Christmas TV Schedule, Countdown and Quick Thought – Wednesday, December 25, 2024 (Christmas Day)

Merry Christmas!

Song: “All Is Well,” by Michael W. Smith and Carrie Underwood
Christmas Album: “The Ultimate Christmas Collection,” by Michael W. Smith
Christmas DVD: “It’s a Wonderful Life”
Netflix Movie: “Mary”
Amazon Prime Movie: “It’s a Wonderful Life” (B&W version); “It’s a Wonderful Life” (Colorized version)
Disney+ Movie: “Miracle on 34th Street”
Hulu Movie: “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”
Max Movie: “A Christmas Story”
Hallmark Movie: “Christmas in Conway”

On TV:
New programming in bold
• “A Christmas Story,” continues all day on TBS until 8 p.m. and TNT until 9 p.m.
• Christmas movies throughout the day on Lifetime, Hallmark, HMM, GAC and OWN
• “It’s a Wonderful Life,” airs throughout the day on E! from 7:30 a.m. until midnight.
• “Christmas Yule Log,” airs on GAC until noon.
• For those die-hard fans of “Die Hard,” Paramount will show the film on repeat between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m.

• “The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus,” 5:45 a.m., AMC
• “Arthur’s Perfect Christmas,” 6 a.m., PBS
• “Mickey Saves Christmas,” 6:30 a.m., Disney
• “Who Can Forget Christmas?” 7 a.m., Fox Business
• “Jack Frost,” 7 a.m., AMC
• “Disney’s A Christmas Carol,” 7 a.m., Freeform
• “Fred Claus,” 7 a.m., IFC
• “Mickey and Minnie Wish Upon a Christmas,” 7:05 a.m., Disney Jr.
• “Wild Kratts: A Creature Christmas,” 8 a.m., PBS
• “The Year Without a Santa Claus,” 8:15 a.m., AMC
• “The Andy Griffith Show: A Christmas Story,” 8:30 a.m., TV Land
• “Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors,” 9 a.m., CMT
• “Jack Frost,” 9:30 a.m., AMC
• “Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade,” 10 a.m., ABC
• “Miracle on 34th Street (1947),” 10:45 a.m., Sundance
• “Frosty the Snowman,” 10:30 a.m., Freeform
• “Christmas With the Kranks,” 11 a.m., FX
• “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” 11 a.m., Freeform
• “Dolly Parton’s Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love,” 11:15 a.m., CMT
• NBA: San Antonio at New York, noon, ABC, ESPN and ESPN2
• “The Polar Express,” noon, AMC
• “Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade,” noon, Disney
• “Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade,” noon, Freeform
• “Snow Day,” noon, IFC
• “White Christmas,” 12:30 p.m., Sundance
• NFL: Kansas City at Pittsburgh, 1 p.m., Netflix
• “Yes, There is a Santa Claus,” 1 p.m., Fox Business
• “Home Alone,” 1 p.m., FX
• “The Naughty Nine,” 1:30 p.m., Disney
• “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” 2 p.m., AMC
• “Jeff Dunham’s Very Special Christmas Special,” airs every hour from 2 p.m. until 11 p.m. on Comedy Central
• “The Santa Clause,” 2 p.m., Freeform
• “In the Good Old Summertime,” 2:15 p.m., TCM
• NBA: Minnesota at Dallas, 2:30 p.m., ABC and ESPN
• “Jack Frost (1998),” 2:30 p.m., IFC
• “A Christmas Carol (1984),” 3 p.m., FXM
• “Miracle on 34th Street (1947),” 3:15 p.m., Sundance
• “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,” 3:30 p.m., FX
• “Love Actually,” 4 p.m., Bravo
• “Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch,” 4 p.m., Freeform
• “The Andy Griffith Show: A Christmas Story,” 4 p.m., TV Land
• “Elf,” 4:15 p.m., AMC
• “Holiday Affair,” 4:15 p.m., TCM
• NFL: Baltimore at Houston, 4:30 p.m., Netflix
• “Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors,” 4:30 p.m., CMT
• NBA: Philadelphia at Boston, 5 p.m., ABC and ESPN
• “Disney’s A Christmas Carol,” 5:10 p.m., FXM
• “White Christmas,” 5:30 p.m., Sundance
• “Home Alone,” 6 p.m., Freeform
• “The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special,” 6 p.m., FX
• “The Man Who Came to Dinner,” 6 p.m., TCM
• “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” 6:15 p.m., AMC
• “Dolly Parton’s Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love,” 6:45 p.m., CMT
• “2024 Christmas Showdown,” 7 p.m., Fox News
• “A Christmas Carol (1951),”7:05 p.m. and 8:55 p.m., FXM
• NBA: L.A. Lakers at Golden State, 8 p.m., ABC and ESPN
• “How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966),” 8 p.m., NBC
• “A Flintstones Christmas Carol,” 8 p.m., Boomerang
• “Disney’s A Christmas Carol,” 8 p.m., Disney
• “Miracle on 34th Street (1947),” 8:15 p.m., Sundance
• “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,” 8:25 p.m., Freeform
• “How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000),” 8:30 p.m., NBC
• “Elf,” 8:30 p.m., AMC
• “Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors,” 9 p.m., CMT
• “A Christmas Story Christmas,” 9 p.m., TNT
• “Mary Berry’s Highland Christmas,” 10 p.m., PBS
• “Love Actually,” 10 p.m., Bravo
• “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” 10 p.m., TBS
• NBA: Denver at Phoenix, 10:30 p.m., ABC and ESPN
• “Four Christmases,” 10:30 p.m., AMC
• “White Christmas,” 10:30 p.m., Sundance
• “A Christmas Carol (2019),” 10:45 p.m., FXM
• “8-Bit Christmas,” 11:15 p.m., TNT
Recipe: Pumpkin Pie

Quick Thought for Christmas

Read

Luke 2:1-20
But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
Luke 2:19-20

Reflect

This is one of my favorite phrases in the Bible: “Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.”

There was no way that Mary could fully have understood everything that had happened. Just ponder this in your heart.

Earlier in the year, Mary had been a normal Nazarene girl, gathering water from her well. Then came the angel’s visit, and nine months later she was a young, married mother. She was lying with her newborn son in a dirty, filthy stable, surrounded by dirty filthy shepherds who arrived with a story of another angelic visit.

In spite of the surroundings, it was clear that this child was special. The angel told her about Him being the Son of God, but in the months since then, there had to have been moments where it didn’t seem real. But here, on the night of Jesus’ birth, came a story of more angels from strangers.

So Mary received the first Christmas gift ever given: Jesus. She treasured Him and all that had happened. She couldn’t have seen the future and what God was ultimately doing, but she kept them in her heart and mind and “pondered” them, thinking through them carefully and wondering where God would lead them next.

And that’s ultimately where each of us is led on Christmas. God wants us to ponder these things for ourselves and consider what Jesus means to us individually. We all have the facts, and most of us have heard them at least once a year for our entire lives. The evidence is right in front of us. The question is, what does it mean. For you. For me.

More than anything you’ll get in a box or a bag, Jesus is the real treasure of Christmas. God is calling to you through His Son, whose birth we celebrate today. Don’t let the day pass without pondering what His birth, His life, His death mean to you. It may be for the first time, or it may be for the 50th time, but today, His birth is a chance to establish or renew your faith.