Christmas 2011 - Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer Part 2

From Wikipedia:

"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a Christmas television special produced in stop motion animation by Rankin/Bass. It first aired Sunday, December 6,1964, on the NBC television network in the USA, and was sponsored by General Electric under the the umbrella title of The General Electric Fantasy Hour."

"The special was based on the Johnny Marks song by the same name; the song taken from the 1939 poem of the same title written by Marks' brother-in-law, Robert L. May. Since 1972, the special has aired on CBS affilliate television stations with the network unveiling a high-definition, digitally remastered version of the program in 2005. As with A Charlie Brown Christmas and How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Rudolph no longer airs just once annually, but several times during the Christmas and holiday season. It has been telecast every year since 1964, making it the longest running Christmas TV special, and one of only four 1960s Christmas specials still being telecast - the others being A Charlie Brown Christmas, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and Frosty the Snowman."

How the Grinch Stole Christmas - Television Special

The television version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966) is one of my all time favorite holiday specials. It was usually shown on CBS-TV every December and for Sam, Pete, and me, it was a big event. I love the Boris Karloff narration. Up until a few years ago I thought Boris Karloff sang You're a Mean On Mr. Grinch, as well. It turns out that the guy who voiced Tony the Tiger for Kellogg's Frosted Flakes sang the song. Again, as with the book, I appreciate the message that Christmas means a lot more than the material things that go with it. The

How the Grinch Stole Christmas - Book

Some families read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas every year during the holidays. We read How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1957). I remember my youngest brother Pete absolutely loving it. He referred to roast beef as roast 'beast' for years. Mom actually still calls it this!

Many years later Pete and I, as adults, visited the Dayton's (now Macy's) department store Grinch holiday display in the eighth floor auditorium of the downtown Dayton's Minneapolis store. The story was just as enchanting as adults as it was when we were kids.

I love the message of the story that although the trimmings and trappings are nice, Christmas means a whole lot more.