Every December, some TV specials are more than just entertainment – they’re holiday traditions. For cord-cutters hunting down the best Christmas spirit on streaming platforms, this guide gathers timeless classics and fresh favorites across services, making it easy to build a festive watchlist. From nostalgic animations to modern holiday pop spectacles, these specials span generations. genres, and tastes. Below you’ll find a curated list of must-watch Christmas specials, why they remain culturally relevant, and where to stream them this season.
A Garfield Christmas Special (1987 – Peacock)
He may hate Mondays, but he loves Christmas. Garfield’s laid-back holiday trip to the Arbuckle family farm remains one of the most heartfelt animated Christmas specials of the 80s. The story follows Garfield, Jon, and Odie as they spend Christmas with Jon’s parents and Grandma, blending dry humor with genuine emotion. While it’s remembered for its sarcasm and cozy sentimentality, the special is surprisingly warm, especially in its portrayal of family traditions and quiet moments of reflection.
Nostalgia carries this one. Fans have kept it alive for decades thanks to its funny one-liners and a tone that sits comfortably between childhood whimsy and adult sentiment. Grandma Arbuckle’s scenes are often singled out for giving the special unexpected emotional depth, helping it stand out among the more commercial holiday fare of its era. The music, especially “You’re Eating My Presents,” adds to its charm.
What keeps this special firmly in the Christmas canon is the way it approaches generosity and connection. Even Garfield, king of cynicism, leans into the holiday spirit thanks to Odie’s homemade gift. It’s a reminder that Christmas joy often comes from small, unexpected gestures rather than big productions. Grab some lasagna and hit up Peacock.
Watch A Garfield Christmas Special on Peacock here.
A Nonsense Christmas with Sabrina Carpenter (2024 – Netflix)
This musical holiday special builds on the success of Sabrina Carpenter’s hit Christmas single, bringing her upbeat, self-aware humor to a fully realized festive showcase. It mixes performance, storytelling, and visual comedy in a way designed to mirror the format of classic holiday variety specials with a distinctly modern pop edge. Fans praised its playful style and Carpenter’s ability to lean into the chaotic, sparkly energy that has defined her recent career.
The special already stands out for its impact on social media. Carpenter’s fanbase embraced it instantly, creating viral clips, memes, and TikTok trends. It landed at the perfect moment when holiday specials were craving a fresh reboot. Viewers noted that it doesn’t try to imitate the classics. Rather, it creates its own lane by doubling down on personality.
At its core, this is a celebration of the messy joy of the holidays. It doesn’t portray Christmas as calm or perfect. It leans into the chaos, embracing late-night wrapping sessions with the emotional roller coasters that define the season for many people. That relatability, wrapped in pop glitter, gives it staying power.
Watch A Nonsense Christmas with Sabrina Carpenter on Netflix here.
My Gift: A Christmas Special from Carrie Underwood (2020 – HBO Max)
Carrie Underwood’s Christmas special blends cinematic staging with intimate live performance, creating an experience focused heavily on vocals and emotional storytelling. With orchestral backing and dramatic visuals, the special stands out for its production quality and Underwood’s ability to elevate traditional carols through powerhouse delivery. It like Santa wrapped up a concert, a holiday album, and a classic special all with one bow.
Audiences responded strongly to its sincerity. The arrangements were praised for staying faithful to the spirit of the season without feeling dated. Underwood’s breakout performance of “Little Drummer Boy” with her son Isaiah quickly became a fan-favorite moment. Critics highlighted the special’s rich sound and reverence for its musical roots, placing it among the more elegant modern Christmas productions.
Its connection to Christmas is straightforward. This is a celebration of holiday music in its purest form. Underwood captures the serene reverent side of Christmas that contrasts with the louder, comedic specials that dominate streaming.
Watch My Gift: A Christmas Special from Carrie Underwood on HBO Max here.
Frosty the Snowman (1969 – Hulu)
This animated classic follows the simple and magical story of a snowman brought to life by a mysterious hat, a group of children, and the unstoppable force of holiday wonder. Frosty’s journey toward the North Pole, guided by Karen and threatened by the bumbling magician Hinkle, has charmed audiences for generations. The animation style, bright and cheerful, is immediately recognizable and remains one of Rankin/Bass’s most iconic works.
While most special’s proclaim, “This ain’t your grandma’s Christmas Special,” this one does. That’s what gives it its charm and unending legacy. Frosty has endured not just because of nostalgia, but because of how immediately kids connect with him. Every generation re-discovers the cartoon, and parents tend to embrace the tradition of watching it together. The days of appointment TV cemented it as a yearly must-watch, and streaming has only expanded its reach. Its beloved soundtrack and signature “Happy Birthday!” line help keep it at the forefront of holiday pop culture.
