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 Freeform cable channel and its predecessors since 1996, and has also aired on sister channels ABC, the Disney Channel, Disney XD, and Disney Junior since 2017.[1] 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 Harry Potter films, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and various Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar films. A companion block titled Kickoff to Christmas (formerly Countdown to 25 Days of Christmas) has also aired on Freeform every November since 2007.
Original programming
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.[2] 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, no new Christmas movies have yet premiered on ABC, the Disney Channel, Disney XD, or Disney Junior since then. As such, all the movies listed in the table below premiered on Freeform and its predecessors.
Movie | Year |
---|---|
Family Channel / Fox Family / ABC Family / Freeform | |
Christmas Every Day | 1996 |
The Angel of Pennsylvania Avenue | |
The Christmas List | 1997 |
Like Father, Like Santa | 1998 |
The Ghosts of Christmas Eve | 1999 |
Special Delivery | 2000 |
Three Days | 2001 |
Picking Up & Dropping Off | 2003 |
Snow | 2004 |
Christmas in Boston | 2005 |
Chasing Christmas | |
Santa Baby | 2006 |
Christmas Do-Over | |
Christmas Caper | 2007 |
Holiday in Handcuffs | |
Snowglobe | |
Snow 2: Brain Freeze | 2008 |
Christmas in Wonderland* | |
The Dog Who Saved Christmas | 2009 |
Santa Baby 2: Christmas Maybe | |
The Dog Who Saved Christmas Vacation | 2010 |
Christmas Cupid | |
Desperately Seeking Santa | 2011 |
12 Dates of Christmas | |
Home Alone: The Holiday Heist[3] | 2012 |
The Mistle-tones[4] | |
Christmas Bounty | 2013 |
Holidaze | |
Holiday Joy | 2016 |
Angry Angel | 2017 |
The Truth About Christmas | 2018 |
Life-Size 2 | |
No Sleep 'Til Christmas | |
Ghosting: The Spirit of Christmas | 2019 |
ABC | |
Same Time, Next Christmas | 2019 |
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:
- 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"
- 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"
- 2019:
- Big City Greens: "Green Christmas"
- Disney Channel Holiday Party at Walt Disney World
- Gabby Duran & the Unsittables: "It's Christmas, Gabby Duran"
- Just Roll With It: "Merry Christmas Mr. Gooch"
- Raven's Home: "Bah Humbugged"
- Sydney to the Max: "How the Syd Stole Christmas"
- 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"*
- 2019:
- 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"
- 2019:
- American Housewife: "The Bromance Before Christmas"
- Black-ish: "Father Christmas"
- Bless This Mess: "Goose Glazing Time"
- The Conners: "Smoking Penguins and Santa on Santa Action"
- Fresh Off the Boat: "Jessica Town"
- The Goldbergs: "It’s a Wonderful Life"
- Mixed-ish: "Do They Know It’s Christmas?"
- Modern Family: "The Last Christmas"
- Single Parents: "Good Holidays to You"
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. This also includes currently-airing specials that premiered on ABC, the Disney Channel, Disney XD, and Disney Junior before the brand came into use on those channels.
Past programming
The following non-original specials and movies listed below have aired as part of the 25 Days of Christmas in past years.
- Movies
- TV specials
- TV episodes
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Companion block
- Main article: Kickoff to Christmas
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,[6] 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
- Main article: Songs to Celebrate 25 Days of Christmas
In 2009, Walt Disney Records 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 until 2019.
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 Facebook page.[7]