And there I am, with that dumb round face and that stupid stocking cap.

Here are numbers 3 & 2 on the television special countdown.



3. The Bear Who Slept Through Christmas (1973)
You probably have never heard of this one. I have only actually seen it on television twice, but I own it the VHS (remember that unstoppable format). It stars Tom Smothers as Ted Edward Bear...get it (Ted E. Bear), a sweet little bear who lives in Bearbank....get it? As we all know, bears hibernate during the winter. Ted has always heard of this thing called Christmas. He decides to stay awake this year and find out for himself what it's all about. I am surprised this special has never found a bigger audience. Makes me sad.

You can actually find the whole thing on youtube HERE.



2. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
Simple characters and simple drawings keep this classic so endearing. Charlie's adamant frustration with the commercialization of Christmas has always seamed funny to me because of his young age. The special celebrates everything great about Christmas from the picking out of the tree, to the Christmas pageant, to the most important part of Christmas, the birth of Christ. As mentioned in my top five favorite Christmas albums post, the soundtrack is my favorite Christmas album of all time. This special perfectly captures and celebrates the childlike spirit of Christmas.

Mikey