25 Days of Christmas

The 25 Days of Christmas (fully known as The Family Channel's 25 Days of Christmas in 1996 and 1997, Fox Family's 25 Days of Christmas from 1998 to 2000, and ABC Family's 25 Days of Christmas from 2001 to 2015) is an annual programming block that has aired on the cable channel and its predecessors since 1996. As the title implies, it is shown every year from December 1st to December 25th, and features classic holiday programming, as well as new Christmas-themed television movies, and occasionally new Christmas-themed episodes of the networks' original series. Since 2006, the block has also aired general-interest family movies such as the ' films, ', and various and  films. A companion block titled Kickoff to Christmas (formerly Countdown to 25 Days of Christmas) has also aired on Freeform every November since 2007.

For 2017 and 2018, the block also aired on sister channels ABC, the, , and in 2017 and 2018.

Original movies
Almost every year since the block started in 1996, at least one new TV film is produced for the channel. Three films were created for the channel in 2007, due to the popularity generated from the previous year. No new original Christmas movies were made for the block in 2002, 2014, or 2015.

Although the branding was expanded to four other channels in 2017 and 2018, no new Christmas movies premiered on ABC, the Disney Channel, Disney XD, or Disney Junior in those years. As such, all the movies listed in the table below premiered on Freeform and its predecessors.

Original specials and TV episodes

 * Family Channel / Fox Family / ABC Family / Freeform
 * 1996: Home and Family Christmas Special
 * 2001: Donner
 * 2008: A Miser Brothers' Christmas
 * 2009:
 * Gotta Catch Santa Claus
 * Holly and Hal Moose: Our Uplifting Christmas Adventure
 * 2011: A Very Pink Christmas
 * 2013:
 * Melissa & Joey: "A New Kind of Christmas"
 * Baby Daddy: "Emma's First Christmas"
 * 2014:
 * The Fosters: "Christmas Past"
 * Switched at Birth: "Yuletide Fortune Tellers"
 * Pretty Little Liars: "How the 'A' Stole Christmas"
 * Baby Daddy: "It's a Wonderful Emma"
 * Melissa & Joey: "A Melanie & Josiah Christmas"
 * 2019:
 * Good Trouble: "Christmas at the Coterie"


 * Disney Channel
 * 2017:
 * Bizarrdvark: "A Killer Robot Christmas"
 * Disney Parks Presents a Disney Channel Holiday Celebration
 * Hotel Transylvania: The Series: "The Fright Before Creepmas"
 * The Lion Guard: "Timon and Pumbaa's Christmas"
 * Mickey and the Roadster Racers: "Happy Hot Diggity Dog Holiday!" / "Happy Holiday Helpers!"
 * Puppy Dog Pals: "A Very Pug Christmas"/"The Latke Kerfuffle"
 * Sofia the First: "The Mystic Isles: A Very Mystic Wassailia"
 * Stuck in the Middle: "Stuck at Christmas"
 * 2018:
 * Bizzardvark: "Holiday Video Sketchtacular"
 * Coop and Cami Ask the World: "Would You Wrather Get a Moose Angry?"
 * Disney Parks Presents a 25 Days of Christmas Holiday Party
 * DuckTales: "Last Christmas!"
 * Fancy Nancy: "Nancy and the Nice List"
 * Muppet Babies: "A Very Muppet Babies Christmas" / "Summer's Super Fabulous Holiday Surprise"
 * Puppy Dog Pals: "A Santa for Bob"


 * Disney XD
 * 2017:
 * Milo Murphy's Law: "A Christmas Peril"
 * Pickle and Peanut: "Tree Lighting" / "A Merry Mocap Musical"
 * Star vs. the Forces of Evil: "Stump Day" / "Holiday Spellcial"


 * Disney Junior
 * 2017:
 * Goldie & Bear: "Winterchime Day"
 * 2018:
 * Doc McStuffins: "The Doc McStuffins Christmas Special"
 * Elena of Avalor: "Snow Place Like Home"
 * Vampirina: "Nanpire and Grandpop the Greats"*


