Making Christmas meaningful, day 1: The Christmas Special

There are few holiday traditions I remember having as a child - my Grandma always made peanut brittle and enough other candies to make any child's eyes grow wide with thoughts of sugar overdose. Her strict rules about how much we could eat, though, kept us in check (she was a good Grandma that way).

The other was watching Christmas Specials on TV, like How the Grinch Stole Christmas and A Charlie Brown Christmas. Mom would put us in PJs, dim the lights and make popcorn. They were the same shows every year, but that made us love them more.

Back then, aside from these two, Rudolph and Frosty were about all we had. It was like child gold - the stars aligning - Grandma letting you have that extra piece of fairy food - when one would come on TV. There was no pause button - no record - no rewind. Everyone sensed the urgency to be quiet and pay attention when the opening credits began to roll. You might miss it if you were not careful. (I could go into the old movies, such as Its a Wonderful Life, etc., but we're sticking with strictly kids' movies here.)

These days, we own enough kids' DVDs to fill an entire case - its easy enough to buy something like The Polar Express and put it on for your kids at the first hint of cold weather. (I am only somewhat sheepishly raising my hand here...they like it. And they sit still. The end.)

But maybe some of these shows are meant to be watched in this once-a-year format. With that "SHHHH! Its starting!!!" type of urgency. In the dark, under covers, in footie PJs. (Or cute PJ bottoms from Old Navy if your kids are older. They'll say they aren't into it, but they are. Trust me.)

So, tonight, 8pm Eastern, take a break from the craziness of holiday shopping and turn on ABC. You'll be delighted with a new holiday favorite, Shrek the Halls, followed by that hallowed classic starring the beloved Grinch. (Hey, his heart grew three sizes, remember?) And if you have cable/satellite, check out the ABC Family schedule of shows - they'll be airing a Christmas/holiday program every night from December 1st - 25th.

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I'm doin' this all month long (until Dec 25th, anyway).

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