During the holidays, millions of families sit down to watch classic family holiday movies such as A Charlie Brown Christmas, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Frosty the Snowman and others that have become part of our popular culture. But what do you really know about these movies? Here is some fun trivia.

Remember the scene in How the Grinch Stole Christmas where the Whos hold hands in a circle and sing? The title of that song is “Fahoo Forays,” and if that doesn’t make any sense to you, it’s because the words are made up. Dr. Seuss invented some of the words of the song and tried to make them sound like classical Latin. Seuss was so successful that some people thought it was real Latin and wrote the studio to ask for a translation.

In A Year Without A Santa Claus, if you look closely when the little girl is writing the word Christmas with a crayon during the Blue Christmas song, you’ll notice that the letters seem to appear before she actually writes them.

The Grinch has blue eyes – but only after his heart grows while he’s standing on the top of Mt. Crumpet. Before that, his eyes are red.

June Foray, who was the voice of little Cindy Lou Who in How the Grinch Stole Christmas, was also the voice of the teacher in Frosty the Snowman and the drummer boy’s mother in The Little Drummer Boy.

In Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Hermey is the only elf who doesn’t have pointy ears.

- The only time Lucy ever calls Charlie Brown just “Charlie” in a Peanuts special is just before she discusses the commercialization of Christmas in A Charlie Brown Christmas. Thereafter, she always calls him Charlie Brown .

One of the most popular animated Christmas specials each year is “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” More than 40 years after it was originally aired on CBS, it still remains one of almost everyone’s favorite family holiday movies. Based on the Peanuts characters created by cartoonist Charles Schulz, this animated Christmas special is light-hearted, yet touching. And the music is just as good as the story and animation. “Linus and Lucy” was written for this special and later became the signature theme for all Peanuts specials. Another popular original song from the special was “Christmas Time is Here.” Many people think of this as the “Charlie Brown Christmas song.” Here are the lyrics for that song.

Christmas Time is Here (The Charlie Brown Christmas Song) Lyrics
Christmas time is here
Happiness and cheer
Fun for all that children call
Their favorite time of the year

Snowflakes in the air
Carols everywhere
Olden times and ancient rhymes
Of love and dreams to share

Sleigh bells in the air
Beauty everywhere
Yuletide by the fireside
And joyful memories there

Christmas time is here
We’ll be drawing near
Oh, that we could always see
Such spirit through the year
Oh, that we could always see
Such spirit through the year…

Learn more about the history of the Charlie Brown Christmas song at HubPages.

by Debora Dyess
Now that my grandchildren are old enough to watch TV, I’m getting a refresher course in animated Christmas movies. These films created great memories for me when I was little, and I hope they create the same magic for my grandkids. With a bag of popcorn, a mug of hot chocolate and your favorite little ones cuddled in your lap, there’s no better way to spend a cold December evening.

Mickey’s Christmas Carol – (1983) – Mickey Mouse and Christmas are both almost universally loved by children, and this movie brings the two favorites together. There is probably no one better suited to play the role of Ebenezer Scrooge than Scrooge McDuck – at least in the animated version. Then add in Mickey Mouse as the faithful and loyal Bob Cratchit and the rest of the Disney gang to round out the cast and you have a Christmas winner. This animated Christmas movie also has a super soundtrack. With Goofy, Jiminy Cricket and the Giant as the Ghosts, this animated version of Dicken’s classic tale isn’t too scary for the little ones and enjoyable for all ages.

A Charlie Brown Christmas – (1965) – This has to be one of the all-time best animated Christmas movies. Full of traditional Peanuts music and animation, this movie is still a charmer. Charles Schultz deftly scripts Charlie Brown’s search for the true meaning of Christmas without being too heavy-handed by giving Linus a center-stage recitation of the nativity story and having Charlie Brown save a scraggly tree. “Charlie’s search for the truth is the same search we all go through,” a preacher told me once. “The transformation of the tree is what happens in our lives with God’s love.”

How the Grinch Stole Christmas – (1966) While the Whos in Whoville prepare for a big Christmas celebration, the Grinch does not like Christmas one little bit. The trouble that ensues makes for one of the most beloved animated Christmas adventures ever created. In an effort to stop the special day, Grinch schemes and dreams and devises a wickedly elaborate plan … and some pretty good songs and chuckles, to boot. Even though I’ve seen this movie dozens of times, I still wait in anticipation for the Grinch to realize the true meaning of Christmas as he sits on the top of Mt. Crumpit listening to the Whos singing on Christmas morning. This animated tale of redemption and joy, all bundled up in Dr. Seuss’ weird words and crazy pictures, will always be a winner.

T’was the Night Before Christmas – (1974) – When I was little, I sometimes wondered if Santa might forget Christmas or our house… or me! I’d close my eyes for nights before Christmas, silently praying, “God, please let him know I believe in him.”

The characters in this movie want Santa to know they still believe in him, too. Put off by a letter from Albert Mouse, Santa Claus decides to skip this little town inhabited by talking mice. Everyone has to work together to convince Old St. Nick that they really do believe and really want him to bring gifts to their town. As if the plot weren’t clever enough to make it worth watching, the film also has a terrific soundtrack, including great songs like “Even a Miracle Needs a Hand.” And, of course, it has a happy ending, making this a wonderful seasonal movie.

In my opinion, these are some of the best animated Christmas movies ever created, and they’re as much a part of Christmas as a brightly decorated tree, Santa Claus or a nativity scene. And, while new animated Christmas movies may appear every year, none will take the place in my heart of these beloved favorites.

Adapted with permission from: Printable Santa Letters.com

If you’ve Elf Yourself-ed too many times to find it funny anymore, grab your digital photos and head over to FunPunch.com to check out their “You’re the Star” ecards for the holidays and Santa yourself. They’ve got some great free ecards for the holidays that let you add your own photo. Put on a Santa costume and dance with the rocking reindeer (shown here) or don an elf outfit to dance by the fireplace. You can also check out some of the racier options, such as the Xmas stripper cards. (Don’t worry – the animated characters don’t bare it all.)

You’ll need an account to send your cards or post them on Facebook, but it’s free, so have fun!
They’re all free, so go have some fun!

JibJab burst into Internet stardom with “This Land,” the 2004 political parody video featuring animated versions of John Kerry and George Bush singing and dancing while insulting one another, so it may not be the first place you’d think to look for funny Christmas videos. But JibJab now offers a wide selection of funny videos, including a few holiday-themed ones.

One silly Christmas video sure to please most kids, particularly elementary age ones, is the Farting Elves. This humorous video features Santa’s elves (along with Mrs. Claus and Santa Claus, too) farting to the tune of The Twelve Days of Christmas.  Who knew elves had such a strange musical talent? I thought they only knew how to build toys. But after watching this video, you may never see elves the same way.

Now I know you’re thinking that a farting Christmas song is childish bathroom humor that probably wouldn’t be entertaining for most civilized adults. And you could be right. But there are either a lot of children on YouTube or some adults have enjoyed this video, too, as more than 250,000 people have watched the JibJab Farting Elves on YouTube. So go on, check it out. Don’t worry – we won’t tell.