109 Fun Facts About Christmas TV

Who narrates the 1964 Rankin/Bass special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer as Sam the Snowman?

Burl Ives was a late hire, a big name brought in to help sell the special; his part had first belonged to Larry D. Mann, who stayed on as the voice of Yukon Cornelius.

What career does Hermey the elf abandon Santa's workshop to pursue in the 1964 Rudolph special?

Dentistry: Hermey wants to be a dentist rather than make toys, and he proves it by pulling every tooth from the Abominable Snow Monster, who is then tamed and helps trim the tree.

Which company sponsored the first broadcasts of Rudolph in 1964 under its own Fantasy Hour title?

General Electric sponsored the 1964 premiere on NBC; after viewers complained that Santa never rescued the Misfit Toys, a new ending showing him collecting them was added for the 1965 repeat.

In which city was the 'Animagic' puppet footage for Rudolph actually filmed?

Tokyo: Tadahito Mochinaga's studio animated the puppets in Japan, while the voices were recorded in Toronto, chosen for its pool of talented, affordable radio actors.

Which TV show did the long-lost 1964 Rudolph and Santa puppets turn up on?

Antiques Roadshow: a Rankin/Bass secretary had taken the puppets home, and her family kept them in an attic where heat ruined most of the cast before a nephew had the two survivors appraised.

What does the copyright notice on Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer get wrong?

The date: its Roman numerals read MCLXIV, 1164, instead of MCMLXIV, an 800-year slip that left the special with an invalid copyright notice.

Which comedian narrates the 1969 Rankin/Bass special Frosty the Snowman?

Jimmy Durante had been one of the first to record the song, back in 1950, and sang it again for the special; when a sequel followed in 1976, another narrator took over.

In the 1969 Frosty special, what is the inept magician whose discarded hat brings the snowman to life called?

Professor Hinkle is the washed-up magician whose discarded silk hat brings Frosty to life; his own rabbit, Hocus Pocus, sides with the children, and Santa finally warns Hinkle he gets no presents unless he reforms.

Where does Frosty melt in the 1969 special after the villain locks him in with Karen?

A greenhouse: Frosty carries the shivering Karen into a greenhouse to warm her, the magician locks them in, and the heat melts him; Santa then revives Frosty with a blast of cold winter wind.

Who is the toy-hating mayor of Sombertown in the 1970 special Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town?

Burgermeister Meisterburger bans all toys after tripping over a toy duck, which is why Kris starts slipping presents down chimneys and into stockings.

In Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town, what kind of animal is Topper, the lost creature Kris Kringle befriends?

A penguin: Topper is a lost penguin who becomes Kris's sidekick on the journey to Sombertown; the Winter Warlock later captures the pair, then switches sides after Kris gives him a toy train.

In The Year Without a Santa Claus, who forces the feuding Snow Miser and Heat Miser to compromise?

Mother Nature is the Misers' mother; she summons both sons and makes them compromise, so Southtown gets a day of snow while the North Pole gets a day of warm weather.

In The Year Without a Santa Claus, where does the reindeer Vixen end up in Southtown?

Dog pound: Jingle and Jangle disguise Vixen as a dog, so a dog catcher hauls her off, and Santa himself has to travel south to bail her out.

Which Hollywood veteran voices Santa in both Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town and The Year Without a Santa Claus?

Mickey Rooney voiced the young Kris Kringle in 1970 and, in 1974, an ailing Santa who calls off his trip when his doctor says nobody cares about Christmas any more.

In Rudolph's Shiny New Year, what feature gets Happy, the runaway Baby New Year, laughed at?

His enormous ears: everyone who sees them laughs, so Happy keeps running away, until Rudolph, mocked for his own nose, shares his story and coaxes him home in time for New Year.

In The Little Drummer Boy, which injured animal does Aaron carry to the Magi?

A lamb: Baba is run down in the street in Bethlehem, and when one of the Magi cannot help, Aaron plays his drum for the newborn child as his only gift and the lamb recovers.

Who voices the Grinch and narrates the 1966 animated TV special based on Dr. Seuss's book?

Boris Karloff narrated in his natural voice, but for the Grinch's lines the sound engineers stripped out the high tones to give him a gravelly growl.

Who actually sang 'You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch' in the 1966 special, a song often credited to its narrator?

