RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER
Dec. 4, 8 p.m., CBS (
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MR. MAGOO CHRISTMAS CAROL
DEC. 22, 8 p.m., NBC (
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HELP FOR THE HOLIDAYS
Dec. 9, 8 p.m., Hallmark (
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HORTON HEARS A WHO
DEC. 25, 8 p.m., NBC (
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CMA COUNTRY CHRISTMAS
DEC. 20, 9 p.m., ABC (ABC)
IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE
DEC. 24, 8 p.m., NBC (
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FINDING MRS. CLAUS
Dec. 2, 9 p.m., Lifetime
And this is what happens to former Oscar winners. “Mighty Aphrodite” Best Supporting Actress Mira Sorvino is now playing Mrs. Santa. That’s right. In “Finding Mrs. Claus,” Sorvino’s unhappy housewife feels unwanted by her multitasking husband (Will Sasso). She takes a detour from Santa’s Toyland by way of Las Vegas to help a girl fulfill her Christmas wish. But when Santa follows her to Sin City to make amends, he risks ruining Christmas.
RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER
Dec. 4, 8 p.m., CBS
The charming 1972 Rankin-Bass classic needs no introduction. The best parts include any scene with Sam the Snowman (voiced by the show’s narrator, Burl Ives), Rudolph’s first meeting with Clarice and Rudolph’s visit to the Island of Misfit Toys. And how could we forget Herbie the Dentist and Yukon Cornelius? The songs, while not as good as those in the Charlie Brown special, are memorable, and include “Holly Jolly Christmas,” “Silver and Gold” and title tune, written by Johnny Marks.
MR. MAGOO CHRISTMAS CAROL
Dec. 22, 8 p.m., NBC
Jim Backus is the voice of nearsighted Mr. Magoo,who doesn’t have a ghost of a chance as Ebenezer Scrooge, unless he learns the meaning of Christmas from the spirits who haunt him one Christmas Eve.
CHRISTMAS HEART
Dec. 2, 8 p.m., Hallmark
Here’s the gooey premise: A group of neighbors cancel the lighting of luminarias on their street when a teenage boy with a bad ticker is hospitalized. His parents pray for a miracle: a donor. Before you can say Christmas Eve, a heart is found, packed in ice and flown to the boy’s bedside. But a winter storm moves in, making everyone reach for their rosaries. And now the saccharine climax: The people in the neighborhood light the luminarias after all and — are you still with us? — guide the plane through the freaking blizzard. Yikes.
HELP FOR THE HOLIDAYS
Dec. 9, 8 p.m., Hallmark
Once Summer Glau was hot, back when she starred in “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.” Now, she’s so not-hot she’s playing Santa’s elf Christine. Christine is bored to tears. And. Then. Something. Happens. Santa receives a wish from a little boy in LA. It seems that the boy is desperate for a genuine Christmas with his too-busy family, and it’s Christine who gets dispatched to help make it happen. With Dan Gauthier, Izabela Vidovic and Mason Cook.
HORTON HEARS A WHO
Dec. 25, 8 p.m., NBC
Horton the Elephant struggles to protect a microscopic community from his neighbors who refuse to believe it exists in this animated adventure comedy feature film based on the Dr. Seuss’ book. Featuring the voice talents of Jim Carrey and Steve Carell.
CMA COUNTRY CHRISTMAS
Dec. 20, 9 p.m., ABC
Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles hosts this concert special, which features performances by “American Idol” Scotty McCreery, Lady Antebellum, Dierks Bentley, Martina McBride and fish-out-of-water John Legend.
IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE
Dec. 24, 8 p.m., NBC
What other movie would you watch on Christmas Eve? Frank Capra’s 1946 classic, starring James Stewart, Donna Reed and Lionel Barrymore, chronicles the life and times of George Bailey, who learns to appreciate what he has after a prolonged funk — with a little help from an angel named Clarence, who says: “No man is a failure who has friends.”
HOLLY’S HOLIDAY
Dec. 8, 8 p.m., Lifetime
Clare Coffee stars as advertising executive Holly, who can’t quite imagine why she is so drawn to the handsome mannequin in the perfect holiday window display she passes every morning. When she is knocked unconscious by a falling icicle, her once fake window man becomes the man of her dreams, but she soon discovers that though his looks are perfect, his personality is still, well, plastic.
12 DISASTERS OF CHRISTMAS
Dec. 8, 9 p.m., Syfy
The world was supposed to end this year, according to Mayan prophency. Maybe they were just talking about Hurricane Sandy. In the weird original SyFy movie, ‘12 Disasters of Christmas,” mysterious disasters connected to the Mayan prediction as well as the iconic holiday song, “The 12 Days of Christmas,” are systematically destroying a small town.