These Classic Christmas Specials Dominated TV Ratings This Weekend, Here’s When You Can Watch Them Again

Thanksgiving kicked off the holiday season and we don’t just mean in terms of family, food, and celebration. It also marked the kickoff of holiday entertainment, with Christmas movies and specials back to bring even more cheer. And when it comes to those holiday specials, there were a few Christmas classics that dominated the weekend ratings – and you still have a chance to watch them again before the holiday season ends.

According to TVLine, NBC’s broadcast of the animated Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! tied with SmackDown for the nightly demographic win on Friday night as well as matched Blue Bloods for the largest audience, bringing in 3.2 million total viewers and a 0.5 demo rating. Meanwhile on CBS, Frosty the Snowman drew 2.4 million viewers with Frosty Returns bringing in 2 million. ABC’s broadcast of Santa Clause is Comin’ to Town also performed well, with 2 million viewers.

Those are pretty sizable audiences for those beloved holiday classics, but if you missed seeing them during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, you’ll get a chance to see them and some other beloved holiday programs again before the season is over. We’ve rounded up schedule information for several beloved holiday classics with complete information on how to tune in so you can plan your schedules accordingly. Read on for more!

A Charlie Brown Christmas

The Peanuts gang will be back to celebrate the holiday season on PBS on December 19th, check your local listing for exact times. This is the only widespread broadcast of the special this year. The Peanuts catalog is now owned by Apple TV+ so to see it any other time, you’ll need to have an Apple TV+ subscription.

Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Starring Jim Carrey, Jeffrey Tambor, and Christine Baranski and narrated by Anthony Hopkins, the 2000 live-action film adaptation of the classic will air on Thursday, December 2nd at 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC. The movie airs again on Tuesday, December 7th at 8:20 p.m. on Freeform.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

The beloved 1964 classic about everyone’s favorite shiny-nosed reindeer airs on Saturday, December 4th at 7:45 p.m. ET on Freeform.

Home Alone

Is it really the holidays at this point if we don’t watch Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) get left behind when his family goes to Paris for the holidays? Home Alone airs Saturday, December 4th at 8:50 p.m. ET on Freeform and airs again on Sunday, December 5th at 6:40 p.m. ET with Home Alone 2 following at 9:10 p.m.

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

Spend the holiday season with the Griswolds. This holiday classic airs Wednesday, December 1st at 10 p.m. ET, Thursday, December 2nd at 8 p.m. ET, Saturday, December 4th at both 7 and 9:15 p.m., and Wednesday, December 8th at both 8 and 10:15 p.m. all on AMC.

It’s A Wonderful Life

Perhaps the most classic of the classic Christmas films, this beloved 1946 Frank Capra film starring James Stewart, Donna Reed, and Lionel Barrymore airs on Saturday, December 4th at 8 p.m. on NBC.

Die Hard

And for those of you who want to get in the holiday spirit, but just aren’t feeling Rudolph or any of the more traditional fare, don’t worry. We’ve got you covered as well. Die Hard is a Christmas movie and you can yippee ki-yay into the spirit of things on Tuesday, November 30th at 8 p.m. ET on Paramount.

What is your favorite Christmas movie or program? Let us know in the comment section!