I remember as a boy that my Mum would always buy both the Radio Times and the TV Times Christmas editions. It always made me giggle with excitement as this event meant Christmas was not very far away and I would spend a good long while pouring over both books ensuring I knew exactly which films to watch and when the Only Fools and Horses Christmas specials were on. Back in those days we only had 4 TV channels (yes, I come from a time before Channel 5) and my parents didn’t see the point in having Sky TV so TV life was pretty simple for us. It wasn’t until 1990 that my parents dragged themselves into the technological worlds and purchased out first VCR! So, with these memories making me smile and it being my last working day of the year (I’ll be at my works Christmas party when this post goes live) I thought I would share what we will be watching this Christmas.
Admittedly, in this day and age with terrestrial TV, Sky+, Amazon Prime and Netflix to choose from in our house the schedule is a bit different as we are no bound by the schedule the TV broadcaster set. So, I’ll list what we’ll be watching by service.
TV
- Elf: The Musical – Live on Stage (23rd December 5pm, Channel 5)
- It’s Christmas Live From The Royal Albert Hall (23rd December 8pm, Sky 1)
- All Star Musicals (24th December 6:40pm, ITV1)
- Michael McIntyre’s Big Show (24th December 8:30pm, BBC1)
- National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (25th December 9:25am, ITV1)
- Toy Story 3 (25th December 1:20pm, BBC1)
- Call The Midwife Christmas Special (25th December 7:40pm BBC)
- Strictly Christmas Special (25th 6:30pm BBC)
- ET the Extra-Terestrial (26th December 3:30pmm ITV1)
- Little Women (Starts 26th December 8pm BBC)
- Grandpa’s Great Escape (New Year’s Day 6:55pm BBC)
- Christmas Bake Off Special (25th December & 1st January 7:40pm Ch4)
- Miranda Does Christmas (27th December 9pm Ch4)
Amazon Prime
- National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (just in case I miss it on Christmas Days on ITV1)
Possibly my favourite Christmas film. I’ve loved it since I was a kid and still laugh at the ridiculousness of it every time and I’m hoping that my love for the film will spread to the girls. But, there is also an important message in there (somewhere). - Nativity 3 Dude, Where’s my Donkey?!
I know what you’re thinking – what about the first two Nativity films? Well we’ve watched them already in December and now I’m happy to see that Nativity 3 is included with Prime.
Netflix
- Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’
- Elf
- The Holiday
- Love Actually
We’ve watched this already because we love it. It’s a great film and I am sure will be a classic in time (if not already). - Arthur Christmas
I won’t lie, again we’ve watched this already in December. It’s a great movie and we’ll definitely watch it again before festive season is over.
