TNT, 7:00 p.m. ET
Tonight’s Best Bets will be all Christmas, all the time – or, at least, all devoted to Christmas specials and special presentations on this evening’s TV schedules. Start, at 7 p.m. ET on TNT, with the now-annual tradition of a 24-hour nonstop marathon showing of 1983’s A Christmas Story, about little Ralphie’s quest for a Red Ryder B.B. gun. This marathon also runs, beginning at 8 p.m. ET, on sister network TBS, so for a solid day, tonight and tomorrow, you can watch this 1983 film adaptation of Jean Shepherd’s charming holiday memoir of sorts, starring Peter Billingsley as Ralphie and Darren McGavin as “The Old Man Parker.” And don’t forget the lamp. I never do.
CW, 8:00 p.m. ET
Televised in 1962, this was TV’s first animated Christmas special – and it’s still a personal favorite, thanks to a surprising fidelity to the original Charles Dickens story, an even more surprising aptness to Jim Backus’ Mr. Magoo as Ebenezer Scrooge, and some delightful original songs by Jule Style and Bob Merrill. (Two years later, they’d write the music for Broadway’s Funny Girl.) Play your cards right, and change your channels at the right time to the right networks, and tonight you can watch TV’s two best holiday cartoons, back to back. Start here, on the CW, and pass the razzleberry dressing…
NBC, 8:00 p.m. ET
Another TV holiday movie tradition, but this one, these days, is repeated only a few times each season, on various networks in the NBC Universal family. Tonight, on NBC, the 1946 Frank Capra film, starring James Stewart, gets a well-deserved, perfectly placed, prime-time showcase on Christmas Eve.
Fox, 8:00 p.m. ET
Interviews with animators are interspersed with samples from their work, in this overview looking at the 40 most iconic animated stars… as ranked, at least, by the Paley Center. And though it's not strictly a holiday special, it's shown on Christmas Eve... and if it doesn't include mention of the Peanuts and Mr. Magoo Christmas specials, then I say humbug to it.
ABC, 9:00 p.m. ET
After watching 1962’s Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol on the CW, flip to ABC at 9 p.m. ET, to enjoy a repeat showing of 1965’s A Charlie Brown Christmas, the other must-see Christmas holiday animated special. Let Linus explain the meaning of Christmas, and you can pretty much leave it at that.