5 Forgotten Christmas Specials Worth Revisiting This Holiday Season

While every streaming platform offers vast libraries of Christmas content each holiday season, one seasonal tradition is missing: the Christmas special. Though they still exist on streamers, we mean old-fashioned Christmas specials that aired on broadcast television and delighted audiences. From classic variety shows to beloved animated shorts, these programs made the Christmas season special.

Thankfully, not all of these specials have been lost to time. We all have access to a little website called YouTube, which contains a massive archive of forgotten TV content. We've trawled YouTube for the best Christmas specials to watch this holiday season. You may have seen some of these and forgotten about them, while others may be new discoveries. Either way, these old-school Christmas specials ought to bring a little holiday magic to your festivities.

Though Raymond Briggs' "The Snowman" has become a holiday favorite in the United Kingdom, it's less well-known stateside (despite a flashy introduction meant to entice American audiences). Based on Briggs' 1978 picture book, "The Snowman" is a wordless, animated TV special that follows a boy and a snowman that has come to life. Beautifully drawn and featuring an evocative, orchestral score, the special is both heartwarming and melancholic. Its most famous sequence depicts the boy and the snowman flying together over snowy landscapes, while it ends with the snowman's inevitable demise.

"The Snowman" first broadcast on the UK's Channel 4 in 1982, the first year of that network's existence, and has aired every year since. When the special's producers wanted to sell the film to U.S. distributors, they brought David Bowie on board to record an intro (Briggs did the original introduction). The special was nominated for Best Short Film, Animated, in 1983, though it lost to Zbigniew Rybczyński's "Tango." You can now watch "The Snowman" on YouTube, with either David Bowie's intro or the original Burr introduction.

"The Muppet Christmas Carol" is often considered the definitive Muppet Christmas movie, but "A Muppet Family Christmas," the 1987 Christmas special that remains underseen because of copyright issues, is just as worth watching every year. The TV special is one of the only productions to feature characters from four Muppet universes: the titular Muppets, "The Muppet Babies," "Fraggle Rock," and, of course, "Sesame Street."

The plot in "A Muppet Family Christmas" is almost nonexistent, but that's totally fine—the joy of the film is watching these characters interact. Fozzie Bear takes his friends to stay at his mom's farmhouse, not knowing Doc from "Fraggle Rock" is already there. The cast of "Sesame Street" also shows up — no explanation needed — and hilarity ensues. The Swedish Chef tries to cook Big Bird. Miss Piggy gets lost in a snowstorm. Fozzie befriends a snowman.

"A Muppet Family Christmas" was the final full-length Muppet work produced before Jim Henson's death, and, fittingly, he appears at the end of the film, doing dishes and marveling at how much fun everyone seems to be having. You can watch a remastered version on YouTube.

The late, great Dolly Parton loved Christmas, appearing in over 20 Christmas specials and films during her storied career. In 1987, Parton broke TV records with her ABC variety show, though ABC canceled it after only one season. The year before, the superstar starred in "A Smoky Mountain Christmas," an ABC Christmas special that's worth revisiting today.

Parton stars alongside TV icon Lee Majors, and "Happy Days" breakout Henry Winkler directed it. Parton plays a disillusioned country star who heads to the Smoky Mountains to escape Hollywood's hustle and bustle. While staying at a friend's cabin, she meets a group of seven orphans, draws the ire of a local witch, and is rescued by a mountain man (Majors).

Speaking at Rhode Island Comic Con after Parton's death, director Henry Winkler revealed that Parton was "everything you can imagine she was and more" (via People). "The most amazing star, she just was a powerful being on this earth," Winkler went on. You can watch "A Smoky Mountain Christmas" on YouTube. (There is also a higher-definition version, though it's missing the first five minutes.)

One of the most beloved singers and actresses in film history, Julie Andrews is the perfect host for a timeless Christmas special. Sadly, her special isn't often seen today, but you can find it on YouTube. "Julie Andrews...The Sound of Christmas" first aired on ABC in 1987, and it's just about as delightful as you would imagine. Filmed in Salzburg, the special begins with Andrews singing atop a snowy mountain, a clear allusion to her star-making role in "The Sound of Music."

Andrews appears alongside opera singer Plácido Domingo and country singer John Denver. Denver has some hilarious turns in the film, including a musical skit where he plays Mozart (with Andrews delivering a mesmerizing rendition of "Deck the Halls") and a performance of his song "Dancing with the Mountains," with skiers flying behind him. Andrews is her typically warm, elegant self, delivering pitch-perfect vocals and charming comedic moments, including a scene where a group of singing Austrian men serve her a little too much beer. The special won 5 Emmys and deserves a place on your yearly Christmas rotation.

Judy Garland's television career remains underappreciated, including her single-season variety series, "The Judy Garland Show." In December 1963, CBS aired the show's Christmas special, a significant episode for several reasons: it featured all three of Garland's children and aired exactly one month after the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

The Christmas special purports to invite audiences into Garland's home, though it's clearly a set. This mix of artifice and realism defines the special, which aims to depict Garland at home with her family and a series of unexpected visitors, but the naturalistic approach sometimes feels awkward. Still, it's a pleasure to watch Garland interact with her kids, including 17-year-old Liza Minnelli, who performs her own song-and-dance number.

Whether Garland struggled mightily with addiction or clashed with collaborators during production is not for us to say, though an obvious line flub during a rendition of "The Christmas Song" hints at potential tension between her and songwriter Mel Tormé.