Every Christmas, the television fills up with a variety of holiday specials that help us get excited for the yuletide season. As a small child, I remember becoming giddy with Christmas anticipation when these television treats would air, with their promises of Santa Clause, presents, and stockings. Nowadays, all you have to do is turn on Freeform’s 25 Days of Christmas marathon and capture some of the most beloved of these made-for-TV specials (sometimes in frequent repetition). Much more readily accessible than Disney films in the 70s and 80s, (and available to anyone who owned a televisions set) many of them are musicals and began the early indoctrination of a young “me” into the world of musical theatre by providing stories with scores that were fully integrated with the plot, advancing the storyline and deepening our understanding of the characters. What is more, they often featured the talents of Broadway performers voicing and singing for many of the characters.

Today’s blog entry is a look back at some of the best examples of these holiday classics and the wonderful music that inhabited these Christmas specials.