A classic Peanuts Christmas countdown on FiveCentsPlease.org for 2025

Christmas is coming, and so is FiveCentsPlease.org's tradition of counting down to the Big Day with the Peanuts gang. Starting Friday, November 28 and continuing every day through December 25, our home page will feature a different, seasonally themed single panel.

New Christmas countdown panels are no longer being made, so this year we've reached into the archives to bring you historical panels from 1984. They haven't been republished (as far as we know) since their original run over 40 years ago!

(In recent years, FiveCentsPlease.org co-host Derrick Bang has uncovered over a dozen years of previously lost countdown panels. You can read all about his hunt in his original blog post, and his first and second follow-ups about later discoveries.)

The sources for these panels weren't high quality and required a fair bit of cleanup, so they don't look as crisp as many Peanuts strips.

But we hope you'll enjoy visiting our home page each day for the latest panel... and as the Peanuts gang will remind you, don't put off your holiday preparations until too late!

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving streams free on Apple TV+ this weekend (Nov 15-16, 2025)

A reminder that the free streaming window for A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving on Apple TV is this weekend only, Saturday, November 15 and Sunday, November 16, 2025.

To stream the special for free, an Apple device isn't your only option. The Apple TV app is also available for a variety of streaming devices such as Roku and Amazon Fire, on several different smart TV brands, and for portable devices running Android. You can also watch using a web browser on any computer by going to tv.apple.com .

You won't need to subscribe to Apple TV, but you will need to either have or create an Apple ID to sign in and watch. After you sign in, search for the name of the special, if you don't see it right away.

For more information about Apple TV, visit this information page.

Beagle Scouts fly again

The Beagle Scout Snoopy balloon will return for a third year in the 99th annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade, which will air live on NBC-TV from 8:30 a.m. until 12 p.m. ET/PT on Thursday, Nov. 27. 

The parade will begin on Manhattan's Upper West Side, and conclude at Macy's Herald Square flagship store. The parade broadcast also will stream on Peacock, with an encore on NBC-TV at 2 p.m. ET/PT.

The 55-foot tall Beagle Scout Snoopy wears his red Scout tie and green backpack; his pal Woodstock rides on his hat, to join the festivities. This balloon debuted in 2023, to honor the 50th anniversary of the first appearance of Beagle Scouts in the Peanuts newspaper strip.

Snoopy continues to be the longest-running character in the parade’s history.  He started in 1968 as the WWI Flying Ace; this was followed by an Astronaut, Ice Skater, Ice Skater with Woodstock, Millennium Snoopy, an updated Flying Ace, Snoopy and Woodstock, an updated Astronaut, and now (again) Beagle Scout with Woodstock. 

Also for the third year, the Snoopy balloon will be joined by a Peanuts float of Camp Snoopy, with Woodstock and friends perched atop their tent, on the lookout for some wild turkeys. This is the sixth version of a Peanuts float; the first was way back in 1967!

At 8 p.m. the previous evening (Wednesday), NBC-TV and Peacock will air the primetime special Countdown to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. During this live broadcast from the iconic Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade starting line, viewers will get an exclusive first look at the incredible stories behind the floats, balloons and bands, as they prepare to make their way through the streets of New York City.

If you'd like to learn the full history of Peanuts' appearances in the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, check out this earlier post.