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Peanuts TV Specials #1965
A Charlie Brown Christmas
Celebrate Christmas with Charlie Brown and the rest of the Peanuts gang in this gorgeous retelling of the beloved Christmas special!
Christmas is almost here, which means ice-skating, Christmas carols, and sparkly lights everywhere—even on Snoopy’s doghouse! Everyone is enjoying the holiday celebrations except Charlie Brown. Can the Peanuts gang help Charlie Brown discover the true meaning of Christmas?
Christmas is almost here, which means ice-skating, Christmas carols, and sparkly lights everywhere—even on Snoopy’s doghouse! Everyone is enjoying the holiday celebrations except Charlie Brown. Can the Peanuts gang help Charlie Brown discover the true meaning of Christmas?
32 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1965
166 people are currently reading
3703 people want to read
About the author
Charles M. Schulz
3,021 books1,646 followersCharles Monroe Schulz was an American cartoonist, whose comic strip Peanuts proved one of the most popular and influential in the history of the medium, and is still widely reprinted on a daily basis.
Schulz's first regular cartoons, Li'l Folks, were published from 1947 to 1950 by the St. Paul Pioneer Press; he first used the name Charlie Brown for a character there, although he applied the name in four gags to three different boys and one buried in sand. The series also had a dog that looked much like Snoopy. In 1948, Schulz sold a cartoon to The Saturday Evening Post; the first of 17 single-panel cartoons by Schulz that would be published there. In 1948, Schulz tried to have Li'l Folks syndicated through the Newspaper Enterprise Association. Schulz would have been an independent contractor for the syndicate, unheard of in the 1940s, but the deal fell through. Li'l Folks was dropped from the Pioneer Press in January, 1950.
Later that year, Schulz approached the United Feature Syndicate with his best strips from Li'l Folks, and Peanuts made its first appearance on October 2, 1950. The strip became one of the most popular comic strips of all time. He also had a short-lived sports-oriented comic strip called It's Only a Game (1957–1959), but he abandoned it due to the demands of the successful Peanuts. From 1956 to 1965 he contributed a single-panel strip ("Young Pillars") featuring teenagers to Youth, a publication associated with the Church of God.
Peanuts ran for nearly 50 years, almost without interruption; during the life of the strip, Schulz took only one vacation, a five-week break in late 1997. At its peak, Peanuts appeared in more than 2,600 newspapers in 75 countries. Schulz stated that his routine every morning consisted of eating a jelly donut and sitting down to write the day's strip. After coming up with an idea (which he said could take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours), he began drawing it, which took about an hour for dailies and three hours for Sunday strips. He stubbornly refused to hire an inker or letterer, saying that "it would be equivalent to a golfer hiring a man to make his putts for him." In November 1999 Schulz suffered a stroke, and later it was discovered that he had colon cancer that had metastasized. Because of the chemotherapy and the fact he could not read or see clearly, he announced his retirement on December 14, 1999.
Schulz often touched on religious themes in his work, including the classic television cartoon, A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965), which features the character Linus van Pelt quoting the King James Version of the Bible Luke 2:8-14 to explain "what Christmas is all about." In personal interviews Schulz mentioned that Linus represented his spiritual side. Schulz, reared in the Lutheran faith, had been active in the Church of God as a young adult and then later taught Sunday school at a United Methodist Church. In the 1960s, Robert L. Short interpreted certain themes and conversations in Peanuts as being consistent with parts of Christian theology, and used them as illustrations during his lectures about the gospel, as he explained in his bestselling paperback book, The Gospel According to Peanuts, the first of several books he wrote on religion and Peanuts, and other popular culture items. From the late 1980s, however, Schulz described himself in interviews as a "secular humanist": “I do not go to church anymore... I guess you might say I've come around to secular humanism, an obligation I believe all humans have to others and the world we live in.”
Schulz's first regular cartoons, Li'l Folks, were published from 1947 to 1950 by the St. Paul Pioneer Press; he first used the name Charlie Brown for a character there, although he applied the name in four gags to three different boys and one buried in sand. The series also had a dog that looked much like Snoopy. In 1948, Schulz sold a cartoon to The Saturday Evening Post; the first of 17 single-panel cartoons by Schulz that would be published there. In 1948, Schulz tried to have Li'l Folks syndicated through the Newspaper Enterprise Association. Schulz would have been an independent contractor for the syndicate, unheard of in the 1940s, but the deal fell through. Li'l Folks was dropped from the Pioneer Press in January, 1950.
Later that year, Schulz approached the United Feature Syndicate with his best strips from Li'l Folks, and Peanuts made its first appearance on October 2, 1950. The strip became one of the most popular comic strips of all time. He also had a short-lived sports-oriented comic strip called It's Only a Game (1957–1959), but he abandoned it due to the demands of the successful Peanuts. From 1956 to 1965 he contributed a single-panel strip ("Young Pillars") featuring teenagers to Youth, a publication associated with the Church of God.
