Christmas Television Specials

1. Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol (1962)
2. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)
3. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) watch
4. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966) watch
5. The Cricket on the Hearth (1967)
6. The Little Drummer Boy (1968)
7. Frosty the Snowman (1969)
8. Santa Claus is Comin' to Town (1970) watch
9. 'Twas the Night Before Christmas (1974)
10. The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974) watch
11. The First Christmas (1975)
12. Frosty's Winter Wonderland (1976)
13. Rudolph's Shiny New Year (1976) watch
14. The Little Drummer Boy, Book II (1976)
15. Nestor, The Long-Eared Christmas Donkey (1977) watch
16. The Stingiest Man in Town (or Christmas Carol, 1978)
17. The Pink Panther in a Pink Christmas (1978)
18. Rudolph & Frosty's Christmas in July (1979)
19. Jack Frost (1979)
20. Pinocchio's Christmas (1980)
21. The Leprechaun's Christmas Gold (1981)
22. Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983)
23. The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus (1985)
24. A Garfield Christmas (1987, modified in mid '90's) watch
25. A Claymation Christmas Celebration (1987, with the California Raisins)
TV. The Simpsons-Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire (1989)
26. It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown (1992)
27. Frosty Returns (1992)
28. Olive, the Other Reindeer (1999)
29. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer & the Island of Misfit Toys (2001)
30. Santa Baby! (2001)
31. Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales (2002)
32. I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown (2003)
Comments:
Rankin-Bass Production, and their use of Animagic (a stop motion animation) and animation, have defined the festive holiday spirit with their classic children's specials. They are also known for the Return to Oz (1964), The Last Unicorn (1982), & The Coneheads (1993).
Original Christmas Classics (v1-Red): 1962-70 (7 Specials #1-2, 5-8, 27).
Originally released in 2006 as "Original Television Christmas Classics" it did not include "Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol" or "The Cricket on the Hearth," but Costco bundled it with "The Cricket on the Hearth" for $20. In 2007, the collection was re-released as a "Limited Keepsake Edition" boasting "7 Holiday Favorites" on the cover. The older release included a terribly cheesy music cd for kids, while the new edition had a cd with oldies christmas hits. However, the new version "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" disc included "The Cricket on the Hearth," and bumped off all the extras that were previously available. So, if you have the single disc releases of those two dics, take out the music cd and the new Rudolph disc and replace them with the old discs. The Frosty disc has the same content (but new artwork image on disc), and the "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" disc includes Mr. Magoo. To see the extra's included on the Rudolph & Cricket discs, click the specials as they are listed above. "Frosty Returns" (a CBS 1992 special, would be Frosty's fourth appearance...a little out of order here) & Mr. Magoo are in some ways a welcome bonus to this almost all only Rankin-Bass releases. The original box art reflected a book style with a red colored cover. Once opened, two DVD's are visable, each fold outward to reveal another DVD underneath. The middle disks lock the boxset closed (which is a nice feature). There isn't a book included, and no summaries provided.
Christmas Favorites (v2-Blue): 1966-81 (7 Specials #4, 9-10, 12-13, 15-16, 18 & 20-21)
Originally released in 2007 as "Christmas Favorites" with 7 specials, it originally skipped 3 of Rankin-Bass; "The First Christmas" (1975), "The Little Drummer Boy, Book II" (1976), & "The Stingiest Man in Town/or Christmas Carol" (1978), and did not include "The Leprechaun's Christmas Gold" (1981) or "Pinocchio's Christmas" (1980). Both of those and the "Stringiest Man in Town" were added the following year in the re-release "Classic Christmas Favorites" edition. This version did not deduct any extras. This collection does add "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas 50th Birthday Deluxe Edition" which was released independatly in 2006. It includes what some could say is the 11th Special, "Horton Hears a Who," but I don't consider that a Christmas Special. This collection also includes the "The Year Without a Santa Claus Deluxe Edition" as well. Released like the prior "Original Television Christmas Classics" book-like style with blue cover (see above) it was actually released by Warner Brothers (so it is slightly different). Who doesn't want to see the holiday classics with Pinocchio and Leprechauns? Ok I had no idea they existed either, but in 2006 an ad made it sound like they were specials the family watched annually... See Barnes & Noble.
Christmas Collection (v3-Green): 1975-01 (6 Specials #11, 14, 19, 23, 29-30)
Granted this does not exist (maybe it will in 2009), it makes logical sense given the past two releases that a third volume would wrap up all the leftover Rankin-Bass specials. However, given that there are 6 left and so far there have been a few companies involved in the set creations, this would be a tight package where other holiday specials made by other companies would not be able to fit in. My thought is that with the first collection having a red cover, and second in blue, green seemed like it would be the next color used.
Charlie Brown Specials: 1965-03 (4 Specials 3, 26, & 31-32)
I am not sure that there is a complete one, but it would be cool to have all these Christmas Peanuts specials on one collection of its own.