Entertainment
Spending time with loved ones, eating a warm (and, often, all too filling) meal, trading gifts, and otherwise celebrating the end of the year are all great reasons to love the Christmas season. But if you're like me, there's another reason to look forward to Dec. 24 — and that's 'round-the-clock holiday movies that are just a few clicks away. Some stations get the jump on others by teeing up holiday programming all month long, like Freeform's 25 Days of Christmas line-up and Hallmark's months-long Countdown to Christmas. But other channels wait until the actual holiday to bust out their seasonal selections. Knowing what's on TV on Christmas Eve is a great way to get your holiday cheer on in-between drinking all the eggnog and unwrapping all the presents.
Of course, there are some givens when it comes to the Christmas Eve line-up — like the fact that A Christmas Story will be airing non-stop on at least one channel and that at least two interpretations of the Charles Dickens classic A Christmas Carol will be on at some point. But if you're looking to watch something less traditional or expected, there are still plenty of options for you to get your Christmas cheer on. Here are a few of the best options, separated by channel.
ABC
CMA Country Christmas, hosted by Jennifer Nettles and featuring performances from artists including Idina Menzel, Amy Grant, Kelly Clarkson, and more, originally aired on November 28. A re-run of the special will air at 9 p.m. ET on ABC on Christmas Eve.
AMC
AMC is chock-full of holiday classics on Christmas Eve, including Deck the Halls (12:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. ET); White Christmas (2:30 a.m. ET); Prancer (6 a.m. ET); Santa Claus: The Movie (8:30 a.m. ET); A Christmas Carol (11 a.m. ET); Four Christmases (1:30 p.m. ET); and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (5:30 p.m. ET).
BBC
Get your holiday spirit on with everybody's favorite Time Lord — a Doctor Who BBC marathon of every single episode of the revival series has been airing all week, continuing through Christmas Eve.
CMT
It's definitely not on the same level as the original, but A Christmas Story 2 is playing multiple times — at 1 a.m. ET, 3 p.m. ET, 5 p.m. ET, 7 p.m. ET, and 9 p.m. ET — on CMT.
Comedy Central
Two classic Futurama Christmas episodes "The Futurama Holiday Spectacular" and "A Tale of Two Santas" are playing back-to-back starting at 8:10 a.m. ET on Comedy Central.
Disney
The smash hit animated musical-adventure Frozen will be airing on Disney Channel at 5:15 p.m. ET.
E!
Perennial holiday fave Love Actually is playing several times, at 12 a.m. ET, 7 p.m. ET, and 10 p.m. ET.
Freeform
It's no surprise that Freeform, the home of the 25 Days of Christmas line-up, is going hard on Christmas Eve. Tons of Christmas classics are playing that day, including Jack Frost (7 a.m. ET); Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas (8:05 a.m. ET); Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas (9:40 a.m. ET); Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town (11:15 a.m. ET); The Year Without a Santa Claus (12:20 p.m. ET); Arthur Christmas (1:25 p.m. ET); The Polar Express (3:30 p.m. ET); The Santa Clause (5:35 p.m. ET); Elf (7:40 p.m. ET); National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (9:45 p.m. ET); and Scrooged (11:55 p.m. ET).
FX
More Tim Allen as Santa, you say? No worries — The Santa Clause 2 is playing at 5 p.m., 7 p.m., 9 p.m., and 11 p.m. ET on FX.
Hallmark
Hallmark Original Christmas Movies have been playing almost around the clock pretty much all month and will continue to do so for Christmas Eve, starting with Broadcasting Christmas at midnight and continuing right through to Christmas List at 11 p.m. ET.
HBO
HBO has a few solid entries in their Christmas Eve line-up, including Once Upon a Sesame Street Christmas (9 a.m. ET); Home Alone (10 a.m. ET); and The Family Man (1:25 p.m. ET).
NBC
The 1946 Christmas classic It's A Wonderful Life is airing on NBC at 8 p.m. ET.
OWN
Feeling nostalgic for the early days of the Obamas in the White House? Check out a repeat of the 2009 special Christmas at the White House: An Oprah Primetime Special at 8 p.m. ET and 11 p.m. ET on OWN.
PBS
Hang with everybody's favorite British baking duo Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood with a repeat of The Great British Baking Show's Christmas Masterclass episode, airing at 8 p.m. ET on PBS.
SyFy
If you're in the mood for some silly-scary holiday vibes, Syfy's got you covered with a few wintry horror movies, including Abominable Snowman (12 p.m. ET), Snowmageddon (2 p.m. ET), and Christmas Icetastrophe (4 p.m. ET).
TBS
TBS is airing a few Christmas standards, including Call Me Claus (2:30 a.m. ET and 8:30 a.m. ET), Surviving Christmas (10:30 a.m. ET), and A Christmas Story (8 p.m. ET and 10 p.m. ET).
TCM
If older classics are more your style, tune to TCM for Scrooge (10:30 a.m. ET) and Christmas In Connecticut (8 p.m. ET).
TNT
TNT is airing a few holiday movies throughout the day, including Home Alone 4 (2:30 p.m. ET), Fred Claus (4:30 p.m. ET), and A Christmas Story (8 p.m. ET and 10 p.m. ET).
As you can see, no matter what you're looking to watch to wile away the hours until Christmas Day, something is airing for everyone this holiday season.