Peanuts ran for nearly 50 years, almost without interruption; during the life of the strip, Schulz took only one vacation, a five-week break in late 1997. At its peak, Peanuts appeared in more than 2,600 newspapers in 75 countries. Schulz stated that his routine every morning consisted of eating a jelly donut and sitting down to write the day's strip. After coming up with an idea (which he said could take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours), he began drawing it, which took about an hour for dailies and three hours for Sunday strips. He stubbornly refused to hire an inker or letterer, saying that "it would be equivalent to a golfer hiring a man to make his putts for him." In November 1999 Schulz suffered a stroke, and later it was discovered that he had colon cancer that had metastasized. Because of the chemotherapy and the fact he could not read or see clearly, he announced his retirement on December 14, 1999.
Schulz often touched on religious themes in his work, including the classic television cartoon, A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965), which features the character Linus van Pelt quoting the King James Version of the Bible Luke 2:8-14 to explain "what Christmas is all about." In personal interviews Schulz mentioned that Linus represented his spiritual side. Schulz, reared in the Lutheran faith, had been active in the Church of God as a young adult and then later taught Sunday school at a United Methodist Church. In the 1960s, Robert L. Short interpreted certain themes and conversations in Peanuts as being consistent with parts of Christian theology, and used them as illustrations during his lectures about the gospel, as he explained in his bestselling paperback book, The Gospel According to Peanuts, the first of several books he wrote on religion and Peanuts, and other popular culture items. From the late 1980s, however, Schulz described himself in interviews as a "secular humanist": “I do not go to church anymore... I guess you might say I've come around to secular humanism, an obligation I believe all humans have to others and the world we live in.”
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February 12, 2025
Charles Schultz’s made-for-TV cartoon, A Charlie Brown Christmas, first appeared on the US television pre-Christmas lineup in December 1965. But on me, an alienated 15-year-old, its beautiful effect was lost then: until just now.
This book describes the alienated and clumsy - two traits I shared, and vehemently denied - young Charlie Brown, as he gropes his way through the desert Modern Christmas has become.
I guess he realizes that little Linus is right, and that it’s all a plot dreamt up by an evil Eastern Syndicate.
What can he do?
Like so many other alienated Christians he tries, as the annual Yuletide pageant director, to drive the Christmas message like thunder into his interlocutors’ - his classmates’ - shrivelled ears.
But the kids want the greatest gifts that money can buy!
Most kids want the commercial best that the stores have to offer. One of them wants readymade beauty. Lucy, of course, wants Real Estate...
Good grief, you’re right, Charlie Brown. We’ve too long been in “a desert on a (camel) with no name” and as a result are no longer Wise Men.
At all.
What went wrong?
Well, for starters look at the 15-year-old me, denying he really is Charlie Brown come to life. And NOW look at the months-shy-of-74 old guy I’ve turned into - realizing that I always hated Schulz’s story so much because it HIT TOO CLOSE TO HOME. This time, tonight, I was enlightened.
Got it?
Now extrapolate - go from my particulars to postmodern generalities...
The generality is that we’ve ALL to some extent become alienated by Christmas commercialism. No wonder - we’re no longer kids who want the biggest toys. We’ve grown up. We read voraciously. And now we SEE the world’s game.
So can there still be magic in the season?
Oh, there’s still magic in Christmas, alright!
Just look at Charlie Brown’s JOY in hearing Linus’ Christmas Story at the end of the book.
That’s the joy.
And it’s all we need, just like Charlie Brown.
Wherein is the WONDER, then?
That it took a tiny Baby born Dirt Poor in a cowshed to Finally Give Us Hope.
This book describes the alienated and clumsy - two traits I shared, and vehemently denied - young Charlie Brown, as he gropes his way through the desert Modern Christmas has become.
I guess he realizes that little Linus is right, and that it’s all a plot dreamt up by an evil Eastern Syndicate.
What can he do?
Like so many other alienated Christians he tries, as the annual Yuletide pageant director, to drive the Christmas message like thunder into his interlocutors’ - his classmates’ - shrivelled ears.
But the kids want the greatest gifts that money can buy!
Most kids want the commercial best that the stores have to offer. One of them wants readymade beauty. Lucy, of course, wants Real Estate...
Good grief, you’re right, Charlie Brown. We’ve too long been in “a desert on a (camel) with no name” and as a result are no longer Wise Men.
At all.
What went wrong?
Well, for starters look at the 15-year-old me, denying he really is Charlie Brown come to life. And NOW look at the months-shy-of-74 old guy I’ve turned into - realizing that I always hated Schulz’s story so much because it HIT TOO CLOSE TO HOME. This time, tonight, I was enlightened.
Got it?
Now extrapolate - go from my particulars to postmodern generalities...
The generality is that we’ve ALL to some extent become alienated by Christmas commercialism. No wonder - we’re no longer kids who want the biggest toys. We’ve grown up. We read voraciously. And now we SEE the world’s game.
So can there still be magic in the season?
Oh, there’s still magic in Christmas, alright!
Just look at Charlie Brown’s JOY in hearing Linus’ Christmas Story at the end of the book.
That’s the joy.
And it’s all we need, just like Charlie Brown.
Wherein is the WONDER, then?
That it took a tiny Baby born Dirt Poor in a cowshed to Finally Give Us Hope.
