Most of us are familiar with the endless “A Christmas Story” loop on TBS, but there are plenty of other holiday-themed marathons to get you through Christmas:
“Oy! to the World: A Mel Brooks Christmas Marathon”
(Dec. 25, 6 a.m., Sundance Channel)
What’s more Christmasy than Mel Brooks? Yeah, Mama didn’t get it either, but spend the day with the funny man, who’ll share insights about making some of his hilarious movies, starting with both the 2005 and 1968 versions of “The Producers” (6 a.m., 9 a.m., respectively), as well as “Young Frankenstein” (3:30 p.m.), which is worth tuning in for just to see the late, great Peter Boyle sing “Puttin’ on the Ritz.”
“Winter-Themed Syfy Original Movies”
(Dec. 25, 9 a.m., Syfy)
If your family can’t bond over heckling a cheesy, low-budget movie, really, what kind of family are you? Get your fill and then some of the icy highlights, including “Ice Spiders” (11 a.m.), “Yeti” (3 p.m.) and a snow globe-induced “Snowmageddon” (9 p.m.).
“FX Family Animation Christmas Movie Marathon”
(Dec. 24, 6 p.m., and Dec. 25, 7 a.m., FX)
Mama would have been on board with this two-day family movie fest, except that two of its biggest attractions, “Madagascar” and “Shrek,” have actual holiday-themed movies that this marathon apparently couldn’t snag. Still, you get “Kung Fu Panda” (Dec. 24, 8 p.m.) and the movie version of the fantastic fantasy book “How to Train Your Dragon” (Dec. 25, 11 a.m.).
“24 Hours of Classic Christmas Specials”
(Dec. 24, 6 a.m. and Dec. 25, 6 a.m., Cartoon Network)
“Classic” is a subjective word in the world of cartoons. Whereas you might envision Snoopy or The Grinch, a network that caters its animated series to college stoners would instead offer up “The Powerpuff Girls: Twas the Fight Before Christmas,” which kicks off this extended marathon that also includes “Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer” (Dec. 24, 11 a.m., also on Telemundo at 4 p.m.), “Teen Titans Go!: ‘Second Christmas’” (Dec. 25, 9:30 a.m.) and “Scooby Doo: Haunted Holidays” (Dec. 25, 10 a.m.).
Oh, baby:
And just in case you’d prefer your holidays to be more scary and dark than merry and bright, do not miss the first season finale of the creeptastic French series “The Returned” (Thursday, Dec. 19, 9 p.m., Sundance Channel). Last week’s episode set up a terrifying showdown between the living and the dead, who got a lot grosser after Simon (Pierre Perrier) ate his own skin.