Kermit the Frog is a character created by puppeteer Jim Henson in 1955, originally featured as a regular on Jim's first puppet show, Sam and Friends. He is the protagonist or host of many Muppet projects, most notably as the host of The Muppet Show. He also appeared in various sketches on Sesame Street, usually as a reporter for the titular street's news program, from its premiere in 1969 through 2001. As Henson's most famous creation and the main face of the Muppets, he has appeared in many of the Christmas productions starring the characters.
Appearances in Christmas specials[]
Sesame Street[]
Kermit in Christmas Eve on Sesame Street.
Kermit appears early on in the first Sesame Street Christmas special, Christmas Eve on Sesame Street. When Big Bird becomes worried that Santa Claus will not be able to deliver presents to anyone after Oscar the Grouch points out the physical impossibility of a man like Santa coming down skinny chimneys, Kermit tries to help him solve the mystery. Along with Grover, Kermit inquires various kids for their theories on how Santa comes down a chimney. Kermit is later shown reading some of the theories to Big Bird.
In Elmo Saves Christmas, Kermit makes a brief appearance in his famous role as a news reporter. He appears in a news flash that interrupts a TV showing of It's a Wonderful Life to report about everyone doing their Christmas shopping on December 25th because it is going to be Christmas again tomorrow (due to Elmo having wished that every day was Christmas). An Anything Muppet comes up to him, saying that his kid wants a microphone like the one Kermit is using. He initially refuses to sell it, but begins to relent when the Anything Muppet offers a hundred dollars.
The Muppets[]
Kermit in a commercial bumper for A Muppet Family Christmas.
In John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together, the first Christmas television special featuring the cast of The Muppet Show, Kermit and the gang join singer John Denver for a show in which they all sing Christmas songs. At one point, Kermit and Denver reminisce about past Christmases with their friends and families, and sing the song "The Christmas Wish".
In A Muppet Family Christmas, Kermit and his Muppet Show friends spend Christmas at Fozzie's mother's farmhouse, eventually joined by many of his friends from Sesame Street as well. Over the course of the special, Kermit becomes worried that Miss Piggy will not be able to make it to the farmhouse, due to the snowstorm currently going on. He and his nephew Robin also pay a visit to the Fraggles and learn about their own holiday tradition.
Kermit as Bob Cratchit in The Muppet Christmas Carol.
The Muppet Christmas Carol marked the Muppets' first Christmas production following Jim Henson's death, and as such, was the first Christmas production in which Kermit was performed by Steve Whitmire. In this adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, Kermit portrays the role of Bob Cratchit. Interestingly, Kermit had also portrayed the role in a comic published in Muppet Magazine's Winter 1984 issue, and again in a story printed in the 1999 book A Very Muppet Christmas; this would make him the only character to have the same role in all three of the Muppets' Christmas Carol adaptations.
Kermit in It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie.
Kermit has the starring role in the feature-length made-for-TV movie, It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie. In this adaptation of It's a Wonderful Life, he and the gang put on a special Christmas show in an attempt to save the Muppet theater from being taken over by banker Rachel Bitterman. Unfortunately, they ultimately fail to bring the money to her on time, and Kermit feels that he's let everyone down. When an angel named Daniel shows up to help him, he thinks the Muppets would be better off if he had never been born. Daniel then transports him to a world where he never existed, and Kermit sees how miserable his friends' lives would be without him. After seeing this, he promptly wishes to be brought back to the world he knows.
In A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa, the first new Christmas special starring the Muppets after being acquired by The Walt Disney Company in 2004, Kermit and Fozzie join Gonzo in traveling to the North Pole to bring three lost Christmas letters to Santa.
Lady Gaga & the Muppets' Holiday Spectacular, as its title suggested, had Kermit and his fellow Muppets helping Lady Gaga host a TV special to promote her newest album at the time, Artpop.
Kermit covered in Christmas lights in "Single All the Way".
In The Muppets episode "Single All the Way", Kermit and the gang work on preparing a live Christmas edition of Miss Piggy's talk show, Up Late with Miss Piggy.
Muppet Babies[]
Although the original 1984 Muppet Babies series did not receive a proper Christmas episode, a specially-animated Christmas-themed commercial featuring Kermit, Miss Piggy, and Fozzie was aired to promote the Muppet Babies "Holiday Huggables" plush toys that were sold at McDonald's in the 1988 holiday season.