December 23, 2025
Charlie Brown is having a tough time of it this Christmas season – as do so many of us, during so many holiday seasons. The round-headed, perpetually nervous Everyman of Charles M. Schulz’s Peanuts comic strip tells his best friend Linus that “I think there must be something wrong with me….Christmas is coming, but I’m not happy. I just don’t understand Christmas, I guess. I always end up feeling depressed.” And it is on that note that A Charlie Brown Christmas, the book adaptation of the famed 1965 television special, begins.
Reading the book, as opposed to watching the TV special, one misses some of the pre-eminent features of the animated delivery of this story – most notably, the immortal jazz score by pianist Vince Guaraldi. When I re-read this little book at Christmastime, therefore, I simply fire up my compact disc of the Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack as a musical accompaniment.
With or without the music, however, A Charlie Brown Christmas tells its story quickly and economically. An opening image, with Charlie Brown setting forth the Christmas anxieties quoted above, shows Charlie Brown and Linus Van Pelt leaning upon a stone wall, snow falling gently from the winter sky. Charlie Brown is wearing a dark brown winter hat with its flaps up; Linus wears a green toque, holds his security blanket in his left hand, and is sucking his thumb.
And Linus responds to Charlie Brown with a measure of mild exasperation – “You’re the only person I know who can take a wonderful season like Christmas and turn it into a problem….Maybe Lucy’s right. Of all the Charlie Browns in the world, you’re the Charlie Browniest.” It is a role that Linus often plays in the Peanuts world – trying to help Charlie Brown step out of the potentially destructive world of his besetting inner anxieties, so that Charlie Brown can see the larger picture.
Charlie Brown seeks advice from Linus’s older sister Lucy – who moonlights as as a psychiatric adviser, in spite of an evident lack of formal medical-school training – and Lucy suggests that Charlie Brown become director of the group’s Christmas play. Charlie Brown accepts – though he then suffers a moment of holiday frustration when he sees how his dog Snoopy is embracing the Christmas season.
Snoopy is always one of the most important characters in the Peanuts oeuvre, with his rich imaginative inner life and his ongoing refusal to be limited by his status as a dog in a human’s world. We see him busily nailing electric Christmas lights to the exterior of his dog house, while Charlie Brown, his eyes and mouth narrowed in flat lines of frustration, reads the promotional brochure that Snoopy has handed him: “‘Find the true meaning of Christmas. Win money, money, money! Spectacular, supercolossal neighborhood Christmas lights-and-display contest!”
Charlie Brown’s dismay – “My own dog – gone commercial! I can’t stand it!” – is exacerbated when his younger sister Sally dictates to him her letter to Santa Claus: “I have a long list of presents that I want. Please note the size and color of each item and send as many as possible. If it seems too complicated, make it easy on yourself. Just send money. How about tens and twenties?”
Charlie Brown begins his efforts to direct the Christmas play. As roles are assigned, it becomes clear that the play will be an attempt to depict the birth of Jesus at Bethlehem, with the perpetually dirty Pigpen being given the role of the innkeeper, and Frieda (of the naturally curly hair) being cast as the innkeeper’s wife. But the cast seems more interested in dancing to Schroeder’s jazzy piano playing. Lucy states that “We all know that Christmas is a big commercial racket,” but Charlie Brown is determined that “this is one play that’s not going to be commercial.”
Toward that end, Charlie Brown takes Linus with him, on a quest to find a suitable Christmas tree. Lucy tells Charlie Brown to find “A great, big, shiny Christmas tree,” but Charlie Brown has other ideas. In a Christmas-tree lot filled with brightly coloured artificial trees that look rather like steel pyramids, Charlie Brown finds one forlorn-looking little natural tree. Linus is dubious – “This doesn’t seem to fit the modern spirit” – but Charlie Brown stands firm, saying, “We’ll decorate it, and it will be just right for our play. Besides, I think it needs me.” It is the first time in the book that one sees Charlie Brown smiling.
But the other children scorn his choice, and a despairing Charlie Brown declares that “Everything I do turns into a disaster. I guess I really don’t know what Christmas is all about. Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?” Linus quietly replies, “Sure, Charlie Brown. I can tell you what Christmas is all about,” walks to center stage, and offers a spot-on, straight-from-memory recitation of the Nativity scene from the Gospel of Saint Luke, Chapter 2, verses 8 through 14:
“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them. And they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, which will be to all people. For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you. Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth peace, goodwill toward men.’”
It is this element of A Charlie Brown Christmas that supposedly did the most to convince the executives (the “suits”) at CBS Television that the show was going to be a ratings dud. They felt that the show was too long, and too slow. They didn’t like its lack of the kind of pratfall comedy that one could count on seeing in a Warner Brothers cartoon, or on Tom and Jerry. Most of all, they feared that the religious element would drive away non-devout viewers. “Jingle Bells” and “Deck the Halls” – fine. Saint Luke the Evangelist, with an angel announcing the birth of Jesus Christ? What is Schulz thinking?
