John Candy as Divine, singing "Santa Bring My Baby Back to Me"

It's not Peter Pan, but it'll do.

A 1955 instructional video on Making Christmas Tree Ornaments

It may be a bit late for this year, but this 17-minute educational short should be really handy next year when prepping for the holiday, even though it features some of the most mirthless narration in any Christmas short.

A young boy gets a Santa surprise Tim Sullivan's 1985 short film A CHRISTMAS TREAT

Sullivan, later the director of 2001 MANIACS and co-director of CHILLERAMA, cut his teeth with this short film about a young boy who dreams of Santa's impending arrival -- only to find the real deal is something much less holiday-friendly.

Afternoon Music Video: Los Del Rio - "Macarena Christmas" (1996)

Because the holiday season should be, in part, a reminder of tragedy and how best to confront it.


Los Del Rio - Macarena (Christmas Remix) [HD] by musicmeadows

The Computer Chronicles help you choose the Christmas gifts for the hacker in your life, circa 1983

Christmas cards on floppy discs!  $400 word processors!  Programs that can make graphs!  It's an amazing array of goodness to choose from for the "hacker" in your life.

Morning Music: Nana Mouskouri - "Minuit Chrétiens"

It's not a crazy, wild video or song or anything, but it's Christmas Eve, so here's something that's just nice.  You may know the song better as "O Holy Night," but Mouskouri's take on the Christmas classic sounds better in her native Greek.

Evening Entertainment: The 1975 animated TV special "The Tiny Tree"

Featuring the vocal talents of Buddy Ebson and music by Roberta Flack, the DePate-Freleng production about a group of forest animals that attempt to make a holiday great for a little girl is strangely obscure, having never been released to VHS or DVD, but it's a charming little special.  Maybe it's because there aren't any recognizable characters?  In any case, here it is, and it's got songs that will stick in your head for days -- not surprisingly, as they're written by Johnny Marks, who wrote the music for "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer."

Trailer: KRAMPUS (1958) will take care of the naughty children

Sadly, this "lost" Christmas horror film doesn't actually exist, but dang, it'd be a lot cooler if it did.  The faux traler is from Midnight Crew Studios, makers of the impressive WNUF HALLOWEEN SPECIAL.

The Texas Department of Public Safety wishes you a merry Christmas by reminding you of traffic fatalities

"Keep this in mind over your holidays.  Don't let the names of your loved ones show up on our teletype network."  Fair enough.

1962's THE BIG DOWNTOWN CHRISTMAS presents a child exploring downtown Chicago in the holiday season

Okay, so the narration by our lead young man (Burton Moore, though the boy is played in the film by Eric Bettelheim) is a bit grating, but Charles D. Sharp's short shows off the Chicago Loop in the early '60s to great effect, serving as a Chicago Christmas equivalent to 1953's LITTLE FUGITIVE.

Pussy Willow plays "We Three Queens" on Theremin, keyboard and recorder

Christmas just ain't Christmas without an oddly-dressed drag queen playing a Christmas favorite in triplicate.

Morning Cartoon: Evelyn Lambert's "The Story of Christmas" (1973) is a beautifully-rendered version of the holiday's origins

Lambert worked primarily in cut-out animation, and this wordless short is amazing to watch, regardless of any religious meaning. 

Morning Music Video: Joe King Carrasco & The Crowns - "It's a Party Christmas"

A music video from new wave Tex-Mex singer/guitarist Joe King Carrasco is like opening your gifts early.

Evening Entertainment: Holiday BumperJam 2014

Rob Dean and Kyle Johnson's hour-long mixtape of Christmas specials and holiday-themed content that serves as a "greatest hits" package of noelly goodness.  I've tried not to replicate anything they used on this site, but it's tough when it comes from all this stuff - and, what, I'm NOT going to include Jan Terri?  No, Jan Terri shall be everywhere at all times, as the gods intended.


Holiday BumperJam 2014 from Neurotic Monkey on Vimeo.

1975's THE SANTA TAPES takes a behind the scenes look at a department store Santa

Scott Jacobs' timepiece is a great, if downbeat, documentary/interview on Art Baldwin, an Chicago Marshall Fields' Santa in which he talks about his career, the kids he deals with and lack of decent pension, all with barely a hint of holiday cheer.

Joe DiMaggio pitches Mr. Coffee for Christmas

It's America's number one coffee maker, after all.

Shirley Bassey performs "Diamonds are Forvever" on the "Morecambe & Wise Christmas Special" in 1971

The "Goldfinger" singer was in fine form on this 1971 BBC Christmas special, performing "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" and "Diamonds are Forever," the former on a revolving set powered by the hosts. 

Take a look at all the great upcoming holiday films... of 1984

Forget THE INTERVIEW!  The 1984 holiday movie releases are where it's at, and well, outside of BEVERLY HILLS COP, it's kind of a roster more notorious in financial failure.  All eyes are on DUNE, but will 2010, SUPERGIRL, CITY HEAT, MASS APPEAL or THE COTTON CLUB bring the box-office gold?  (No.)  It also features a helpful explanation as to what trailers are.

Christmas Crunch cereal will get you in the holiday spirit

When you wake up Thursday morning and check out your goodies from Santa, be sure to start your day off with a bunch of terribly cereal that will destroy your gums.

Morning Cartoon: "The Little Match Girl," from 1968's THE WORLD OF HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSON

A young Hans tells the tale of the Little Match Girl (to a particularly whiny child) in this little-seen animated film from Toei, re-dubbed for American audiences by Hal Roach in 1971.