December 25: The Little Drummer Boy

Sequel to: The Little Drummer Boy (TV Special, 1968)

One of the lesser-known Rankin/Bass TV stop-motion animated specials is 1968's The Little Drummer Boy. This special was given a sequel 8 years later as The Little Drummer Boy, Book II. Interestingly, both specials were financed by the American Gas Association, a trade group for the natural gas industry. I've never seen the special, but per Wikipedia, "Aaron and his animal friends team up with Melchior, one of the Three Wise Men, to protect silver bells, made to ring for Christ's arrival, from a band of greedy Roman soldiers."

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December 24: Hey Santa Claus

Sequel to: National Lampoon's Vacation (Film, 1983), National Lampoon's European Vacation (Film, 1985)

Here's another example of "Christmas Songs/Shows/Movies that are sequels to Non-Christmas Songs/Shows/Movies." But in this case, this sequel has actually reached iconic "Christmas classic" status. I'm talking about 1989's National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, which followed up two non-Christmas films in the franchise.

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December 23: Happy Holidays Y'all

Sequel to: Merry Christmas from the Family (Song, 1994)

Today's we're featuring Happy Holidays Y'all, a song sequel to 1994's "Merry Christmas from the Family," originally written and recorded by Robert Earl Keen. We shared the original in our 2002 Edition of Steve's 25 Days via a recording by the Dixie Chicks with Rosie O'Donnell. The song basically depicts a Texas-style Christmas as patronized by, well, some backwards yokel-type characters.

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December 22: Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July (Overture)

Sequel to: Rudolph's Shiny New Year (TV Special, 1976), Frosty's Winter Wonderland (TV Special, 1976)

Here we have the unique example of a TV Special being a sequel to two different other Christmas TV franchises at the same time. I guess the folks at Rankin & Bass felt they couldn't lose by combining two iconic Christmas characters… in a somewhat non-Christmas special.

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December 21: The Best Things Happen While You're Dancing

Sequel to: Holiday Inn (Film, 1942)

One of our favorite Christmas movies is White Christmas, despite the fact that it has a zillion plot holes and much of the music doesn't actually revolve around Christmas. After the success of 1942's Holiday Inn, which first featured the song "White Christmas", White Christmas was a loose follow-up on the concept, adding color, more Christmas theme, and Danny Kaye instead of Fred Astaire. Today's song, The Best Things Happen While You're Dancing, is sung at the beginning of the film during a dancing duet with Kaye and Vera-Ellen.

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December 20: Deck the Halls

Sequel to: Beauty and the Beast (Film, 1991)

The 90s were a time that saw a massive amount of direct-to-video sequels from Disney. Most were mediocre at best, but they kept cranking them out as parents bought them to be virtual babysitters for their kids.

Stupid parents.

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December 19: I'm The Real Santa

Sequel to: The Santa Clause (Film, 1994), The Santa Clause 2 (Film, 2002)

Proving that they wanted to be Tim Allen's welfare check, Disney came out with a second sequel to The Santa Clause in 2006, The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause. Why? The world may never know. This film pitted Santa Clause against Jack Frost (or Tim Allen vs. Martin Short). If this sounds like the plot from a 1970s Rankin/Bass Frosty the Snowman script, then you are right!

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December 18: The Chanukah Song: Part 3

Sequel to: The Chanukah Song (Song, 1995), The Chanukah Song: Part 2 (Song, 1999)

The third time's a charm, right?

Apparently for Adam Sandler, it is, as today we present The Chanukah Song: Part 3, the third in his trilogy. Heck, this one even has a children's choir!

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December 17: Nuttin' for Christmas

Sequel to: Prep & Landing (TV Special, 2009), Prep & Landing: Operation: Secret Santa (TV Special Short, 2010)

Disney attempted to create a new Christmas TV animated special tradition back in 2009 with the release of Prep & Landing. In many aspects, they were successful, as the special got good ratings, sparked merchandise sales, and received quality buzz. The half-hour show promoted a new animated short the following year, and eventually led into a 2nd half-hour show in 2011: Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice.

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December 16: What Can You Get A Wookie For Christmas (When He Already Owns A Comb?)

Sequel to: Star Wars (Film, 1977), The Empire Strikes Back (Film, 1980)

OK, so the powers-the-be figured out that following up Star Wars with the Star Wars Holiday Special was NOT a good idea. But what about a record album for the holiday? Enter Christmas in the Stars: Star Wars Christmas Album. Originally concepted to be a whole series of Christmas albums based on the franchise, it ended up being the only one.

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