And yet it works. It works for Charlie Brown, who takes his little tree out of the auditorium and reflects that “He finally understood the meaning of Christmas.” And for more than 50 years, it has worked for viewers and readers of many faiths, or of no faith. It does not come off the way the CBS executives might have feared, as a bit of cheap-and-easy evangelism – like the person who walks up to you in a train station and, without so much as a by-your-leave, gets in your face and demands, “Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal saviour?” Rather, Schulz provides a quiet, dignified reminder that the Christmas holiday had its beginnings in something spiritual rather than material. It works well with the narrative’s prevailing anti-commercialism message.
And it also helps that Linus Van Pelt delivers that message. Linus has always been my favourite of the Peanuts characters. He does not have Lucy’s forceful personality, or Schroeder’s musical talent, or Peppermint Patty’s athleticism. What he does have is an unquenchable intellectual curiosity. He is an avid reader; I suspect that he and Lisa Simpson would have a great deal to talk about. And while, like many avid readers, he may have his own occasional tendency to veer off into one form of ideational excess or another (as with the Great Pumpkin fiasco of 1966), he excels at sharing with his friends what he has learned. I like to think that Linus might end up as a college professor, or a counselor, or a social worker, or a therapist – something where he can use his erudition, and his considerable skills as an active listener, to help others.
Charlie Brown still has his share of holiday doubt and angst to deal with, but A Charlie Brown Christmas ends on an optimistic note of acceptance and reconciliation. It is a great book to read to one’s children or grandchildren during the holiday season. I just hope that maybe, next Christmas, Charlie Brown will be having a much happier holiday season – perhaps enjoying a walk through a snowy Christmastime landscape with the Little Red-Haired Girl…
Reading the book, as opposed to watching the TV special, one misses some of the pre-eminent features of the animated delivery of this story – most notably, the immortal jazz score by pianist Vince Guaraldi. When I re-read this little book at Christmastime, therefore, I simply fire up my compact disc of the Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack as a musical accompaniment.
With or without the music, however, A Charlie Brown Christmas tells its story quickly and economically. An opening image, with Charlie Brown setting forth the Christmas anxieties quoted above, shows Charlie Brown and Linus Van Pelt leaning upon a stone wall, snow falling gently from the winter sky. Charlie Brown is wearing a dark brown winter hat with its flaps up; Linus wears a green toque, holds his security blanket in his left hand, and is sucking his thumb.
And Linus responds to Charlie Brown with a measure of mild exasperation – “You’re the only person I know who can take a wonderful season like Christmas and turn it into a problem….Maybe Lucy’s right. Of all the Charlie Browns in the world, you’re the Charlie Browniest.” It is a role that Linus often plays in the Peanuts world – trying to help Charlie Brown step out of the potentially destructive world of his besetting inner anxieties, so that Charlie Brown can see the larger picture.
Charlie Brown seeks advice from Linus’s older sister Lucy – who moonlights as as a psychiatric adviser, in spite of an evident lack of formal medical-school training – and Lucy suggests that Charlie Brown become director of the group’s Christmas play. Charlie Brown accepts – though he then suffers a moment of holiday frustration when he sees how his dog Snoopy is embracing the Christmas season.
Snoopy is always one of the most important characters in the Peanuts oeuvre, with his rich imaginative inner life and his ongoing refusal to be limited by his status as a dog in a human’s world. We see him busily nailing electric Christmas lights to the exterior of his dog house, while Charlie Brown, his eyes and mouth narrowed in flat lines of frustration, reads the promotional brochure that Snoopy has handed him: “‘Find the true meaning of Christmas. Win money, money, money! Spectacular, supercolossal neighborhood Christmas lights-and-display contest!”
Charlie Brown’s dismay – “My own dog – gone commercial! I can’t stand it!” – is exacerbated when his younger sister Sally dictates to him her letter to Santa Claus: “I have a long list of presents that I want. Please note the size and color of each item and send as many as possible. If it seems too complicated, make it easy on yourself. Just send money. How about tens and twenties?”
Charlie Brown begins his efforts to direct the Christmas play. As roles are assigned, it becomes clear that the play will be an attempt to depict the birth of Jesus at Bethlehem, with the perpetually dirty Pigpen being given the role of the innkeeper, and Frieda (of the naturally curly hair) being cast as the innkeeper’s wife. But the cast seems more interested in dancing to Schroeder’s jazzy piano playing. Lucy states that “We all know that Christmas is a big commercial racket,” but Charlie Brown is determined that “this is one play that’s not going to be commercial.”
Toward that end, Charlie Brown takes Linus with him, on a quest to find a suitable Christmas tree. Lucy tells Charlie Brown to find “A great, big, shiny Christmas tree,” but Charlie Brown has other ideas. In a Christmas-tree lot filled with brightly coloured artificial trees that look rather like steel pyramids, Charlie Brown finds one forlorn-looking little natural tree. Linus is dubious – “This doesn’t seem to fit the modern spirit” – but Charlie Brown stands firm, saying, “We’ll decorate it, and it will be just right for our play. Besides, I think it needs me.” It is the first time in the book that one sees Charlie Brown smiling.
But the other children scorn his choice, and a despairing Charlie Brown declares that “Everything I do turns into a disaster. I guess I really don’t know what Christmas is all about. Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?” Linus quietly replies, “Sure, Charlie Brown. I can tell you what Christmas is all about,” walks to center stage, and offers a spot-on, straight-from-memory recitation of the Nativity scene from the Gospel of Saint Luke, Chapter 2, verses 8 through 14:
“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them. And they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, which will be to all people. For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you. Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth peace, goodwill toward men.’”
