This is that wonderful time of the year when we can pull out all of our favorite holiday reliables to watch for the billionth time with nostalgia and Christmas-y good cheer overflowing our hearts.
And then there are those Christmas specials that we try to avoid at all costs.
Personally, I never really got these specials, but somehow even the worst Christmas specials hold a special place in my heart.
7. Nestor the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey
I’ve always enjoyed the Rankin-Bass Christmas specials. In fact, I give this particular one credit for trying to include a (kind of) Nativity story. However, there is almost nothing original in this. A donkey is born differently than all the other donkeys and no one will play with him because of his long-ears (wasn’t there another four-legged creature who was left out of all of the reindeer games?) And of course, there is the traumatizing death of Nestor’s mother who was trying to save him (Bambi–is that you?) Throw in a half-naked cherub and you have a flinch-worthy Christmas special.
6. Peter Pan and the Pirates: Hook’s Christmas
While this certainly isn’t the worst movie on the list (in fact, this story followed the formulaic plot of A Christmas Carol, which can apparently be applied to almost any character with a fondness for gold and be called a night) but there is something that is just so cheesy, that you can’t help but to include this special.
5. A Claymation Christmas Celebration
After watching the slightly creepy claymation for 25 minutes, I still am wondering why on Earth are we being told various Christmas stories by two dinosaurs? When did that happen?
4. Frosty Returns
Just what we need–more time with the bumbling (and rather annoying) snowman. Throw in the weak and rather pathetic villain, and you’re just praying for Frosty to melt as soon as possible to move on with your lives.
3. Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer
Sadly, you can’t find the entire movie online, but let’s face it, you listen to the song maybe once a year, give a weak chuckle then move on with your life. We do not make a whole movie about this song. It was just not necessary at all.
2. Christmas Comes to Pac-Land
I know that the whole point of Pac-Man is to munch up the ghosts, yet something about watching little floating ghosts and circles talking about eating each other for 22 minutes leaves you with a slightly queasy and vaguely cannabalistic feeling.
1. He-Man & She-Ra: A Christmas Special
If you’re never heard of He Man or She Ra before, then you might think that He-Man & She-Ra: A Christmas Special might be some kind of joke. It’s not. Instead, we get the best part of an hour with our mouths hanging slightly open, with a weird mixture of joy that such a erm… unusual Christmas movie exists, and horror that someone could have actually created this movie seriously and not as a joke. Some call it a cult classic, other…not so much.
