It’s almost time for Christmas to take over our TV sets.
That starts at 9 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning, as the parade begins. It continues for four flashy weeks.
With that in mind, I’ve put together a mega-list of Christmas shows, beginning Nov. 28. We’ll do them by category, starting (logically) with parades:
Nov. 28: “Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade,” 9 a.m. to noon, NBC and CBS. The parade (shown here from a previous year) has 11 bands, 1,200 cheerleaders and dancers and 1,000 clowns, plus balloons and 26 floats – many with performers, including Celine Dion, Chicago, Ciara, Black Eyed Peas, Lea Michele, Billy Porter and Idina Menzel. The networks also bring in separate performers, usually in the first hour.
Nov. 28 (NBC): The parade coverage starts with the “Sesame Street” Muppets. Also: numbers from “Hadestown,” “Beetlejuice” and the Temptations and Tina Turner musicals. The entire thing reruns from 2-5 p.m., after the “National Dog Show.”
Nov. 28 (CBS): The parade coverage starts with songs by Miranda Lambert.
Dec. 13: Hollywood Christmas Parade, 8-10 p.m., CW. Mario Lopez is grand marshal.
Dec. 25: Christmas Day Parade (Disney parks), 10 a.m. to noon ET (9-11 a.m. other time zones), ABC.
COMEDY
Dec. 4: “The Moodys,” 9 and 9:30 p.m., Fox, continuing Dec. 9 and 10. Originally called “Moody Christmas,” it has six episodes, with Denis Leary and Elizabeth Perkins heading a dysfunctional family.
Dec. 5: “Saturday Night Live Christmas Special,” 9-11 p.m., NBC.
Dec. 20: “I Love Lucy” Christmas special, 8 p.m., CBS. As always, this has two episodes with color added by computer – the 1956 Christmas one and one other – this time (also from 1956) is set in Paris.
Dec. 22: “Kids Say the Darnedest Things” special, 8 p.m., ABC, with kids telling us about Christmas.
CARTOONS:
(First, the classics people always ask about)
Nov. 29: “Frosty the Snowman,” 8 p.m., CBS, with its lame sequel at 8:30.
Dec. 2: “Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer,” 8-9 p.m., CBS.
Dec. 3: “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” 8 p.m., NBC; also 8 p.m. Dec. 25 on NBC. Also, on TNT at 7:30 p.m., Dec.7; 7 p.m., Dec. 13; 7:30 p.m. Dec. 17. And on TNT, 8 p.m. Dec. 14.
Dec. 5 and 17: “A Charlie Brown Christmas” 8 p.m., ABC. The hour is rounded out with short “Charlie Brown Christmas Tales.”
Dec. 6 and beyond: “Frosty” and “Rudolph” back-to-back on Freeform: 8 and 8:30-9:30, Dec.6; 6:15 and 6:45 p.m. Dec. 7; 5:45 and 6:15 p.m. Dec. 20; 12:55 and 1:25 p.m. Dec. 21; 8:20 and 8:50 p.m. 17 Dec. 24; 3:10 and 3:40 p.m. Dec. 25.
Dec. 14: “Rudolph” (8 p.m.) and “Frosty” (9), CBS, with the “Frosty” sequel at 9:30.
(Now some other key reruns)
Nov. 29: “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer,” 8 p.m., CW; repeats Dec. 19.
Nov. 30: “Robbie the Reindeer” and its sequel, 8 and 8:30 p.m., CBS. These drip with dry British wit.
Nov. 30: “The Story of Santa Claus,” 9-10 p.m., CBS.
Dec. 1: “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town,” 8 p.m., ABC. It then moves to Freeform: 4:45 p.m. Dec. 3; 1 p.m. Dec. 4; 11:50 a.m. Dec. 21; 9:55 p.m. Dec. 24; 4:45 p.m. Dec. 25.
Dec. 12: “Olaf’s Frozen Adventure” and “Toy Story That Time Forgot,” 8 and 8:30 p.m., ABC. “Olaf” is also at 9 p.m. Dec. 17, with “Shrek the Hall” at 9:30.
Dec. 14: “Trolls Holiday,” 8:30 p.m., NBC.
Dec. 19: “Prep & Lansing” and its sequel, 8 and 8:30 p.m., ABC.