It is this element of A Charlie Brown Christmas that supposedly did the most to convince the executives (the “suits”) at CBS Television that the show was going to be a ratings dud. They felt that the show was too long, and too slow. They didn’t like its lack of the kind of pratfall comedy that one could count on seeing in a Warner Brothers cartoon, or on Tom and Jerry. Most of all, they feared that the religious element would drive away non-devout viewers. “Jingle Bells” and “Deck the Halls” – fine. Saint Luke the Evangelist, with an angel announcing the birth of Jesus Christ? What is Schulz thinking?
And yet it works. It works for Charlie Brown, who takes his little tree out of the auditorium and reflects that “He finally understood the meaning of Christmas.” And for more than 50 years, it has worked for viewers and readers of many faiths, or of no faith. It does not come off the way the CBS executives might have feared, as a bit of cheap-and-easy evangelism – like the person who walks up to you in a train station and, without so much as a by-your-leave, gets in your face and demands, “Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal saviour?” Rather, Schulz provides a quiet, dignified reminder that the Christmas holiday had its beginnings in something spiritual rather than material. It works well with the narrative’s prevailing anti-commercialism message.
And it also helps that Linus Van Pelt delivers that message. Linus has always been my favourite of the Peanuts characters. He does not have Lucy’s forceful personality, or Schroeder’s musical talent, or Peppermint Patty’s athleticism. What he does have is an unquenchable intellectual curiosity. He is an avid reader; I suspect that he and Lisa Simpson would have a great deal to talk about. And while, like many avid readers, he may have his own occasional tendency to veer off into one form of ideational excess or another (as with the Great Pumpkin fiasco of 1966), he excels at sharing with his friends what he has learned. I like to think that Linus might end up as a college professor, or a counselor, or a social worker, or a therapist – something where he can use his erudition, and his considerable skills as an active listener, to help others.
Charlie Brown still has his share of holiday doubt and angst to deal with, but A Charlie Brown Christmas ends on an optimistic note of acceptance and reconciliation. It is a great book to read to one’s children or grandchildren during the holiday season. I just hope that maybe, next Christmas, Charlie Brown will be having a much happier holiday season – perhaps enjoying a walk through a snowy Christmastime landscape with the Little Red-Haired Girl…
January 17, 2024
It's Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang wishing a Merry Christmas to all.
December 27, 2018
Surrounded by all the trimmings of the Christmas season, Charlie Brown senses that something is missing. What is Christmas all about? Is it really just about the presents? Or the lights and other decorations? The season has become so commercialized, so he sets out to find the true Christmas spirit. With his friends, he discovers the reason for the season. Whether you read the book or watch the movie, it’s a classic children’s story that is a Christmas tradition in so many homes.
December 22, 2021
"A Charlie Brown Christmas" tells the story of the true meaning of Christmas. It isn't about Santa Claus or finding gifts under the tree. Sure, many have come to believe that is what it is all about, especially when certain individuals don't want to allow manger scenes around hospitals and other public places, even though hospitals are the one place you would think you want that, as well as any other religions' presence. Leave it to little Linus to set the record straight.
For many of us this cute little book is full of nostalgia too. Remember when you could buy something for a nickel? Do you remember when most everyone put up lights and decorations, and the trees came from the corner lot? Those falling pine needles were everywhere, but the smell of a fresh tree wafted through the air to help set the mood. Getting that tree home was work, sure, but it was worth it. And remember the school plays and programs? Those were different times. This is a cute little book to read to the young'uns. And who doesn't like Snoopy?
For many of us this cute little book is full of nostalgia too. Remember when you could buy something for a nickel? Do you remember when most everyone put up lights and decorations, and the trees came from the corner lot? Those falling pine needles were everywhere, but the smell of a fresh tree wafted through the air to help set the mood. Getting that tree home was work, sure, but it was worth it. And remember the school plays and programs? Those were different times. This is a cute little book to read to the young'uns. And who doesn't like Snoopy?
December 21, 2024
"I am in sad shape." Charlie Brown replied with a sigh. "My trouble is Christmas. I just don't understand it. Instead of feeling happy, I feel sort of let down."
🥹 When Charlie Brown picked that little scrawny straggly tree as his Christmas tree. And he says to Linus, “I think it needs me.” Bless his heart, so freakin’ cute. 🥰 I watched the 1965 film too!
🥹 When Charlie Brown picked that little scrawny straggly tree as his Christmas tree. And he says to Linus, “I think it needs me.” Bless his heart, so freakin’ cute. 🥰 I watched the 1965 film too!
December 10, 2024
Charlie Brown is of course miserable for the holidays--no cards for him--for which we love him:
"Of all the Charlie Browns in the world, you are the Charlie Browniest" ---Linus
But CB has a point; most of his friends just want to GET presents, not give them, and his own dog wants to have everyone compete for MONEY MONEY MONEY in his decoration contest:
"I can't stand it!"--Charlie Brown
Psychiatrist Lucy suggests he direct a Christmas show, which goes as well as his baseball games or kicking a football.