Thurl Ravenscroft, also the voice of Tony the Tiger, was left off the credits by mistake, so Dr. Seuss wrote to columnists across America to say who had really sung it.

Which legendary Looney Tunes director made the 1966 Grinch special?

Chuck Jones directed the special; he and Dr. Seuss had already worked together on the Private Snafu army training cartoons during World War II.

CBS gave the 1966 Grinch special a then-record cartoon budget of about how much?

$315,000: CBS gave the 1966 special a record budget for a half-hour cartoon, several times what Bill Melendez had to make A Charlie Brown Christmas the year before.

What holiday are Chewbacca and Han trying to reach Kashyyyk to celebrate in the 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special?

Life Day: the Wookiee holiday drives the whole plot, yet CBS aired the special only once, in November 1978, and four decades later Lucasfilm had still never officially released it.

Which bounty hunter made his onscreen debut in an animated segment of the Star Wars Holiday Special?

Boba Fett first appeared in the special's cartoon segment, made by Toronto studio Nelvana, where he poses as a friend to Luke before being exposed as Darth Vader's agent.

In the Star Wars Holiday Special, which Golden Girls star runs the Mos Eisley cantina?

Bea Arthur plays Ackmena, the cantina's bartender, who has to sing her reluctant customers out the door when the Empire slaps a curfew on Tatooine.

In Friends, what costume does Ross improvise to teach Ben about Hanukkah when he can't rent a Santa suit?

The Holiday Armadillo episode, from 2000, ends with Ross, Chandler in a Santa suit and Joey as Superman all crammed into the apartment.

In The Office's 'Christmas Party', what $400 gift does Michael buy Ryan despite a $20 limit?

A video iPod: Michael's $400 gift is twenty times the limit, and when Phyllis hands him a homemade oven mitt he sulks and turns the exchange into a Yankee Swap in which everyone fights over the iPod.

What Secret Santa gift does Jim give Pam in The Office's 'Christmas Party'?

A teapot: Jim stuffs it with inside-joke mementos but slips his letter back into his pocket; Pam only gets to read it in the final season, when he hands it over in 'A.A.R.M.'.

Which Seinfeld episode, named for Kramer's H&H Bagels labour dispute, introduced Festivus?

'The Strike' (1997): Kramer's 12-year strike against H&H Bagels ends when the minimum wage rises to meet his demand, but he walks out again when refused time off for Festivus.

What fake charity does George invent on Seinfeld to avoid buying Christmas gifts for his co-workers?

The Human Fund is George's invented charity: he hands co-workers cards saying a donation has been made in their name, until his boss Kruger tries to give it a company donation and learns it is bogus.

At what odds does Homer bet it all on Santa's Little Helper in the first Simpsons episode?

99-1: Homer bets his last $13 on the long shot Santa's Little Helper at 99-1; the greyhound finishes last and is abandoned by his owner, so Homer and Bart take him home.

Community's 'Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas' pays homage to Rankin/Bass by rendering the episode in what style?

Stop motion: Abed starts seeing the whole study group as stop-motion puppets, a delusion that began when a Christmas card told him his mother, now with a new family, would not be visiting.

Which alien race invades Earth in Doctor Who's 'The Christmas Invasion'?

The Sycorax: the newly regenerated Tenth Doctor sleeps through most of the episode, then wakes to beat the Sycorax leader in a sword duel for Earth, losing and regrowing a hand.

Which pop star played the waitress Astrid Peth in the 2007 Doctor Who special 'Voyage of the Damned'?

Kylie Minogue played Astrid Peth, a waitress on the starship Titanic who dies ramming the villain into the engines with a forklift; 13.31 million watched, the revived show's biggest audience to that point.

Which date replaced Christmas Day for Doctor Who's festive specials between 2019 and 2022?

New Year's Day: from 'Resolution' (1 January 2019) to 'Eve of the Daleks' (2022) the specials aired on 1 January; Russell T Davies reclaimed Christmas Day with 'The Church on Ruby Road' in 2023.

What finally happens between Mary and Matthew in Downton Abbey's 2011 Christmas special?

He proposes to her: Mary breaks off her engagement to Sir Richard Carlisle and confesses her old scandal to Matthew, who decides the past does not matter and proposes; she accepts.

The 2019 Gavin & Stacey Christmas special ended on a cliffhanger when Nessa did what?

