An Ode to Charlie Brown Holiday Films

One of my favorite parts about the holidays is the opportunity to settle into the couch, make hot chocolate and put on a Charlie Brown holiday short film. 

The Charlie Brown holiday films are approximately 30 minute television programs consisting of Charlie Brown and the Peanuts celebrating whichever holiday they’re set in. 

These holiday films may not be important to many people, but they’re important to me — and they should be to everyone else as well. 

They’re special because they honestly portray the holidays through a kid’s point of view, and they teach us how to keep kindness in mind during the holiday season. 

Firstly, the Thanksgiving film represents the true meaning of Thanksgiving — it’s a holiday about giving thanks. 

Peppermint Patty, one of Charlie Brown’s friends invites herself over to Charlie’s house, and he has to cook a makeshift meal. At first, it seems simple, but the toast, jelly beans, pretzels and popcorn Charlie Brown throws together are a testimony for showing up for friends. It shows Thanksgiving isn’t supposed to be a competition about who can cook the most beautiful turkey, but about how to show up for those around you and be grateful for them. 

As a kid, I grew up at an international school overseas, meaning it would oftentimes be difficult to celebrate Thanksgiving. However, my school usually hosted a big potluck-type Thanksgiving dinner for all the families of teachers working at the school who were away from their home. 

The Charlie Brown Thanksgiving film was a staple at this dinner. Us kids would spend the night running around campus, getting sweaty and playing games. But by the end of the night, we would always slump into a beanbag, we would always slump into a beanbag, with the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving program playing on the TV. 

Our parents would laugh at us being tired out, especially after stuffing ourselves with food, but we knew it was special. 

Similarly, the Christmas movie is especially impactful in its confrontation with materialism around the holiday seasons. In the Christmas program, Charlie Brown is struggling with commercialism around Christmas, and all his classmates don’t seem to realize how this sense of commercialism is causing him to be upset.

The school puts on a play, in which he advocates for a small Christmas tree he found which wasn’t getting any love. At first his classmates scoff, but after a speech by Linus, the character’s best friend, they come around and surprise him by decorating it. These little moments in the film show how Christmas isn’t about flashy lights, trees or presents, but instead about being joyful together.  

Growing up, I would always watch Charlie Brown during Christmastime. My parents watched it when they were younger as well, bridging the generational gap and creating a timelessness of this sweet holiday story. This film reminds us of the true meaning of Christmas. 

It can be difficult to remember the beauty of the holiday season when, as we get older, it seems to turn to stress about buying the best gifts for one another and desperately trying to avoid the crowd on every street and corner. 

Charlie Brown is valuable because these films are a chance to relive childhood and all the feelings we felt when we were kids. We can’t ever be young again, but there’s always a chance to be transported back — just for a moment.