Snoopy wins his own decoration contest, and Charlie Brown buys the saddest little tree and puts the only bulb he can find on it. . . but his friends save the day!
"Of all the Charlie Browns in the world, you are the Charlie Browniest" ---Linus
But CB has a point; most of his friends just want to GET presents, not give them, and his own dog wants to have everyone compete for MONEY MONEY MONEY in his decoration contest:
"I can't stand it!"--Charlie Brown
Psychiatrist Lucy suggests he direct a Christmas show, which goes as well as his baseball games or kicking a football.
Snoopy wins his own decoration contest, and Charlie Brown buys the saddest little tree and puts the only bulb he can find on it. . . but his friends save the day!
April 16, 2009
i really like this book well because it is about me. HAHAHAHAHA lolololol.
-Charlie Brown- plez reply
-Charlie Brown- plez reply
November 23, 2021
Read for my toddler's bedtime. Charlie Brown was feeling sad at Christmas until Lucy told him to direct the holiday play. He went to get a Christmas tree for the play but everyone laughed at his choice and it made him sadder. But eventually his friends came around and did something to make him happy again.
Read from kindle unlimited.
Read from kindle unlimited.
December 8, 2016
This was cute! My students love reading Charlie Brown stories. At one point the book jumped around a little bit and confused them.
December 7, 2018
It's my favorite Christmas movie ever, so, of course, this must be one of my favorite Christmas stories to read as well. It's the story of a little boy (surely you know this) who doesn't quite feel the Christmas spirit and who doesn't do anything right, but is, nevertheless, put in charge of the Christmas pageant. In the midst of all the hustle and bustle of Christmas, the wanting of presents and the buying of things and the decorating, the true spirit of Christmas pops up, for just a minute, but it is enough to change everything.
December 31, 2025
The holiday season could never be complete without reading A Charlie Brown Christmas! The story is timeless and so beautifully captures the true meaning of Christmas with its heart, humor, and utter simplicity. Charlie Brown’s search for something meaningful in the midst of all the noise and commercialization feels just as relatable today as ever. Maybe even more so. And Linus’s iconic speech, always my favorite part of the story, is especially touching and perfectly captures the spirit of Christmas. I get goose bumps every time!
This book is truly an example of chicken soup for the soul, perfect for both children and adults. It’s a reminder that kindness always matters, and finding joy in simple things is what gives life meaning — a holiday classic that has never lost its magic, nor ever will!
This book is truly an example of chicken soup for the soul, perfect for both children and adults. It’s a reminder that kindness always matters, and finding joy in simple things is what gives life meaning — a holiday classic that has never lost its magic, nor ever will!
December 17, 2025
4.5 stars
Decorations up, dinner finished, and tucked into blankets with hot chocolate, I decided to pull out an oldie, but a goodie, and my grandsons loved this story just as I did when I was younger. This book is full of nostalgia.
A Charlie Brown Christmas is a must-read for fans of classic Charlie Brown (Peanuts). It's Christmas, and Charlie Brown is determined to find the true spirit of Christmas along with his friends.
They now want to read more of Charlie and his adventures.
Decorations up, dinner finished, and tucked into blankets with hot chocolate, I decided to pull out an oldie, but a goodie, and my grandsons loved this story just as I did when I was younger. This book is full of nostalgia.
A Charlie Brown Christmas is a must-read for fans of classic Charlie Brown (Peanuts). It's Christmas, and Charlie Brown is determined to find the true spirit of Christmas along with his friends.
They now want to read more of Charlie and his adventures.
January 12, 2022
Classic.
December 31, 2015
A wonderful little book about the real meaning of Christmas in a cute little book, perfect as a gift. Who could not love The Peanuts?!
December 23, 2022
Love this story! Childhood memories!!
December 14, 2021
This is such a lovely and wonderful story.
One of my favorite ones for sure.
It's worth revisiting every year for a little Christmas fun.
One of my favorite ones for sure.
It's worth revisiting every year for a little Christmas fun.
November 13, 2022
Classic
December 22, 2013
"You were supposed to get a good tree. Can't you even tell a good tree from a poor tree?" Lucy asked.
"You're hopeless, Charlie Brown!" added Peppermint Patty.
Lucy may be mean but at least she's original (though a tree elitist). Peppermint Patty is such a lemming. Ugh, girls can be so self-righteously mean. If Charlie Brown wants a smelly old sock for a Christmas Tree he can very well have a smelly old sock for a Christmas Tree. It may be about materialism or consumerism on Christmas, but its also about choices and respecting them. Learn it, kids.
(Read this to my niece yesterday. Of course, we did not have this discussion. Yet.)
December 21, 2017
Awesome.
January 26, 2009
“Glory to God and the highest, and on Earth peace, goodwill toward men... That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown” probably some of the most important words ever written in a Children’s book or spoken on a Christmas TV special. This miniature set contains a storybook, Linus’ blanket, a red ornament and that sad, lonely tree; making this a truly wonderful holiday gift.
I was given this set as a gift from my wife and my daughter. I knew right then and there that they loved me and as a family we knew the true meaning of Christmas!