Proposed to Smithy: Nessa went down on one knee and the credits rolled before he could answer, leaving viewers to wait five years, until the 2024 finale, to find out what he said.

Which soap's 1986 Christmas Day episode drew more than 30 million UK viewers?

EastEnders: the episode in which Den Watts hands his wife Angie divorce papers drew 30.15 million viewers once its repeat showing was counted.

Which BBC newsreader famously showed her legs in a dance number on a Morecambe and Wise Christmas show?

Angela Rippon began the sketch behind a BBC newsdesk, then stepped out and high-kicked through a dance routine with the duo.

Who scripted King George V's first Royal Christmas broadcast on the radio in 1932?

Rudyard Kipling scripted the short address George V read live from Sandringham; a decade earlier the King had turned down John Reith's first request, dismissing radio as mere entertainment.

Which monarch delivered the first televised Royal Christmas message?

Elizabeth II gave the first televised Christmas message in 1957; in 1969 she skipped the broadcast entirely, because the documentary Royal Family had already put her on screens that year.

The original 1966 WPIX Yule Log was filmed in the fireplace of which New York building?

Gracie Mansion, the mayor's official residence, lent its fireplace in 1966, but the crew removed the fire grate for a clearer shot and a stray spark damaged an antique rug.

How long did the WPIX Yule Log's original 1966 loop run before repeating?

17 seconds: the original loop was that short, and the longer replacement filmed in 1970 was shot not in New York but in California, at a fireplace with similar andirons.

What reason did WPIX give for reviving its long-cancelled Yule Log broadcast?

Comfort TV following the 9/11 attacks: WPIX brought the Yule Log back on Christmas morning 2001 as a nostalgic balm for a grieving city, after an online fan campaign had lobbied for its return.

Why was a counterpoint written on the spot for David Bowie's 1977 duet with Bing Crosby?

The guest disliked the number: Bowie said he hated the song he was meant to sing, so Ian Fraser, Larry Grossman and Buz Kohan wrote 'Peace on Earth' at a basement piano in little over an hour.

What had happened to Bing Crosby by the time his 1977 duet with David Bowie aired?

He had died: Crosby taped the duet on 11 September 1977 and died of a heart attack after a round of golf on 14 October, weeks before the special reached American screens.

Which comedy character gets the Christmas turkey stuck on his head in a 1992 special?

Mr. Bean loses his watch while stuffing the bird, pokes his head inside to look for it and gets stuck just as his girlfriend Irma arrives.

Which crooner earned the nickname 'Mr. Christmas' from his perennial television specials?

Andy Williams hosted Christmas specials for decades; 'It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year' was co-written for him by George Wyle, his show's vocal director, and released on his 1963 Christmas album.

Which basketball star appeared in the 1988 Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special?

Magic Johnson appears as the cousin of the playhouse's talking Magic Screen, one of more than a dozen cameos that also included Cher, Little Richard and Grace Jones.

In Mickey's Christmas Carol, which Disney character plays the ghost of Jacob Marley?

Goofy plays Jacob Marley's ghost, still clumsy enough to tumble down Scrooge McDuck's stairs; the 1983 featurette put Mickey Mouse in a new cinema cartoon for the first time in 30 years.

Which cable channel brands its annual run of holiday movie premieres 'Countdown to Christmas'?

Hallmark Channel is owned by the greeting-card company, and from 2009 its chief executive pushed it to embody the card brand on screen.

Which company sponsored the first broadcast of A Charlie Brown Christmas in 1965?

Coca-Cola: in the original 1965 broadcast Snoopy even flings Linus into a sign plugging the local Coke bottler, a sponsor tag that was cut from later airings.

Whose 1985 cover of 'Walking in the Air', the song from The Snowman, became a hit?

Aled Jones took his cover to No. 5 in 1985; the film's version was sung by St Paul's Cathedral choirboy Peter Auty, but Jones's hit was so big that he is widely assumed to have sung that too.

In A Charlie Brown Christmas, what does Lucy say she wants for Christmas but never gets?

Real estate: Lucy grumbles that she only ever gets 'a lot of stupid toys or a bicycle or clothes', and Sally is just as mercenary, asking Santa in her letter to simply send money.

Which sitcom's heroes finally became millionaires in its 1996 Christmas special?