Dec. 22: “I Want a Dog For Christmas, Charlie Brown,” 7 p.m., ABC.
COMPETITIONS
Nov. 29: “Sugar Rush Christmas,” Netflix. It’s a six-episode fight to make holiday confections.
Nov. 29: “Top Elf,” 8 p.m., Nickelodeon. Seven kids compete to be Santa’s top helper; that continues for three more Fridays, then concludes Saturday, Dec. 21.
Dec. 2, 9, 16: “The Great Christmas Light Fight,” 8 and 9 p.m., ABC. Each hour, a judge (Carter Oosterhouse or Taniya Nayack) sees four mega-displays and gives one $50,000.
Dec. 2, 9: “Wrap Battle,” 9 and 10 p.m., Freeform. This three-Monday, six-hour series started Nov. 25, with nine gift-wrappers.
Dec. 6, 13, 20: “The Great American Baking Show: Holiday Edition,” 9 and 10 p.m., ABC.
Dec. 15: “The Christmas Caroler Challenge,” 8 and 9 p.m., CW; continues Dec. 22-23. This six-hour show has a dozen groups, ranging from traditional to offbeat. Dean Cain and Laura McKenzie host.
Dec. 21: “Battle of the Christmas Movie Stars,” Lifetime. In holiday-themed games, actresses compete to be named Queen of Lifetime Christmas.
And several on the Food Network. “Santa’s Baking Blizzard,” starting 9 p.m. Nov. 28, has bakers and ice sculptors. Upcoming debuts are “Holiday Wars” and “Holiday Gingerbread Showdown,” 9 and 10 p.m. Dec. 1; and “Kids Baking Championship: North Pole Edition,” at 8 p.m. Dec. 8
MUSIC
Nov. 28: Disney World “Magical Holiday Celebration,” 8-10 p.m., ABC. It has music by Pentatonix, Ally Brooke, Emma Bunton, Matthew Morrison, Lindsay Stirling and more
Dec. 3: “CMA Country Christmas,” 9-11 p.m., ABC. Tricia Yearwood hosts, with people from gospel (CeCe Winans, King & Country), pop (Tori Kelly), Broadway (Kristin Chenoweth) and country – Lady Antebellum, Rascal Flatts, Runaway June, Chris Janson, Brett Young, Chris Young and more.
Dec. 4: “Christmas in Rockefeller Center,” 8-10 p.m., NBC. Along with the tree-lighting, there’s music by Legend, Menzel, Gwen Stefani, Brett Eldredge, Chicago, Ne-Yo, Lea Michele and more.
Dec. 13: “Disney Channel Holiday Party,” 8-8:30 p.m., Disney. Shaggy and Pentatonix perform, plus people from the channel – Meg Donnelly, Isaac Ryan Brown, Ruby Rose Turner and Kylie Cantrall.
Dec. 16: “Christmas With the Tabernacle Choir,” 9-10 p.m., PBS, with Kristen Chenoweth. A 90-minute version will be 7 p.m. Dec. 19 on BYUtv.
Dec. 16: “Holiday With the Houghs,” 10 p.m., NBC, rerunning 9 p.m. Dec. 23. Derek (the dancer) and his sister Julianne (the dancer-turned-singer) host.
Dec. 19: “iHeartRadio Jingle Ball,” 8-9:30 p.m., CW; repeats 8 p.m. Dec. 25.
Dec. 22: “A Home For the Holidays,” 9 p.m., CBS. Menzel hosts and performs in this adoption-oriented hour. Also performing are Adam Lambert, Kelly Rowland and Ne-Yo.
Dec. 23: “Christmas at Belmont,” 9 p.m., PBS; repeats at 8 p.m. Dec. 24. CeCe Winans and Michael W. Smith host, with almost 700 student musicians at Belmont University in Nashville.
MOVIES
(First, some classics; not all have Christmas connections, but people expect them during the holidays)
Nov. 28: “The Wizard of Oz” (1939), 6 and 8:15 p.m., TBS. It’s also on TNT at 8 p.m. Dec. 6; 5:15 p.m., Dec. 7; and 8 p.m. Dec. 17.
Nov. 30: “It’s a Wonderful Life” (1946), 8 p.m., NBC.