I was given this set as a gift from my wife and my daughter. I knew right then and there that they loved me and as a family we knew the true meaning of Christmas!
own-need-to-read
December 18, 2013OMG! OMG! OMG!!! A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS IS FREE FOR KINDLE!!!
There really is a Santa Claus! Or is it a Kindle Claus? Doesn't matter, IT'S FREE!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A...
Edited to add another OMG!!! I haven't been this excited in I don't know how long! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!!!!
December 2, 2022
The perfect holiday classic!!! ✨
January 27, 2014
I've always liked Charlie Brown, so I was happy to read this book. The story talks about the commercialization of Christmas. All the kids talk about what they wish for, while Charlie Brown is feeling despondent because he is searching for a deeper meaning. The kids put on a play in which Linus recites the true meaning of Christmas. It is a good story, but unless you have 20/20 vision, you won't be able to read this book in kindle format. The pages couldn't be enlarged enough to not make it a strain on the eyes. The story is 3 stars, pictures a 3 stars, but the formatting would be a 1 star.
December 23, 2024
Update, 12/22/24:
One of the most ironic things to occur in the modern age is that this sincere lamentation of the commercialization of Christmas that reflected Charles Schulz's genuine beliefs has raked in billions and billions of dollars in the past 60 years. I'm guilty of contributing to it myself. Aside from this book, I also own the DVD. Among the Christmas stuffed animals by the hearth are three Snoopys and a couple of Woodstocks. Next to them is a Peanuts choir display. On the tree are several Peanuts ornaments, and there are plenty still in the box that didn't make it to the tree this year. (I have enough ornaments for three or four trees, so not all of them make it up every year.) At work, there are a couple of Snoopys on my small desk tree, and in my mother's office is a Charlie Brown tree and small Peanuts display around Snoopy's doghouse. Add to that all the non-Christmas Charlie brown stuff I have, then all the Charlie Brown stuff I don't have, and multiply it by whatever that goes out to the masses, and you can easily see how Peanuts pulls in $2.5 billion a year.
It didn't all start with the Christmas special upon which this book is based; Peanuts had been in the daily comics for 15 years by the time it came around, but this set it on the road to going Super Saiyan.[1]
It almost didn't happen, though. Everyone involved in the production expected it to fail and be forever relegated to the one and done file. It had a budget of $76,000 and went over by $20,000. They were given only six months to do it which explains some of the crude drawings and animation. They were also trying several things that had never been done before. They were showing a cartoon special for kids at prime time at a time when specials of any kind for anybody were verboten. (The big wigs had it figured that regular viewers didn't want their routines disrupted ever in spite of the success of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer the previous year.) They used inexperienced children for the voices instead of adult actors. The jazz style music from the Vince Guaraldi Trio was a novel concept. They didn't use a laugh track which was SOP for a show of that nature back then. There was also a stink about Linus quoting scripture, and while Schulz made concessions during the production, he was adamant that that remain. If you look at the production as a whole, you can see and hear plenty of mistakes and miscues, and such shoddy, rushed work would never make it over the airwaves today. And yet, it. is. perfect. The powers that be saw it and expected the bombiest bomb of all bombdom, and the only reason they aired it was because it was the eleventh hour and it was already slated for a particular time slot less than a week later. But, the public and critics both loved it which just goes to show that TV execs often don't know beans about their viewing audience's tastes. It was aired every single year after that until the jerks at Apple got the rights a couple of years ago and wouldn't allow it on TV anymore.
After this was aired, the game was changed forever. Holiday specials became the happening thing. How the Grinch Stole Christmas was made the next year, and CBS made sure they had a proper budget (four times as much as they allotted for Charlie Brown). Then they started making specials for other holidays, and the rest is history. Still, none of them have the charm of this special. As for this book, I'm afraid it can't touch the show, not by miles. It's still not a bad read, but like I said below in my original review, just watch the show instead unless you're reading this to the kids.
[1]: My apologies to Charles Schulz for referring to Dragonball Z in a Peanuts review, but that's just how my brain rolls.
Original review, 12/10/19:
I've seen the Charlie Brown Christmas special approximately a million times, give or take 999,900. As a result I noticed every line that was slightly altered, and this is just a watered-down version of the show, but I guess that's to be expected when you have a novelization of an existing work.
Plus, you can't hear Vince Guaraldi's music in the book, or watch the dancing...
...and that's half the fun! (Though there is a still of the gif above in the book.)
Is it sad that I know the names of all the characters in this thing? Well, almost. I couldn't tell you which of the twins is 3 and which is 4, but that kind of thing happens with identical twins in identical outfits. 5, of course, is their older brother with the best dance moves. I bust that out every chance I get.
Anyway, I enjoyed reading this with my nephew tonight, but if we weren't practicing reading, I'd just as soon watch the special.