Only Fools and Horses: in 'Time on Our Hands' Del and Rodney find a lost Harrison watch in their garage and sell it at auction for more than £6 million, ending the planned finale as millionaires.

In Blackadder's Christmas Carol (1988), what does the kindly Ebenezer Blackadder sell for a living?

Moustaches: he runs a 'moustache shop' and is the nicest man in England, until the special inverts Dickens by turning the nice man nasty; Hugh Laurie narrates.

The Snowman (1982) was directed by Dianne Jackson for which British broadcaster?

Channel 4 first showed The Snowman on 26 December 1982, in the channel's first Christmas on air; the film added the flight to meet Father Christmas, which is not in Raymond Briggs's book.

Which rock star was filmed introducing The Snowman for its sponsored US broadcast?

David Bowie filmed the introduction in 1983, playing the grown-up boy who finds the snowman's scarf in his attic; the scene replaced Raymond Briggs's original opening for the US broadcast.

In Christmas Eve on Sesame Street (1978), what does Bert trade to buy Ernie a soap dish?

His paper clip collection: Bert trades his paper clips to Mr. Hooper for a soap dish for Ernie's Rubber Duckie, while Ernie trades the duck for a cigar box, a riff on The Gift of the Magi.

Which animation creator's Curiosity Company produced the 1999 special Olive, the Other Reindeer?

Matt Groening's Curiosity Company made it with Drew Barrymore's Flower Films; Barrymore voices Olive, a dog who mishears 'all of the other reindeer' on the radio and heads north to help Santa.

A Muppet Family Christmas united the Muppets and Sesame Street with which other Henson series?

Fraggle Rock: Robin finds a hole in the farmhouse cellar, he and Kermit climb in and meet the Fraggles, and Jim Henson himself turns up at the end, watching from the kitchen.

Sweden's Christmas Eve cartoon compilation, aired every year since 1960, is named after which Disney character?

Donald Duck is far more popular than Mickey Mouse in Sweden, so the Disney special was retitled for him. In 1997 just over half the country tuned in.

In the animated special How the Grinch Stole Christmas, what is the name of the Grinch's reindeer-disguised dog?

Max was modelled on the director's own childhood pet, a young fox terrier, and serves as the story's put-upon observer and victim.

In Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean, what gets stuck on Mr. Bean's head as he searches for his lost watch?

A turkey swallows his head after he loses the watch while stuffing it. The gag later inspired a scene in Friends.

Which Peanuts character did animator Bill Melendez voice in A Charlie Brown Christmas by speeding up taped gibberish?

Snoopy mutters in nonsense that Melendez recorded himself and sped up so nobody would recognise the voice. The rest of the cast were child actors.

What job does Homer secretly take in the first full-length Simpsons episode after his Christmas bonus is cancelled?

Mall Santa was the job Homer took after Marge spent the holiday savings on removing Bart's tattoo. The episode was the eighth produced but the first to air.

In The Big Bang Theory, whose autographed napkin does Penny give Sheldon as a Christmas present, prompting a rare hug?

Leonard Nimoy had also used the napkin, so an overwhelmed Sheldon realised he now owned his hero's DNA and gave Penny every gift basket he had bought.

What metal is the bare, undecorated Festivus pole made from on Seinfeld, in place of a Christmas tree?

Aluminum poles were the sitcom's invention. The family celebration that inspired the episode centred on a clock in a bag nailed to a wall.

In Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, which realm is ruled by a winged lion called King Moonracer?

Island of Misfit Toys residents were left stranded in the first broadcast. Viewers wrote in, so a scene of Santa collecting them was animated and added in 1965.

Which animated series grew out of The Spirit of Christmas, two cutout shorts, one commissioned as a video greeting card?

South Park followed after a Fox executive paid its creators to make the 1995 short as a video Christmas card, and bootleg copies turned it into a viral hit.

In the Only Fools and Horses special Heroes and Villains, Del Boy and Rodney run to a party dressed as which duo?

Batman and Robin costumes were meant for a fancy-dress party, but the van broke down and the running pair accidentally scared off a gang of muggers.

Which jazz pianist scored A Charlie Brown Christmas, including the instrumental Linus and Lucy?

Vince Guaraldi and his trio supplied a jazz soundtrack so unusual for a children's cartoon that the producers and the network predicted the programme would be a disaster.