In the 2018 Muppet Babies series, Kermit has the starring role in the 2018 series' first Christmas episodes, "A Very Muppet Babies Christmas", and also appears in "Summer's Super Fabulous Holiday Surprise", "It's a Wonderful Elf-bot", and "A Merry Litter Christmas".
Other Henson Christmas specials[]
Kermit at the end of Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas.
Prior to any of the Sesame Street or Muppets Christmas specials, Kermit's first appearance in a Christmas special was in Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas, based on the storybook of the same name. Kermit appears at the beginning and end of the special to provide opening and closing narration. When the special was aired on ABC in the 1980s, a few scenes were cut down and replaced with Kermit providing additional narration to fill in the gaps in the story. As a result of Disney obtaining ownership of the character in 2004, Kermit's scenes were cut entirely from the special's subsequent DVD releases. However, they were reinstated when the special was aired on the Disney-owned network ABC Family (later renamed Freeform) in 2015 and 2017, as well as on the 40th Anniversary Edition DVD release two years later.
Kermit dressed as Santa Claus in The Christmas Toy.
In The Christmas Toy, Kermit, dressed as Santa Claus, appears at the beginning and end of the special to serve as the story's narrator, much like his role in Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas before. As with Emmet Otter, Disney's acquisition of the character resulted in Kermit's scenes being cut from the special's DVD and Netflix releases, as well as the Hub Network's broadcasts. However, they were reinstated when the special was remastered for its release on Amazon Prime in 2019.
Kermit providing the narration for Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree.
Kermit once again played the role of the narrator for Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree, based on Robert Barry's 1963 storybook. This time, he also appears onscreen after each commercial break, and is seen attending Mr. Willowby's Christmas party at the end of the special.
Non-Muppet Christmas productions[]
Kermit appeared in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1977, 1979, 1981, 1985, 1987, 1991, 1994, 2002, 2008, 2009, and 2016. He also appeared in the Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade in 1989, 2004, 2010, 2011, and 2015.
Kermit had a guest appearance in The Bob Hope All Star Christmas Comedy Special in 1977.
Years before Disney officially acquired the Muppets, Kermit had a brief cameo in The Disney Christmas Special.
Along with his fellow Muppets, Kermit appeared as a guest star in Holiday Greetings from the Ed Sullivan Show to promote the release of The Muppet Christmas Carol.
In the Saturday Night Live episode hosted by Robert De Niro, Kermit sings "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" with De Niro during the opening monologue.
In the second American Dad! Christmas episode, "The Most Adequate Christmas Ever", Kermit, along with Jim Henson, is briefly shown trapped in the Phantom Zone from Superman.
Kermit and the Muppets made appearances in Christmas in Rockefeller Center in 2008, 2009, and 2012.
In the 2009 special Andrea Bocelli & David Foster: My Christmas, Kermit and several of his friends showed up to sing "Jingle Bells" with Andrea Bocelli.
Kermit also appeared in WWE Tribute to the Troops in 2011 and 2012.
In 2012, Kermit and the Muppets appeared in the TV Guide Network Christmas Special, Cee Lo's Magic Moment.
In 2014, Kermit appeared in the ITV Christmas special, A Christmas Cracker, in which he sang "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" with Katherine Jenkins, and rang bells with Gay & Alan Cooper and Bradley Walsh to "Santa Claus is Coming to Town".
In 2017, Kermit appeared as a special guest in a segment from A Very Pentatonix Christmas. In it, he is framed for the theft of Pentatonix's Christmas presents. It turns out that the presents were actually stolen by his criminal doppelganger, Constantine from Muppets Most Wanted. This segment notably marked the first Christmas production in which Kermit was performed by his current Muppeteer, Matt Vogel, who also performed as Constantine (Vogel was assisted by Mike Quinn, who would puppeteer one of the two characters while he performed the other between shots).
In 2020's The Disney Holiday Sing-Along, Kermit and Miss Piggy appeared in a brief segment in which they provide some vocal warm-ups.
In 2021, Kermit appeared as a special guest in Michael Bublé's Christmas in the City.
In 2022, Kermit appeared as a guest star in Best in Snow.
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