The Grinch, Frosty, Rudolph, Little Drummer Boy, Mickey Mouse, SpongeBob SquarePants and the Rugrats fill the airwaves with holiday shows this weekend - if you're not too busy with holiday shopping, decorating or parties to turn on the TV.
You'll find some of your favorite movies, too: A Christmas Story, Jim Carrey's Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas, Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas, four Toy Story films and three Tim Allen variations of The Santa Clause.
For something new, check out public TV's peek inside a Santa School, CW's remake of The Waltons, CBS' A Christmas Proposal movie and Comedy Central's Hot Mess Holiday. And you'll find new holiday movies on the Hallmark and Lifetime channels practically around the clock.
And Cincinnati Public Radio presents the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company's production of Twelfth Night Sunday on WVXU-FM (91.7) and Hygge Holiday Sunday on WGUC-FM (90.9).
To find your holiday favorites airing through Christmas day, check out my 18-page downloadable Holiday Program Guide.
Merry Christmas!
Here are this weekend's highlights.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10
SpongeBob SquarePants (7 p.m., Nickelodeon): SpongeBob and pals go to the North Pole to give Santa a present.
Mickey and Minnie Wish Upon a Christmas (7:05 p.m., Disney Junior): A jolly stranger helps Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Pluto get home for Christmas.
Rugrats (7:30 p.m., Nickelodeon): The Pickles kids learn about holiday traditions when Tommy’s first Chanukah falls on Christmas Eve.
Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas (9:20 p.m., Freeform): The Grinch (Jim Carrey) tries to ruin Christmas.
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 11
Little Drummer Boy (9:05 a.m., Freeform): Greer Garson narrates 1968 cartoon about a child going to Bethlehem.
The Star (9:35 a.m., Freeform): A donkey, a sheep and three donkeys follow a star to a stable for the first Christmas in this 2017 animated show.
Mickey's Twice Upon A Christmas 1:10 p.m., Freeform): Disney Christmas cartoons.
Santa School (3 p.m., WPTO-TV, Channel 14): A peek inside a Santa workshop, where men are taught how to dress, talk and walk like Santa Claus.
Toy Story (3:10 p.m., Freeform): Woody (Tom Hanks) and Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) save the day, to infinity and beyond!
Toy Story 2 (5:10 p.m., Freeform): Woody is stolen by a toy collector.
Hot Mess Holiday (7 p.m., Comedy Central): Two South Asian-Americans best friends (Surina Jindal, Melanie Chandra) celebrate the Diwali holidays in Chicago with Kal Penn, Tituss Burgess, Chris Parnell and Lilly Singh.
Toy Story 3 (7:15 p.m., Freeform): The toys are given to a day care center.
Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas (8 p.m., TBS): Boris Karloff narrates the 1966 classic cartoon.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (8 p.m., CBS): Burl Ives narrates this 1964 beloved – but some say politically incorrect – animated classic featuring such songs as "We Are Santa's Elves," "We're A Couple Of Misfits," "Silver and Gold" and the title song.
The Waltons' Homecoming (8 p.m., CW): Richard Thomas, who played John Boy in the 1970’s CBS drama, narrates this revival set in 1933, during the Great Depression, about Olivia (Bellamy Young) sending John Boy (Logan Shroyer) into a Christmas Eve storm to find his father (Ben Lawson).
Scrooged (8 p.m., AMC) Bill Murray gives Scrooge the Dickens.
Mickey and Minnie Wish Upon a Christmas (8 p.m., Disney Junior): A jolly stranger helps Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Pluto get home for Christmas.
Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas (8:30 p.m., TBS): Instant replay of the 1966 classic cartoon narrated by Boris Karloff.
Frosty the Snowman (9 p.m., CBS): Jimmy Durante narrates the 1969 musical cartoon about the magical snowman whose top hat makes him comes to life.
A Christmas Story (9 p.m., TBS): Ralphie (Peter Billingsley) wants a BB gun for Christmas.
Hot Mess Holiday (9 p.m., Comedy Central): Two South Asian-Americans best friends (Surina Jindal, Melanie Chandra) celebrate the Diwali holidays in Chicago with Kal Penn, Tituss Burgess, Chris Parnell and Lilly Singh.
Frosty Returns (9:30 p.m., CBS): Jonathan Winters narrates this story of how a new snow removal spray threatens Frosty.
Toy Story 4 (9:45 p.m., Freeform): Woody reunites with Bo Peep on a road trip.
Santa School (10 p.m., WPTO-TV, Channel 14): A peek inside a Santa workshop, where men are taught how to dress, talk and walk like Santa Claus.
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 12
The Star (7 a.m., Freeform): A donkey, a sheep and three donkeys follow a star to a stable for the first Christmas in this 2017 animated show.
Nashville Music: Home for the Holidays (2 p.m., WXIX-TV, Channel 19): Country music stars share their family traditions.
Southern Celtic Christmas Concert (2 p.m., WPTD-TV Channel 16): Celtic and Appalachian Christmas music from Atlanta's Emory University by Moya Brennan, Alison Brown, Bill Whelan, Rising Appalachia, Joe Craven, the Buddy O'Reilly Band and the Rosin Sisters.
Disney’s A Christmas Carol (3:10 p.m., Freeform): Animated film with voices of Jim Carrey, Colin Firth, Cary Elwes, Bob Hoskins and Gary Oldman.
Santa School (4 p.m., WPTO-TV Channel 14): NEW. A peek inside a Santa workshop, where men are taught how to dress, talk and walk like Santa Claus.
The Santa Clause (5:15 p.m., Freeform): A divorced dad (Tim Allen) becomes Santa.
Twelfth Night (7 p.m., WVXU-FM 91.7): Cincinnati Shakespeare Company's second season finale is a romantic comedy about twins Viola and Sebastian separated in a shipwreck.
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (7 p.m., AMC): A Griswold family Christmas.
Mickey and Minnie Wish Upon a Christmas 7:15 p.m., Disney Junior): A jolly stranger helps Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Pluto get home for Christmas.
The Santa Clause 2 (7:25 p.m., Freeform): Santa (Tim Allen) needs a bride.
Hygge Holiday (8 p.m., WGUC-FM 90.9): Elena See plays a mix of wintry and nostalgic classical pieces.
Monk (8 p.m., WLWT-TV Channel 5.2 MeTV): Monk meets his father after 38 years at Christmas.
A Christmas Proposal (8:30 p.m., CBS): A down-on-her-luck chef (Jessica Camacho) poses as the girlfriend of a Seattle attorney (Adam Rodriguez) to impress his family during a Christmas visit home.
Greatest Holiday Commercials Countdown 2021 (9 p.m., CW): Kevin Frazier and Nischelle Turner from Entertainment Tonight showcase what they call the 12 best holiday commercials ever made.
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (9:15 p.m., AMC): A Griswold family Christmas.
The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (9:55 p.m., Freeform): Jack Frost (Martin Short) tries to prevent Christmas.
Home Alone 5: Holiday Heist (midnight, Freeform): Finn (Christian Martyn) fights off holiday thieves in the family's new home.
Christmas Across America (12:30 a.m., WXIX-TV, Channel 19): A look at small town Christmas traditions.
