Last Updated on 3 December 2023

The following list is the Official Definitive List of the 50 best Christmas TV specials of all time.

I found 14 different ranked lists online of “best Christmas specials of all time” and pulled them all into Excel and merged them all to get this definitive compilation. Some were only Rankin/Bass Christmas specials, but I thought they were still worth including. See my Methodology page for the research process that was used, including links to the 14 lists that were averaged. Below is a checklist you can print to track which ones you’ve seen, followed by the ranked list.

Best-Christmas-TV-Specials-Viewing-ChecklistDownload
  1. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)
  2. How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966)
  3. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
  4. Frosty the Snowman (1969)
  5. Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town (1970)
  6. The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974)
  7. Twas the Night Before Christmas (1974)
  8. The Little Drummer Boy (1968)
  9. Jack Frost (1979)
  10. Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey (1977)
  11. The Life & Adventures of Santa Claus (1985)
  12. Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July (1979)
  13. The Stingiest Man in Town (1978)
  14. Emmet Otter’s Jug Band Christmas (1977)
  15. The First Christmas: The Story of the First Christmas Snow (1975)
  16. A Garfield Christmas Special (1987)
  17. Toy Story That Time Forgot (2014)
  18. The Little Drummer Boy, Book II (1976)
  19. Rudolph’s Shiny New Year (1976)
  20. Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983)
  21. A Muppet Family Christmas (1987)
  22. Christmas at Pee-Wee’s Playhouse (1988)
  23. Pinocchio’s Christmas (1980)
  24. The Leprechauns’ Christmas Gold (1981)
  25. A Very Murray Christmas (2015)
  26. Frosty’s Winter Wonderland (1976)
  27. The LEGO Star Wars Christmas Special (2020)
  28. Shrek the Halls (2007)
  29. A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All! (2008)
  30. Elf: Buddy’s Musical Christmas (2013)
  31. Merry Madagascar (2009)
  32. A Flintstones Christmas (1977)
  33. A Pinky and the Brain Christmas (1995)
  34. Olive, the Other Reindeer (1999)
  35. Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol (1962)
  36. Cricket on the Hearth (1967)
  37. Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas (2011)
  38. Christmas in Tattertown (1988)
  39. Opus n’ Bill in A Wish for Wings That Work (1991)
  40. Santa, Baby! (2001)
  41. Tales from the Crypt: And All Through the House (1989)
  42. A Chipmunk Christmas (1981)
  43. A Rugrats Chanukah (1996)
  44. Spongebob Squarepants: Christmas Who? (2000)
  45. Bah Humduck!: A Looney Tunes Christmas (2006)
  46. The Bear Who Slept Through Christmas (1973)
  47. A Rugrats Kwanzaa (2001)
  48. Bugs Bunny’s Looney Tunes Christmas Tales (1979)
  49. It’s a SpongeBob Christmas! (2012)
  50. Winnie the Pooh and Christmas Too (1991)

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