A classic Peanuts Christmas countdown on FiveCentsPlease.org for 2015

Christmas is coming, and so is FiveCentsPlease.org's tradition of counting down to the Big Day with the Peanuts gang. Starting Friday, November 27 and continuing every day through December 25, our home page will feature a different, seasonally themed single panel.

As we have for the past several years, we've chosen a countdown from the archives in order to continue this tradition.  This holiday season we'll be featuring the panels from 1998 for your enjoyment.

Please join us on our home page each day - we hope the Christmas countdown panels will bring you a little extra daily cheer!

ABC celebrates the 50th anniversary of A Charlie Brown Christmas on November 30 & December 24

It's been 50 years since the classic holiday special A Charlie Brown Christmas debuted, and ABC is commemorating the event with a new hour-long retrospective special, It's Your 50th Christmas, Charlie Brown, airing from 8 - 9 PM (Eastern/Pacific) on both Monday, November 30 and again on Christmas Eve, Thursday, December 24.

Each evening, the uncut original 1965 special will air immediately following the retrospective, from 9 - 10 PM (the rest of that hour will be filled out, as usual, by Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales).

It's Your 50th Christmas, Charlie Brown will be hosted by Kristen Bell and produced by Lee Mendelson, who produced the classic special 50 years ago. According to the press release, the show will feature "spectacular live performances, from the memorable music of Vince Guaraldi, to Kristen Chenoweth singing 'Happiness' from the Peanuts Broadway hit 'You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown,' and a performance from Matthew Morrison of an original song, 'Just Like Me.' Other musical guests set to perform classic songs are Sarah McLachlan, Boyz II Men, Pentatonix, David Benoit and The All-American Boys Chorus." There will also be "Hollywood notables reminiscing about their most treasured A Charlie Brown Christmas moments."

So tune in one or both nights for two hours of Christmas memories with the Peanuts gang!

Both shows are available to watch via online streaming at ABC.com:

It's Your 50th Christmas, Charlie Brown
A Charlie Brown Christmas


Also this holiday season, ABC will show I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown on Tuesday, December 15, 2015 from 9 - 10 PM, and Happy New Year, Charlie Brown together with She's a Good Skate, Charlie Brown on Monday, December 28, 2015 from 8 - 9 PM (all times Eastern/Pacific).


Here's the full upcoming schedule of Peanuts TV appearances on ABC (all times Eastern/Pacific):

Mon Nov 30 8-9 PM  It's Your 50th Christmas, Charlie Brown
Mon Nov 30 9-10 PM A Charlie Brown Christmas
                   + Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales
Tue Dec 15 9-10 PM I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown
Thu Dec 24 8-9 PM  It's Your 50th Christmas, Charlie Brown
Thu Dec 24 9-10 PM A Charlie Brown Christmas
                   + Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales
Mon Dec 28 8-9 PM  Happy New Year, Charlie Brown
                   + She's a Good Skate, Charlie Brown

(UPDATED: The broadcast date & time for I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown was changed to the 15th from the originally announced date of the 19th, because ABC will be showing a Democratic presidential primary debate on the 19th.  Thanks for pointing this out, Amy M!)

New Peanuts float debuts, Snoopy balloon returns in 2015 Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade

Look for Peanuts characters both in the air and on the ground in this year's 89th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

A returning favorite, the Snoopy and Woodstock balloon will make its third consecutive appearance sailing above the crowds - and the 39th time overall a Snoopy balloon has appeared in the parade, starting with the first appearance in 1968.

Meanwhile, down below on the road, a new "Snoopy's Doghouse" float will celebrate the 50th anniversary of A Charlie Brown Christmas.  The float will feature elements from the classic television special, including Charlie Brown’s Christmas tree and Snoopy’s prize-winning decorated doghouse, along with several of the Peanuts characters themselves.

Preview of the new float. Photo courtesy of Mitsu Yasukawa/NorthJersey.com

(A Peanuts-themed float has appeared at least once before in the parade; it also featured Snoopy's doghouse, but this is a completely new float.)

If you can't be in New York City in person, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade will be televised from 9 AM - Noon on Thursday, November 26, 2015 on NBC. (All time zones; the Macy's Parade broadcast starts at 9 AM, regardless of which time zone you're in.)

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The parade balloon and float aren't the end of Macy's celebration of Peanuts in 2015; this year, the store's traditional holiday window displays will feature a Charlie Brown Christmas theme.  According to the company's press release, "the Broadway windows at Macy’s flagship store at Herald Square in New York City will debut incredible animated scenes from the iconic television special [...] additionally, A Charlie Brown Christmas is the theme that will decorate the holiday windows at Macy’s downtown stores in Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City, San Francisco and Washington, D.C."  So you might want check it out if you live near one of those locations!

You can see a preview of the NYC windows and a peek at how they were made in this video from USA Today.

Correction: ABC to show A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving on Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Warm up the popcorn maker so it's ready on Tuesday, November 24, 2015 (note corrected date) for ABC's annual broadcast of A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, together with This is America, Charlie Brown: The Mayflower Voyagers, from 8 - 9 PM (Eastern/Pacific).

(The advance information I received, and passed on in my previous post, saying the special would air November 25 turned out to be wrong.  Tuesday November 24 is the officially announced, and correct, date.  I apologize for the confusion and for sending out incorrect information.)

The Peanuts Movie opens today...

...and you'll want to get your tickets early; all indications point to a smash opening weekend.

Do make a point of finding a theater showing it in 3D; this marvelous film makes excellent use of that third dimension.

As it happens, our tireless staff of 5CP researchers includes a full-time film critic, whose review will appear later today in his daily Northern California newspaper. But you can read it immediately.

(He kinda-sorta liked the movie. Just a little!)