Which small girl catches the Grinch in the act in the 1966 special How the Grinch Stole Christmas?

Cindy Lou Who was voiced by an uncredited June Foray, and the director redesigned the girl to look like the Grinch's own great-granddaughter.

Which cartoon character played Scrooge in 1962 in the first animated Christmas special made for television?

Mr. Magoo appears as a stage actor heading to Broadway to star as the miser in a musical, so the whole tale is a show within a show.

Which comedian first performed The Chanukah Song on Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update in December 1994?

Adam Sandler wrote the novelty number with Saturday Night Live writers Lewis Morton and Ian Maxtone-Graham, then recorded a sequel for a 1999 album.

Which blended holiday did Seth Cohen claim to have invented on The O.C. for his Jewish father and Protestant mother?

Chrismukkah entered wider use after the teen drama's first holiday episode in December 2003. Seth says he dreamed it up at the age of six.

In The Office episode Dwight Christmas, which gift-bringer from Pennsylvania Dutch tradition does Dwight dress up as?

Belsnickel waited years for his turn: the writers first devised the plot for the fourth season but only used it in the ninth.

Which television host created New Year's Rockin' Eve as a youthful rival to Guy Lombardo's big band broadcasts?

Dick Clark felt the bandleader's tuxedoed countdowns no longer appealed to younger viewers, so his first edition was fronted by the rock group Three Dog Night.

Which long-running family drama grew out of The Homecoming, a 1971 holiday TV film set in Depression-era Virginia?

The Waltons was never the plan: the film was not made as a pilot, but it proved so popular that CBS commissioned a season about the same characters.

In Christmas Eve on Sesame Street, who waits on a rooftop to learn how Santa fits down chimneys?

Big Bird starts to worry after Oscar the Grouch teases him that Santa could never squeeze down a chimney, and his friends end up searching the neighbourhood for him.

Which film about a boy who wants an air rifle did TNT start airing in a yearly 24-hour marathon in 1997?

A Christmas Story plays twelve times in a row from the evening of December 24. In 2002 an estimated 38.4 million people tuned in at some point.

Which comedian first played Donna Noble, the bride who appears aboard the TARDIS in Doctor Who's The Runaway Bride?

Catherine Tate was too busy to attend the script readthrough for the festive episode, yet she later returned as the Doctor's regular companion.

Whose 1970 Christmas special, filmed before troops in Vietnam, is among the highest-rated US broadcasts in history?

Bob Hope made 57 tours for the USO between 1941 and 1991, and his holiday shows often featured a duet of Silver Bells with a guest star.

Which puppeteer directed Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas, in which a washtub becomes a bass for a talent contest?

Jim Henson adapted a children's book by Russell Hoban, itself inspired by The Gift of the Magi, and had Kermit the Frog introduce the tale.

Which singer-songwriter joined the Muppets for the 1979 television special A Christmas Together?

John Denver opens the show by singing The Twelve Days of Christmas with the puppets, and the two acts reunited in 1983 for Rocky Mountain Holiday.

Which actor voiced the snowman in Frosty Returns, the 1992 special from Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels?

John Goodman was a frequent guest on the sketch show, whose comedians fill much of the cast. The plot pits Frosty against an aerosol spray that makes snow vanish.

Which 18-minute British comedy sketch has German television repeated every New Year's Eve since 1972?

Dinner for One is almost completely unknown in Britain, where it had no national airing until 2018, yet up to half the population of German-speaking countries may watch it.

Who became the first American actor to appear in Black Mirror, starring in the 2014 special White Christmas?

Jon Hamm went after the part himself: a fan of the anthology, he had his agent set up a meeting with creator Charlie Brooker while visiting Britain.

Who played Henry Corwin, a drunken department-store Santa, in The Twilight Zone episode The Night of the Meek?

Art Carney, famous as sewer worker Ed Norton in The Honeymooners, stars in one of only six episodes the series shot on videotape in a short-lived bid to cut costs.

Who earned an Emmy nomination as Scrooge in the 1984 television film of A Christmas Carol, shot in Shrewsbury?

George C. Scott left a souvenir behind in the English town: the tombstone prop from the graveyard scene remains in the churchyard of St Chad's.

Which art form's first work written for US television was NBC's Amahl and the Night Visitors on Christmas Eve 1951?

