movies. All of these shows came out prior to this year (the oldest one from the 1940s) and are pretty much all family-friendly.
Grab some eggnog and see how many of these holiday and Christmas specials you can guess from these random comments, obscure trivia, song lyrics, quotes, or other observations:
- Shermy does “The Zombie.”
- Lumpy was waaay to young to be watching those VR nymphs.
- “Peace on earth, can it be…Years from now, perhaps we’ll see… the day of glory!” (Sniff)
- Finally, someone recognized Leon Redbone’s talent!
- He grows up to produce the first Iron Man!
- Is the hobo a ghost… or an angel?
- The red-and-yellow thing looks like a hand vacuum with a face.
- So, basically, he’s Dumbo in Bethlehem, owned by Hodor.
- Aaron’s dad was Boris Badanov.
- They sound like a Jimi Hendrix “Foxey Lady” rip-off, but that snake can rock the sitar.
- “The odd stray. They breed in the drains.”
- He kind of looked like Danny Kaye, but he was actually Dick Shawn.
- I think that dude in the nightshirt used to be the King.
- Seriously, what’s wrong with the doll? Nothing! Why is she there?!
- This is up to for debate, but some movie lovers have estimated the main character would be around 8’5″ tall if he were real.
- Jack often gets shipped to Queen Elsa!
- Jim Henson said Bert and Ernie sharing names with the cop and cabbie are just coincidences.
- Her novelty mug reads “Fa La La La Latte”
- Did you know this was the first Christmas special on television, Lovey?
- Am I the only a little weirded out we all just watched St. Nick die?
- Yes! We get it! You’re sisters!
- “Chester” was a soloist for Star Wars Episode IV, Star Trek IV, and Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom.
- “Never eat singing food!”
- The four in the middle open up like a gate!
- The movie he’s watching was inspired by the 1939 James Cagney film Angels With Dirty Faces.
How did you do? After you’ve quizzed yourself, try these out on your family and friends to see where everyone else ranks in the holiday special hierarchy. Click here for the answer key, if you’re stuck like Santa in metal chimney pipe.
Whether you’re a Cotton-Headed Ninnymuggins or the reigning King of The North Pole, I hope you take some time to relax and enjoy a silly holiday classic (or semi-classic) this season.
