Santa Claus is Coming to Town is on TV tonight, and I am thrilled. My kids are looking forward to it as well. It makes no sense really because we have owned that movie and several other Christmas classics for a few years now. But there is something about it being on TV that makes it special. Especially at Christmas time. I?Tve endured plenty of off-season viewing of Rudolph, Frosty and Santa Claus. And it never seems right. Because it isn?Tt right. It is very wrong.

When I was a child Christmas movies and specials on TV were a family event. We?Td make popcorn and get to stay up past our bedtime. And before the movies started, the network showed that large neon spinning ?oSPECIAL? with exciting music to let us know they were interrupting regular scheduled programming to bring us another classic. It was a wonderful feeling.

With the advent of VHS?Ts and DVD?Ts, some of the magic was lost. At least for me. Back then, when the Peanut?Ts Gang said, ?oMerry Christmas Charlie Brown!? and then started singing Hark the Herald Angels Sing, I knew it was over for another year. Now, I just have to hit the rewind key if I miss Linus?Ts crucial speech. Once Thanksgiving was over, I?Td wait in anticipation for the Christmas shows because if I missed one, I had to wait another year. But that is what made it so special. It was not readily available and it felt important because all of the other kids I knew were watching as well.

I rented How the Grinch Stole Christmas for my sons the other night, because we missed it when it was on TV last week. It was that easy. We had a slumber party in our living room and made an event out of it, but it still wasn?Tt the same. Especially since the first thing my boys did when we woke up in the morning was watch it again. I think I have a plan for next year. I will pack all of the Christmas related DVDs away with all of our other Christmas decorations. Then Frosty and his pals can make their Christmas debut when our tree and mistletoe do!

Check out JustBreatheMom.com’s Christmas Shopping page for more great holiday movies.