Christmas TV Schedule, Countdown and Quick Thought – Monday, December 23, 2024

2 Days Until Christmas!

Song: “O Holy Night,” by Johnny Mathis
Christmas Album: “Home for Christmas,” by Amy Grant; “A Christmas Album,” by Amy Grant; and “A Christmas to Remember,” by Amy Grant
Christmas DVD: “Miracle on 34th Street” (1947)
Netflix Movie: “That Christmas”
Amazon Prime Movie: “Scrooged”
Disney+ Movie: “The Santa Clause,” “The Santa Clause 2,” “The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause” and “The Santa Clauses”
Hulu Movie: “The Polar Express”
Max Movie: “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”
Hallmark Movie: “Northpole”
6
On TV:
New programming in bold
• Myrtle Beach Bowl: Coastal Carolina vs. UTSA, 11 a.m., ESPN
• “Christmas With the Kranks,” 11:30 a.m., AMC
• “Arthur Christmas,” 11:35 a.m., Freeform
• “A Cinderella Christmas Ball,” noon, GAC
• “Christmas Island,” noon, Hallmark
• “Five Gold Rings,” noon, HMM
• “Merry Liddle Christmas Wedding,” noon, Lifetime
• “Christmas Cupcakes,” noon, Ovation
• “Miracle on 34th Street (1947),” 12:30 p.m., BBCA
• Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: Northern Illinois vs. Fresno State, 2:30 p.m., ESPN
• “The Polar Express,” 1:30 p.m., AMC
• “Favorite Son Christmas,” 1:30 p.m., BET
• “Olaf’s Frozen Adventure,” 1:40 p.m., Freeform
• “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” 1:45 p.m., TNT
• “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” 2 p.m., Cartoon
• “Peppermint and Postcards,” 2 p.m., GAC
• “Christmas Made to Order,” 2 p.m., Hallmark
• “Five More Minutes,” 2 p.m., HMM
• “Christmas in Mississippi,” 2 p.m., Lifetime
• “A Prince and Pauper Christmas,” 2 p.m., Ovation
• “Friends: The One With Christmas in Tulsa,” 2 p.m., TBS
• “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” 2:10 p.m., Freeform
• “Mickey Saves Christmas,” 3:20 p.m., Disney Jr.
• “Fred Claus,” 3:30 p.m., AMC
• “Mickey and the Very Many Christmases,” 3:45 p.m., Disney Jr.
• “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” 3:45 p.m., TNT
• “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000),” 3:50 p.m., Freeform
• “A Wesley Christmas,” 4 p.m., BET
• “The Santa Clause,” 4 p.m., FX
• “A Christmas Less Traveled,” 4 p.m., GAC
• “Private Princess Christmas,” 4 p.m., Hallmark
• “A Dream of Christmas,” 4 p.m., HMM
• “You Make It Feel Like Christmas,” 4 p.m., Lifetime
• “The Christmas Thief,” 4 p.m., Ovation
• “Mickey and Minnie Wish Upon a Christmas,” 4:10 p.m., Disney Jr.
• “Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas,” 5 p.m., Disney Jr.
• “Four Christmases,” 6 p.m., AMC
• “The Santa Clause 2,” 6 p.m., FX
• “Twas the Text Before Christmas,” 6 p.m., GAC
• “The Nine Lives of Christmas,” 6 p.m., Hallmark
• “Time for Me to Come Home For Christmas,” 6 p.m., HMM
• “Christmas in the Spotlight,” 6 p.m., Lifetime
• “A Christmas Witness,” 6 p.m., Ovation
• “Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas,” 6:05 p.m., Disney Jr.
• “This Christmas,” 6:30 p.m., BET
• “Home Alone,” 6:30 p.m., Freeform
• “Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas,” 6:50 p.m., Disney
• “Olaf’s Frozen Adventure,” 7:10 p.m., Disney Jr.
• “Elf,” 8 p.m., AMC
• “Christmas at Graceland,” 8 p.m., NBC
• “Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas,” 8 p.m., Disney
• “The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause,” 8 p.m., FX
• “Christmas on the Farm With Jill Wagner and Family,” 8 p.m., GAC
• “One Royal Holiday,” 8 p.m., Hallmark
• “Christmas Secret,” 8 p.m., HMM
• “The Holiday Junkie,” 8 p.m., Lifetime
• “The Case of the Christmas Diamond,” 8 p.m., Ovation
• “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” 8 p.m., TNT
• Monday Night Football: New Orleans at Green Bay, 8:15 p.m., ABC and ESPN
• “A Saturday Night Live Christmas,” 9 p.m., NBC
• “Mary Berry’s Highland Christmas,” 9 p.m., PBS
• “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,” 9 p.m., Freeform
• “Destined at Christmas,” 9 p.m., GAC
• “Never Alone For Christmas,” 9:30 p.m., BET
• “Mary Berry’s Ultimate Christmas,” 10 p.m., PBS
• “Christmas With the Kranks,” 10 p.m., AMC
• “Three Wise Men and a Baby,” 10 p.m., Hallmark
• “Five Star Christmas,” 10 p.m., HMM
• “A Carpenter Christmas Romance,” 10 p.m., Lifetime
• “Dognapped: Hound for the Holidays,” 10 p.m., Ovation
• “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” 10 p.m., TBS
Recipe: Perfect Cranberry Sauce

Quick Thought for Christmas

Read

Luke 2:8-17

When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.
Luke 2:15-16

Reflect

Have you ever gotten some very good advice to do something, but held up from doing it because you just weren’t ready. I can’t count the times that I should have done something, only to find out later that I missed the chance; had I acted, I would have benefitted in a significant way.

Imagine if you had $1,000 to invest on August 19, 2004, the day that Google released its initial public offering. A friend told you that it was a can’t miss investment, but instead of investing, you held on to that money because it just seemed too risky. That $1,000 would have gotten you about 12 shares of stock. But instead, you buried it under a rock. Today, your $1,000 would be worth about $1,470, adjusted for inflation. But if you’d bought just 12 shares of Google back then, your stock value today would be roughly $34,000. If only you’d moved on that unheeded stock tip.

Waiting can be costly if the time to move is right now.

On that first Christmas Eve, shepherds standing in their field were greeted by an angelic host and were told, “There’s something wonderful going on in Bethlehem that you should see!” They had a choice – they could continue to stand there in the field, watching the sheep and getting cold, or they could go and see if the wonderful thing was truly there. Few could have blamed them if they hadn’t gone. After all, it was an outlandish claim made by what could have been attributed to a hallucination.

But these shepherds saw something else. They believed what they had seen, and they decided immediately: “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” They didn’t wait, and because of their immediate action, they were eyewitnesses to the most historic birth in the history of the world.

We won’t often be given such amazing spiritual opportunities. But God does frequently call each of us to some sort of action. And each time He does, we have the option to get up and move, or sit and wait it out. In these last two days leading up to Christmas, keep a keen eye and ear out for what God is calling you to do. It may be something as simple as putting a quarter or a dollar in a Salvation Army kettle. Or it may be more. But when He puts something on your heart, don’t wait. Because you may just miss out on the opportunity of a lifetime.