 * ABC
 * 2017:
 * American Housewife: "Blue Christmas"
 * Fresh Off the Boat: "Do You Hear What I Hear?"
 * 2018:
 * American Housewife: "Saving Christmas"
 * Black-ish: "Christmas in Theater Eight"
 * The Conners: "Hold the Salt"
 * Fresh Off the Boat: "Cousin Eddie"
 * The Goldbergs: "Yippee Ki Yay Melon Farmer"
 * The Kids Are Alright: "Christmas 1972"
 * A Million Little Things: "Christmas Wishlist"
 * Modern Family: "Stuck in a Moment"
 * Single Parents: "The Magic Box"
 * Speechless: "J-I–JINGLE T-H–THON"

Current non-original programming (2019)
The following is a list of Christmas movies and specials presently featured during the 25 Days of Christmas (as of 2019) that originally either premiered theatrically, direct-to-video, or on another TV network.


 * Movies


 * Arthur Christmas
 * Deck the Halls
 * The Holiday
 * Home Alone
 * Home Alone 2: Lost in New York
 * Home Alone 4
 * Home Alone: The Holiday Heist
 * How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
 * I'll Be Home for Christmas
 * Love the Coopers
 * The Muppet Christmas Carol


 * The Nightmare Before Christmas
 * The Perfect Holiday
 * Prancer Returns
 * The Preacher's Wife
 * Richie Rich's Christmas Wish
 * Same Time, Next Christmas
 * The Santa Clause
 * The Santa Clause 2
 * The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause
 * Unaccompanied Minors


 * TV specials
 * Cricket on the Hearth
 * Frosty the Snowman
 * Kung Fu Panda Holiday
 * The Little Drummer Boy
 * Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice
 * Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
 * Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town
 * Toy Story That Time Forgot


 * TV episodes
 * Family Guy: "Don't Be a Dickens At Christmas"
 * The Simpsons: "The Fight Before Christmas"
 * The Simpsons: "Holidays of Future Passed"
 * The Simpsons: "Marge Be Not Proud"
 * The Simpsons: "Miracle on Evergreen Terrace"
 * The Simpsons: "The Nightmare After Krustmas"
 * The Simpsons: "She of Little Faith"
 * The Simpsons: "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire"
 * The Simpsons: "Skinner's Sense of Snow"
 * The Simpsons: "'Tis the Fifteenth Season"
 * The Simpsons: "White Christmas Blues"

Past programming (Freeform)
The following non-original specials and movies listed below have aired as part of the 25 Days of Christmas on Freeform and its predecessors in past years. Some of these programs are still aired on Disney's other channels.


 * Movies


 * An All Dogs Christmas Carol
 * All I Want for Christmas
 * An American Christmas Carol
 * Angels Sing
 * Babes in Toyland
 * Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas
 * Beethoven's Christmas Adventure
 * A Belle for Christmas
 * Blizzard
 * Borrowed Hearts
 * Call Me Claus
 * A Carol Christmas
 * A Chance of Snow
 * The Christmas Box
 * Disney's A Christmas Carol
 * Christmas Carol: The Movie
 * Christmas Eve
 * The Christmas Path
 * A Christmas Romance
 * The Christmas Secret
 * The Christmas Shoes
 * Christmas Town
 * The Christmas Wife
 * The Christmas Wish
 * Christmas with the Kranks
 * A Christmas Without Snow
 * A Dennis the Menace Christmas
 * Elf
 * Eloise at Christmastime
 * Ernest Saves Christmas
 * The Family Man
 * The Family Stone
 * Four Christmases
 * Fred Claus
 * Holiday Inn
 * A Holiday to Remember
 * How the Toys Saved Christmas
 * I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
 * Jack Frost
 * Jingle All the Way
 * Jingle All the Way 2


