Christmas Eve on Sesame Street

Christmas Eve on Sesame Street is an hour-long Sesame Street Christmas special that first aired on PBS on December 3, 1978.

When Oscar raises doubts about whether Santa Claus can deliver presents on Christmas Eve if he can't fit through the narrow chimneys on Sesame Street, Big Bird decides to stay up all night to solve the mystery with the help of his friends, Patty, Kermit and Grover.

Meanwhile, Cookie Monster tries to write a letter to Santa, and Bert and Ernie re-enact O. Henry's classic story, "The Gift of the Magi," and, with the help of Mr. Hooper, learn a valuable lesson about generosity.

The program features a variety of seasonal tunes, including "True Blue Miracle," "Keep Christmas With You (All Through the Year)," "I Hate Christmas," and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." The special opens with the Sesame characters from Holiday on Ice enjoying an ice-skating trip.

Clips from this special appeared in the A&E Biography of Santa Claus.

Cast

 * Muppet Performers: Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Caroll Spinney, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt
 * Cast: Linda Bove, Northern Calloway, Debbie Chen, Will Lee, Loretta Long, Sonia Manzano, Bob McGrath, Roscoe Orman, Alaina Reed

Credits

 * Producer: Dulcy Singer
 * Directed by Jon Stone
 * Written by Jon Stone and Joseph A. Bailey
 * "True Blue Miracle" Composed by Carol Hall
 * "Keep Christmas With You (All Through the Year)" and "I Hate Christmas" Composed by Sam Pottle and David Axelrod
 * Music by Dick Lieb
 * Music Coordinator: Danny Epstein
 * Music Assistant: Dave Conner
 * Associate Director: Ozzie Alfonso
 * Muppet Designers: Kermit Love, Caroly Wilcox, Don Sahlin
 * Art Director: Alan J. Compton
 * Production Stage Manager: Chet O'Brien
 * Stage Manager: Emily Squires
 * Set Decorator: Nat Mongioi
 * Costume Designer: Bill Kellard
 * Wardrobe: Grisha Mynova
 * Sound Effects: Dick Maitland, Roy Carch
 * Executive Producer: Jon Stone

DVD Chapters

 * Ice Skating Party


 * Feliz Navidad


 * A True Blue Miracle


 * Down the Chimney Part 1


 * Bert and Ernie Get ready For Christmas


 * Keep Christmas With You


 * Bert and Ernie Christmas Spirit


 * Cookie Writes a Letter


 * Down The Chimney Part 2


 * Cookie Types a letter to Santa


 * Down the Chimney part 3


 * Grouchy Christmas Song


 * Bert and Ernie Sing Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas


 * Cookie Calls Santa


 * Keep Christmas With You All Through the year

Edits

 * In various re-airings on PBS in the late-1980s, the closing scene with Susan and Gordon finding that Cookie Monster ate most of their christmas tree was cut.
 * On the DVD edition, the original Children's Television Workshop logo with Christmas music was cut.