One of the most ironic things to occur in the modern age is that this sincere lamentation of the commercialization of Christmas that reflected Charles Schulz's genuine beliefs has raked in billions and billions of dollars in the past 60 years. I'm guilty of contributing to it myself. Aside from this book, I also own the DVD. Among the Christmas stuffed animals by the hearth are three Snoopys and a couple of Woodstocks. Next to them is a Peanuts choir display. On the tree are several Peanuts ornaments, and there are plenty still in the box that didn't make it to the tree this year. (I have enough ornaments for three or four trees, so not all of them make it up every year.) At work, there are a couple of Snoopys on my small desk tree, and in my mother's office is a Charlie Brown tree and small Peanuts display around Snoopy's doghouse. Add to that all the non-Christmas Charlie brown stuff I have, then all the Charlie Brown stuff I don't have, and multiply it by whatever that goes out to the masses, and you can easily see how Peanuts pulls in $2.5 billion a year.
It didn't all start with the Christmas special upon which this book is based; Peanuts had been in the daily comics for 15 years by the time it came around, but this set it on the road to going Super Saiyan.[1]
It almost didn't happen, though. Everyone involved in the production expected it to fail and be forever relegated to the one and done file. It had a budget of $76,000 and went over by $20,000. They were given only six months to do it which explains some of the crude drawings and animation. They were also trying several things that had never been done before. They were showing a cartoon special for kids at prime time at a time when specials of any kind for anybody were verboten. (The big wigs had it figured that regular viewers didn't want their routines disrupted ever in spite of the success of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer the previous year.) They used inexperienced children for the voices instead of adult actors. The jazz style music from the Vince Guaraldi Trio was a novel concept. They didn't use a laugh track which was SOP for a show of that nature back then. There was also a stink about Linus quoting scripture, and while Schulz made concessions during the production, he was adamant that that remain. If you look at the production as a whole, you can see and hear plenty of mistakes and miscues, and such shoddy, rushed work would never make it over the airwaves today. And yet, it. is. perfect. The powers that be saw it and expected the bombiest bomb of all bombdom, and the only reason they aired it was because it was the eleventh hour and it was already slated for a particular time slot less than a week later. But, the public and critics both loved it which just goes to show that TV execs often don't know beans about their viewing audience's tastes. It was aired every single year after that until the jerks at Apple got the rights a couple of years ago and wouldn't allow it on TV anymore.
After this was aired, the game was changed forever. Holiday specials became the happening thing. How the Grinch Stole Christmas was made the next year, and CBS made sure they had a proper budget (four times as much as they allotted for Charlie Brown). Then they started making specials for other holidays, and the rest is history. Still, none of them have the charm of this special. As for this book, I'm afraid it can't touch the show, not by miles. It's still not a bad read, but like I said below in my original review, just watch the show instead unless you're reading this to the kids.
[1]: My apologies to Charles Schulz for referring to Dragonball Z in a Peanuts review, but that's just how my brain rolls.
Original review, 12/10/19:
I've seen the Charlie Brown Christmas special approximately a million times, give or take 999,900. As a result I noticed every line that was slightly altered, and this is just a watered-down version of the show, but I guess that's to be expected when you have a novelization of an existing work.
Plus, you can't hear Vince Guaraldi's music in the book, or watch the dancing...
...and that's half the fun! (Though there is a still of the gif above in the book.)
Is it sad that I know the names of all the characters in this thing? Well, almost. I couldn't tell you which of the twins is 3 and which is 4, but that kind of thing happens with identical twins in identical outfits. 5, of course, is their older brother with the best dance moves. I bust that out every chance I get.
Anyway, I enjoyed reading this with my nephew tonight, but if we weren't practicing reading, I'd just as soon watch the special.
March 25, 2025
Snowflakes in the air
Carols everywhere
Olden times and ancient rhymes
Of love and dreams to share
Carols everywhere
Olden times and ancient rhymes
Of love and dreams to share
December 12, 2024
A wordy and lackluster adaptation of the classic television special cannot find the charm of the show or the original strips.
My daughter didn't like this when she was three, and now twenty years later she was so bored with it that she fixated on the printing errors in our 1965 edition, like the ornament that changes color from page to page.
My daughter didn't like this when she was three, and now twenty years later she was so bored with it that she fixated on the printing errors in our 1965 edition, like the ornament that changes color from page to page.
December 22, 2023
It’s the most magical time of the year. Christmas is coming! The air is crisp and cold, children are ice-skating and the sound of christmas carols fills the air. Everyone is in the holiday spirit.
Well, almost everyone.
🎄🎡🎅🏼🕯️
Well, almost everyone.
🎄🎡🎅🏼🕯️
December 11, 2019
Because we need to be reminded of the true meaning of Christmas...
December 8, 2021
I watch this cartoon on tv at Christmas time every year since I was a child, so when I saw the book for it I jumped at a chance to reminisce through these pages.
It was a delight and made me smile! The illustrations are exactly what you would hope for, and the story is the same!
Oh how I wish my children were small again so I could read this to them. The magic of the Peanuts crew is something I cherish. You know, I still read the comics online every single morning!!
Probably the best classic Christmas book for kids! (I might be bias though!) 😊
It was a delight and made me smile! The illustrations are exactly what you would hope for, and the story is the same!
Oh how I wish my children were small again so I could read this to them. The magic of the Peanuts crew is something I cherish. You know, I still read the comics online every single morning!!
Probably the best classic Christmas book for kids! (I might be bias though!) 😊
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