 * Love Actually
 * Meet the Santas
 * Miracle on 34th Street
 * A Miracle on Christmas Lake
 * A Mom for Christmas
 * Mr. St. Nick
 * Mrs. Santa Claus
 * The Munsters' Scary Little Christmas
 * Must Be Santa
 * My Friends Tigger & Pooh: Super Sleuth Christmas Movie
 * National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
 * Naughty or Nice
 * The Night They Saved Christmas
 * Once Upon a Christmas
 * One Christmas
 * The Polar Express
 * Prancer
 * The Prince & Me: A Royal Honeymoon
 * Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July
 * Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys
 * Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie
 * Santa and Pete
 * Santa and the Three Bears
 * Santa Buddies
 * Santa Claus: The Movie
 * Santa, Jr.
 * Santa Paws 2: The Santa Pups
 * Santa Who?
 * Scrooged
 * The Search for Santa Paws
 * Sons of Mistletoe
 * Stealing Christmas
 * This Christmas
 * To Grandmother's House We Go
 * Twice Upon a Christmas
 * The Ultimate Christmas Present
 * Unlikely Angel
 * A Very Brady Christmas
 * White Christmas
 * Winnie the Pooh: Seasons of Giving


 * TV specials and episodes


 * Aliens First Christmas
 * Annabelle's Wish
 * The Bear Who Slept Through Christmas
 * Benji's Very Own Christmas Story
 * Bugs Bunny's Looney Christmas Tales
 * A Chipmunk Christmas
 * The Christmas Orange
 * The Christmas Pirates
 * Christopher the Christmas Tree
 * Cranberry Christmas
 * Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas
 * Festival of Family Classics: "A Christmas Tree"
 * The First Christmas: The Story of the First Christmas Snow
 * A Flintstone Christmas
 * The Forgotten Toys
 * Fraggle Rock: "The Bells of Fraggle Rock"
 * Frosty's Winter Wonderland
 * A Garfield Christmas Special
 * Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer
 * Jack Frost
 * Jingle Bell Rap
 * The Leprechauns' Christmas Gold
 * The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus
 * The Little Drummer Boy, Book II
 * The Little Rascals Christmas Special
 * Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean
 * Merry Madagascar


 * A Merry Mirthworm Christmas
 * Mickey's Christmas Carol
 * Mickey's Christmas Special
 * A Monster Christmas
 * Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey
 * The Night the Animals Talked
 * Noel
 * The Nuttiest Nutcracker
 * Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special
 * Phineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation!
 * Pinocchio's Christmas
 * Prep & Landing
 * Red Boots for Christmas
 * Robbie the Reindeer
 * Rudolph's Shiny New Year
 * Santa's First Christmas
 * The Snowman
 * The Stingiest Man in Town
 * Timmy's Gift: A Precious Moments Christmas
 * Timmy's Special Delivery: A Precious Moments Christmas
 * 'Twas the Night Before Christmas
 * The Twelve Days of Christmas
 * We Wish You a Merry Christmas
 * White Christmas
 * Winnie the Pooh and Christmas Too
 * The Year Without a Santa Claus
 * Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Claus

Companion block
In 2007, due to popular ratings from the previous year, ABC Family launched a companion block titled the Countdown to 25 Days of Christmas, which began on November 23, the day after Thanksgiving. Although this was the first official early start, in later years, holiday programming typically began during the last week or two of November, showing mostly older original films, some of which pertained to Christmas and some that did not. In 2018, it was renamed Kickoff to Christmas and was expanded to cover the full month of November.

Soundtrack
In 2009, released a compilation album titled Songs to Celebrate 25 Days of Christmas. The album featured music from their 2009 special premieres as well as previously released songs that were featured in other programs broadcast on the block, with the notable inclusion of Jimmy Durante's version of "Frosty the Snowman" from the 1969 TV special, which at the time was not aired on the block.

Criticism
Many fans of the 25 Days of Christmas programming block have expressed discontent with the inclusion of such movies as the Harry Potter films, various Disney and Pixar films, and other non-holiday films in the lineup. Fans have also taken issue with the abundance of certain specials and movies being repeated numerous times throughout the block. This has sparked many complaints to the network, via email and their page.