TO WATCH:

Here is the best listing of the tv specials that I could find on quick notice. We missed Charlie Brown, but that is because they showed it in early June and we just weren't prepared. Sheesh. At least wait until December! I guess network can't compete with cable.

I'm not necessarily a big fan of the famous Christmas movies. I've never even seen "It's a Wonderful Life" all the way through. "Bad Santa" is up on my Netflix queue, though. A classic in the making?

If anything, I remember Christmas scenes in movies that aren't necessarily Christmas-y. Harry Potter always has something festive in his films. "Little Women" has a lovely Christmas moment. All the Austen films have some Michaelmas talk. There is the Christmas tension in movies like in "Ordinary People" and "About a Boy" and that thing with Sarah Jessica Parker that I saw last year...that looked funny and then Diane Keaton dies.

The big debate in my household is whether to let the children see "The Polar Express" or not...I've heard it can plant the seeds of doubt. And there is already a sprig growing here. We also are dubious about "The Nightmare Before Christmas". My son would love it, because he is just that sort of death-obsessed violent freako that Tim Burton would enjoy as a dinner guest. But my daughter is a sensitive flower...we'll just have to see.