The Complete Guide to The Family Programming Month (And My November 1 Post Wasn't That Already)

A couple weeks back I posted some of the biggest telecasts of the Family Programming Month (what they are, mostly). Now, I am posting a complete guide to ALL network television family and big-time programming during the month, an unabridged list of where and when you can catch these telecasts. All times Eastern.

First up, the lineup on...





  • 4:30 PM, Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, November 23): NFL Football: L.A. Chargers at Dallas Cowboys. Thanksgiving Day football game number two. Keep an eye on Dak Prescott. 
  • 8:00 PM, Black Friday (Friday, November 24): Frosty the Snowman. A lovable snowman comes to life but will melt away unless a little girl with a big heart can protect him and his magical hat. 51st straight year on CBS. 
  • 8:30 PM, Black Friday (Friday, November 24): Frosty Returns. A sequel to Frosty the Snowman that pales in comparison and cheapens the original. I advise you not to watch it. 
  • 8:00 PM, Saturday, November 25: Robbie the Reindeer: Hooves of Fire. Whatever that is. 
  • 8:30 PM, Saturday, November 25: Robbie the Reindeer: Legends of the Lost Tribe. I presume this is the sequel to Hooves of Fire. 
  • 9:00 PM, Saturday, November 25: The Story of Santa Claus. A 1994 attempt to compete with the classic Santa Claus is Coming to Town for the prize of most accepted Santa backstory.
  • 8:00 PM, Tuesday, November 28: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. The Rankin-Bass classic returns to network TV for a 53rd straight year. Burl Ives tells the story and you've been living under a rock if you need more information about this one. 
  • 8:00 PM, Saturday, December 9: Encore presentation of Rudolph.
  • 9:00 PM, Saturday, December 9: Encore presentation of Frosty.
  • 9:30 PM, Saturday, December 9: Encore presentation of Frosty Returns.
Next up:


  • 8:00 PM, Wednesday, November 22: A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. Charlie Brown finds himself roped into throwing a Thanksgiving feast for the neighborhood children. Hilarity ensues. Don't miss.
  • 8:00 PM, Black Friday (Friday, November 24): Santa Claus is Coming to Town. A mailman answers children's questions about why Santa Claus does what he does and how he came to be. Stars the voices of Mickey Rooney, Fred Astaire, and Keenan Wynn.
  • 8:00 PM, Monday, November 27: CMA Country Christmas. I presume this is just country singers singing Christmas songs.
  • 8:00 PM, Thursday, November 30: A Charlie Brown Christmas. The Peanuts gang celebrates the season. But something is missing, and only Linus knows what. 
  • 9:00 PM, Thursday, November 30: The Wonderful World of Disney Magical Holiday Celebration. I've never watched this, so I'm assuming it's like a variety show.
  • 8:00 PM, Thursday, December 7: Shrek the Halls. A Christmas special featuring Shrek. I don't like the look of this.
  • 8:30 PM, Thursday, December 7: Toy Story That Time Forgot. Something involving Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and time travel. I've never watched it.
  • 8:00 PM, Sunday, December 10: Frozen. I actually have an easier time with The Sound of Music being telecast at Christmas than I do Frozen, even though the latter's ice/snow themes make it more of a Christmas movie than the former. 
  • 8:30 PM, Thursday, December 14: Prep & Landing. Bizarre names for elves. Yes, Prep and Landing are elves.
  • 8:00 PM, Saturday, December 16: I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown. The other, lesser known Peanuts Christmas special, with all the commercialism the first one dissed.
  • 8:30 PM, Tuesday, December 19: Prep and Landing 2: Naughty vs. Nice. The sequel to Prep and Landing - that's all I know.
After that:


  • 9:00 AM, Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, November 23): The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Celebrities, marching bands from around the country, and other acts gather in New York for a ceremonial parade. The biggest attraction, however, is always the Macy's commercials that air during the parade. (For me, at least.)
  • 8:30 PM, Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, November 23): NFL Football: New York Giants at Washington Redskins. The Thanksgiving night football game. 
  • 8:00 PM, Black Friday (Friday, November 24): How the Grinch Stole Christmas. For the 51st straight year on NBC, Chuck Jones' classic cartoon will delight us and make our hearts grow three sizes. Or thirty, if you read my Christianized version.
  • 8:30 PM, Black Friday (Friday, November 24): The Trolls Christmas Special. A world premiere of a new special based on last year's movie. Justin Timberlake and Anna Kendrick return to the lead roles.
  • 10:00 PM, Monday, November 27: A Very Pentatonix Christmas. Pentatonix sings Christmas songs.
  • 8:00 PM, Wednesday, November 29: Christmas in Rockefeller Center. Live from New York, a Christmas variety show featuring oodles of celebrities.
  • 8:00 PM, Wednesday, December 6: Encore presentation of A Very Pentatonix Christmas.
  • 8:00 PM, Saturday, December 9: It's a Wonderful Life. The classic 1946 movie about a man who sees what life would be like if he were never born. Never watched, but will possibly do so this year.
  • 8:00 PM, Christmas Eve (Sunday, December 24): Encore presentation of It's a Wonderful Life.
So there you have it - every single family telecast in the Family Programming Month. Only problem is...it's impossible to catch them all on television. 

But isn't that why we have Netflix and Amazon Prime?

Let's just hope Netflix doesn't kill TV. 







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