Opera had never been written for the small screen in the United States before. Gian Carlo Menotti's one-act piece was also the debut production of the Hallmark Hall of Fame.

In the Father Ted special A Christmassy Ted, in which part of a department store do several priests get trapped?

The lingerie section is billed as the largest in Ireland, and leading the priests out without a scandal earns Ted a coveted Golden Cleric award.

In the Christmas finale of the British series The Office, what Secret Santa gift from Tim brings Dawn back to the party?

Oil paints come with an encouraging note beside a sketch she drew of Tim. She opens them in a taxi, breaks up with her fiancé and returns to kiss him.

In A Chipmunk Christmas, what prized possession does Alvin give away to an ill boy named Tommy?

A harmonica, the Golden Echo that Dave gave him, goes to Tommy just before Carnegie Hall asks Alvin to play it on Christmas Eve.

Which musician plays a Bach suite at a congressional Christmas party in The West Wing episode Noël?

Yo-Yo Ma appears as himself, and during his performance Josh is overcome with panic, later diagnosed as post-traumatic stress from being shot.

Which Nickelodeon cartoon's 1996 Chanukah special has its young heroes dub a grandfather's rival the Meanie of Chanukah?

Rugrats got its Chanukah episode four years after Nickelodeon first pitched one. The original idea had turned into a Passover special instead.

Whose 1968 NBC concert, later known as the Comeback Special, was first planned by his manager as a Christmas show?

Elvis Presley was angered by the idea of singing carols on national television, and his director instead built a concert that relaunched his singing career.

Who won a guest-acting Emmy as Donna Berzatto, cooking a chaotic Christmas meal in The Bear episode Fishes?

Jamie Lee Curtis was a surprise: of the episode's many high-profile guest stars, only Bob Odenkirk's casting had been announced beforehand.

Which sitcom family reunited in a 1988 CBS holiday film in which the father is trapped under rubble after an aftershock?

The Bradys drew one of the year's biggest audiences for a television film, so CBS revived the clan in a 1990 series.

Which country singer, a minstrel rooster in a 1973 Disney film, narrates Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey?

Roger Miller voices Santa's own stable donkey, a descendant of the hero, who tells the whole story from the North Pole.

In Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey, what is the name of Santa's donkey, a descendant who tells the tale?

Spieltoe tours the reindeer stables at the North Pole before introducing the hero as his own ancient ancestor.

Which star who first recorded the Rudolph song co-wrote the 1975 tune behind Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey?

Gene Autry wrote the tune with Don Pfrimmer and Dave Burgess, decades after he had introduced Frosty the Snowman and Here Comes Santa Claus.

What is the name of the cherub who befriends the outcast in Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey?

Tilly meets the orphan the next morning and tells him where they must go, then returns to Heaven once they reach the outskirts of the town.

In Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey, what kills Nestor's mother as she shields him with her body?

The bitter cold claims her after the stable owner throws Nestor out at night: she lies over her son and freezes so that he survives.

To which town does the outcast hero carry Mary in Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey?

Bethlehem is where the journey ends at a stable, and Nestor then finds his way home to be hailed as a hero by the animals who once teased him.

What danger makes the hero follow angels' voices in Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey?

A sandstorm blinds the travellers, so Nestor wraps Mary in his long ears to keep her warm and lets the voices guide him.

In Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey, who takes every donkey except Nestor from the stable without paying?

Roman soldiers came to buy, dismissed Nestor as imperfect and then took the rest for free, which enraged the owner so much that he threw Nestor out.

What is the name of the stable owner who mistreats the hero in Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey?

Olaf mocks the long ears and throws the young donkey out, yet joins the other animals in hailing him as a hero when he comes home.

Which voice actor plays both Santa Claus and the cruel stable owner in Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey?

Paul Frees, sometimes called the Man of a Thousand Voices, also plays a donkey dealer here and was the unseen Ghost Host of a Disneyland ride.

Which standard feature of 1960s television cartoons did Charles Schulz flatly reject for A Charlie Brown Christmas?

A laugh track was suggested by producer Lee Mendelson, who assumed every animated programme needed one, but Schulz dismissed the idea at once.

Which 1946 film became a Christmas television staple after a clerical error let its copyright lapse in 1974?

It's a Wonderful Life could then be broadcast without licensing or royalty fees, and the constant repeats that followed made it a seasonal classic.