1) “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” (shown here), 8 p.m. Wednesday, NBC. Consider this a great way to wrap up Christmas Day – one more chance to see a TV gem. It started with Dr. Seuss’ book, which ripples with both humor and (in its final minutes) warmth. Chuck Jones – the genius behind Road Runner and some of the best Bugs Bunny cartoons – added great animation, Boris Karloff narrated and Thurl Ravenscroft boomed the song. It’s a tidy 30 minutes – followed by two-and-a-half hours of Jim Carrey’s “Grinch.”
2) “A Christmas Story” (1982), 8 p.m. Tuesday, TBS; 9 p.m., TNT. And this is a good way to wrap up Christmas Eve. Sometimes cynical and often funny, it’s a kid’s view of a 1940s holiday. Each year, Turner stations rerun it every two hours, for 24 hours; this year, the times are staggered, so the movie starts at the top of each hour. You can also catch a musical version of the same story, at 8 p.m. on Fox. Adapted from a Broadway show, it has Matthew Broderick, Maya Rudolph and Chris Diamontopoulos.
3) “Dare Me” debut, 10 p.m. Sunday, USA. No, this week isn’t Christmas-only. We even get the debut of a drama, based on an intense Megan Abbot novel. Addy and Beth have been friends approximately forever. But both are also cheerleaders, determined to dominate. Now a new coach (Willa Fitzgerald, from the “Scream” series and “Little Women” mini-series) is sleek, confident and demanding. We soon have envy, lust, teen drama and a murder mystery, against the backdrop of a small Midwestern town.
4) Bowl games, all week. And more non-Christmas TV: ESPN has one bowl today (2:30 p.m. ET), one Tuesday, two Thursday and four Friday. Then comes the Saturday rush: At noon ET, the Camping World Bowl (Notre Dame-Iowa State) is on ABC and the Cotton Bowl (Memphis-Penn State) is on ESPN … which then has the championship semi-finals: It’s top-ranked LSU and fourth-ranked Oklahoma in the Peach Bowl, at 4 p.m., Ohio State and Clemson (2 and 3) in the Fiesta Bowl at 8.
5) “Same Time, Next Christmas,” 8-10 p.m. today, ABC. “White Christmases are for suckers,” Olivia (Lea Michele) tells us. Ever since she was a kid, her family has gone to Hawaii for the holidays. She savors memories of the sun, the sand … and her first kiss, as a teen, with Jeff. Now she’s back; so is Jeff (Charles Michael Davis of “The Originals”). They’re grown-ups with complicated lives. Making its broadcast debut after airing on Freeform, this has a predictable story, but truly gorgeous visuals.
6) “Christmas at Belmont,” 9 p.m. today, PBS. Here is epic music, with 800 singers and musicians from Belmont University, plus guest stars. Michael W. Smith sings his “The Promise,” CeCe Winans does “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” and they link with the Nashville Children’s Choir for his “Christmas Day.” That’s in a busy stretch for PBS stations: Many will rerun this at 8 p.m. Tuesday, followed by the splendid Tabernacle Choir concert with Kristen Chenowth, plus other concerts.
7) “It’s a Wonderful Life” (1946), 8-11 p.m. Tuesday, ABC. It’s the second time this season for the feel-good film. There’s more to soothe us on Christmas Eve: For kids, “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town” is 8 p.m. on ABC and 9:55 p.m. on Freeform … where it’s preceded by “Frosty” at 8:20 and “Rudolph” at 8:50. Music? In addition to the PBS shows, there’s a “CMA Country Christmas” rerun, at 9 p.m. on ABC. Christmas services are 11:30 p.m. on NBC (St. Peter Basilica), 11:35 on CBS (Duke University).
8) “Disney Christmas Day Parade,” 10 a.m. to noon ET Wednesday, 9-11 a.m. in other time zones, ABC. Christmas Day starts with music from Sting, Shaggy, Pentatonix, Portugal, Ingrid Michaelson, Grace VanderWaal and Ally Brooke. There’s more pop, when CW reruns the “iHeartRadio Jingle Ball” at 8 p.m. Also, Freeform has “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town,” “Frosty” and “Rudolph” at 3:10, 3:40 and 4:45, plus “Santa Clause” (11 a.m. and 1:05 p.m.) and “Home Alone” (5:50, 8:20 p.m.) movies.
9) “Call the Midwife Holiday Special,” 9-10:30 p.m. Wednesday, PBS. We’re into the 1960s, when London life seems more hip. But now the nurses and a doctor head to a Scottish island, where things feel primitive and some holiday traditions are frowned on. That provides a fairly warm, feel-good story, on a night with two key 8 p.m. films: Hallmark debuts “When Calls the Heart: Home for Christmas”; Fox reruns “The Moodys,” a witty, three-hour comedy-drama that concludes from 9-10 p.m. Thursday.
10) “Flirty Dancing” debut, 8 p.m. Sunday, Fox. This goes way beyond computer dating: Two singles separately learn their halves of a dance; then they’re brought together to perform it without talking. Romance may or may not ensue. It’s an odd notion that’s already had one season in England; now it reaches the U.S. as a short-run series, hosted by Jenna Dewan. After Sunday’s debut, it will borrow the Wednesday slot belonging to “The Masked Singer” … which will return with a post-Super Bowl show.