Since NBC first broadcast the made-for-TV, Magi-inspired opera Amahl and the Night Visitors back in 1951, television has produced hundreds of holiday specials. But the list of specials that remain as crucial of a holiday tradition as eggnog and mistletoe is much shorter: A Charlie Brown Christmas, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and just a handful of others.
It's downright Grinchlike that some other fun, or at least endearingly odd, specials have been overshadowed by this small canon of classics. Sometimes it's a matter of copyright issues, sometimes they're victims of changing tastes, and sometimes they're simply not that great but a blast to enjoy as time capsules of bygone eras. So if you want to move beyond the obvious entertainment regiftings this year, GQ thinks you'll enjoy the following alternate choices. (They've listed where they can be streamed on the link below; most have no official home but can be found by poking around YouTube.)