Few specials capture the innocence of the season as well as Frosty does. At its heart, the story is about friendship, sacrifice, and the brief but beautiful moments that make winter magical. It remains a gentle introduction to holiday storytelling that still resonates more than 50 years later.
Watch Frosty the Snowman on Hulu here.
SpongeBob SquarePants: Sandy’s Country Christmas (2024 – Paramount+)
SpongeBob and Sandy step into a Texas-themed holiday story full of over-the-top comedy, musical beats, and Bikini Bottom charm. The special brings Sandy back to her roots, introducing viewers to her family while SpongeBob tries to help her deliver the perfect Christmas celebration. The mix of southern traditions with SpongeBob’s relentlessly upbeat personality creates a holiday adventure that feels both new and familiar.
Fans embraced this special for its tender heart and whacked-out humor. Sandy’s backstory has always been a part of the show’s appeal, and expanding her world during a holiday adventure gave longtime viewers something fresh. The musical sequences and visual gags played especially well online, where clips quickly spread across social media and helped cement the special as one of the standout animated releases of the season.
You don’t even have to dive too deep to see that this is a classic holiday homecoming story. By exploring how different families celebrate Christmas in their own unique way, the special taps into the universal experience of finding warmth, identity, and comfort during the season.
Watch SpongeBob Sandy’s Country Christmas on Paramount+ here.
The Muppets Christmas Carol (1992 – Disney+)
This adaptation of Dickens’ classic remains one of the most beloved versions ever made, blending heartfelt storytelling with Muppet humor and musical joy. Michael Caine’s serious, grounded performance as Scrooge anchors the chaos around him, creating a surprisingly emotional contrast with Gonzo, Rizzo, Kermit, and Miss Piggy. It’s funny, it’s touching, and it features some of the catchiest Christmas songs of the 90s.
Critics and fans have praised this film for more than 30 years, calling it one of the most accessible and emotionally resonant retellings of the Dickens story. Its restored “When Love Is Gone” scene has sparked discussion and nostalgia among viewers, and its rewatch value is legendary. The Muppets strike a balance between honoring the original novella and making it completely their own.
What makes it a Christmas essential is its unwavering commitment to the themes of generosity, redemption, and love. Even with talking vegetables and musical numbers, the message has never been clearer or more moving.
Watch The Muppets Christmas Carol on Disney+ here.
A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965 – Apple TV)
Charlie Brown’s search for meaning in the middle of commercialized holiday chaos remains one of the most enduring holiday specials ever created. The animation is minimalist, the pacing gentle, and the humor understated in a way that still feels refreshing today. Linus’s speech and the simple Christmas pageant storyline continue to resonate with families who grew up with the Peanuts gang.
It’s between this and the Great Pumpkin for Peanuts supremacy and many will choose this special as the King. Generations of fans consider this to be more than the definitive Peanuts special. It’s the definitive Christmas special. It inspired school plays, merchandise, and countless parodies, and its jazz score by Vince Guaraldi is now inseparable from the sound of the season. Despite being 60 years old, it remains appointment viewing for many families, so much so that debates over broadcast rights became major public events in recent years.
Its timeless message is why it endures. The small tree, the quiet moments, and the focus on sincerity over spectacle make it an antidote to holiday noise. In a season often overwhelmed by excess, Charlie Brown gently reminds viewers what the celebration is supposed to feel like.
Watch A Charlie Brown Christmas on Apple TV here.
Dunk the Halls (2025 – December 25 at noon ET on ESPN+, Disney+, ABC, ESPN2 & more)
Dunk the Halls transforms a live NBA game into a motion-tracked, animated holiday event set on Main Street, U.S.A., blending sports with Disney magic. The broadcast recreates the Knicks vs. Cavaliers matchup through real-time data and animation, placing Mickey, Minnie, Stitch, and other Disney icons courtside. It’s part sports telecast, part holiday story, and part theme-park parade, wrapped in cutting-edge technology.
The special gained attention for its imaginative presentation and its appeal to both families and NBA fans. The debut last year became a social-media highlight, with viewers praising its creativity, humor, and the novelty of watching real gameplay unfold in a Christmas-themed digital world. Stitch’s larger role this year, especially his parade appearance, has already generated major anticipation online.
It’s an entirely new kind of Christmas entertainment and one that doesn’t just nod to the holiday spirit. but builds a full seasonal world around a live sporting event. Festive visuals, Disney characters, snowfall effects, and parade elements all combine to create something that feels genuinely unique in the holiday lineup.
Watch Dunk the Halls on ESPN+ here.
Watch Dunk the Halls on Disney+ here.