Dec. 15: “The Sound of Music” (1965), 7 p.m., ABC.
Dec. 20: “A Christmas Story” (1983), 7 and 9 p.m., TBS. Then comes the annual 24-hour marathon. This year, the film runs every two hours, starting at 8 p.m. Dec. 24 on TBS and 9 p.m. on TNT.
Dec. 24: “A Christmas Story Live,” 8 p.m., NBC. Well, it won’t be live this time, but it was originally. This is NBC’s fun production of the Broadway musical, with Matthew Broderick as the adult Ralphie.
And lots of “A Christmas Carol.” The 1951 version (Alistair Sim as Scrooge) is 8 p.m. ET Dec. 1 on Turner Classic Movies; the 1992 one (Michael Caine and Muppets) is 7:30 a.m. Dec. 2 on Freeform; the 1999 one (Patrick Stewarr) is 8 and 10 p.m. Dec. 5 on TNT. And the 1938 one (Reginald Owen) is noon ET Dec. 8 on TCM, plus midnight ET as Christmas Eve becomes Christmas Day.
(Now some new ones)
Nov. 28: “Merry Happy Whatever,” Netflix. Dennis Quaid plays a dad who is less merry when his daughter (Bridgit Mendler) arrives with her boyfriend. Netflix also has “Holiday Rush” on Nov. 28, “A Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby” on Dec. 5 and “A Family Reunion Christmas” on Dec. 9. Also on streaming, Disney+ recently debuted “Noelle,” with Anna Kendrick and Bill Hader.
Dec. 4: “Ghosting: The Spirit of Christmas,” 9-11 p.m., Freeform. After a great first date, a woman is killed in a car crash. She needs help from the only living soul who sees her. Also, 2:05 p.m. Dec.16.
Dec. 5: “Same Time, Next Christmas,” 9-11 p.m., ABC. Lea Michele stars. Also, 8-10 p.m. Dec. 23 on ABC, often on Freeform.
Dec. 7: “A Christmas Love Story,” 8 p.m., Hallmark. Yes, there are lots of Hallmark films, but this is under the “Hall of Fame” banner, with a bigger budget. Kristen Chenoweth and Scott Wolf star.
Dec. 25: “Call the Midwife Holiday Special,” 9-10:30 p.m., PBS.
Many more movies on…
… Hallmark and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries. Both have Christmas films every night, with a new one on one of the channels – 8 p.m. on Hallmark, 9 p.m. on its sister channel – on Fridays through Sundays, plus some Thursdays.
… Lifetime. On Thanksgiving (Nov. 28), it starts a string of four nights of new movies at 8 p.m. Then it has new ones at 8 p.m. Fridays through Sundays), through Dec. 22.
… Ion, with new movies at 7 p.m. on Dec. 1, 8, 14-15 and 21-22.
… And UPtv. It debuts Christmas movies at 7 p.m. ET Sundays, rerunning them at 11. A Christmas-movie rerun is wedged in at 9 … with lots more reruns throughout the week.
RANDOM SPECIALS
Nov. 29: “Penn and Teller: Merry Fool Us,” 9 p.m,, CW; repeats 8 p.m., Dec.11.
Dec. 10-12: “Ellen’s Greatest Night of Giveaways,” 8 p.m., NBC; repeats 8-11 p.m. Dec. 18. Imagine opening your door and finding Michelle Obama – or Jennifer Aniston or Jason Momoa – bearing gifts. That happens to various deserving souls, including some in the studio audience.
Dec. 16: “Greatest Holiday Commercials,” 9 p.m., CW.
Dec. 18: “Masters of Illusion: Christmas Magic,” 9 p.m. Dec. 18, CW.
HOME AND TREES AND SUCH
Nov. 28: “Outrageous Holiday Houses,” 11 p.m., HGTV. Lance Bass hosts.
Dec. 9: “National Christmas Tree Lighting,” It’s 8 p.m. ET on Reelz, 9 p.m. on Ovation.
Dec. 13: “A Chef’s Life Holiday Special” with Vivian Howard, 10 p.m., PBS.
Dec. 16: “A Very Brady Renovation,” 10 p.m., HGTV; also 1 p.m. Dec. 22, Food Network. The six people who played Brady siblings will catch a holiday in their renovated house. PBS.