PBS KIDS Rings in the Holiday Season with a Full Slate of Programming for the Whole Family

Lineup Includes Holiday-themed Specials, Such as ONCE UPON A SESAME STREET CHRISTMAS, and New Holiday-themed Episodes of READY JET GO! and SPLASH AND BUBBLES on PBS KIDS Family Night

Arlington, VA, November 16, 2017 - Shorter days and colder nights offer a good reason to cozy up with family to enjoy holiday favorites on PBS KIDS. Beginning this month and running through the end of the year, kids and families can celebrate the joy of the season with holiday-themed specials every weekend as part of Family Night, a special viewing destination on the PBS KIDS 24/7 channel and live stream. This includes the Primetime Emmy- and WGA Award-winning ONCE UPON A SESAME STREET CHRISTMAS, THE GRUFFALO and new holiday-themed episodes from READY JET GO!, SPLASH AND BUBBLES and CYBERCHASE. Holiday-themed episodes from PBS KIDS favorites will also air on PBS stations and stream on pbskids.org and the PBS KIDS Video app throughout December.

Every year, we look forward to celebrating the holidays with families around the country with specials that teach us about empathy, community and togetherness, said Linda Simensky, Vice President, Children's Programming, PBS. With new holiday-themed episodes and classic specials, families can gather together and join their favorite PBS KIDS friends this winter.

The festive fun continues on digital platforms for kids, parents and teachers. PBS KIDS will offer a variety of holiday-themed games on the free PBS KIDS Games App and pbskids.org. Hands-on activities, including crafts and tips on creating new holiday traditions, are also available on PBS PARENTS. PBS will also help teachers bring the holiday season into the classroom with a wide range of instructional resources on PBS LearningMedia, including animated video shorts, lesson plans, interactives and curated collections like All About the Holidays that help students in grades preK-12 expand their awareness of global cultures and gain a deeper understanding of the origins of current-day celebrations.

More information on PBS KIDS' holiday programming, including when to watch, is included below. Images and additional programming information are available on PBS PressRoom.

Holiday Programming Line-up

Scheduling information for PBS KIDS programs on stations' primary channels and the 24/7 PBS KIDS channel follows (check local listings).

ONCE UPON A SESAME STREET CHRISTMAS

Premieres and streams November 22, 23, 24 (on PBS KIDS Family Night); December 4, 11-15, 18

A bedtime story for Elmo recalls a gloomy time when Sesame Street was devoid of holiday spirit until a distant relative brought tidings of comfort and joy to its residents.

THE GRUFFALO

Airs December 1-3 (on PBS KIDS Family Night)

A cunning mouse goes for a walk through the forest and has to outwit a succession of predators.

THE CAT IN THE HAT KNOWS A LOT ABOUT CHRISTMAS!

Airs December 8-10 (on PBS KIDS Family Night), 12, 14, 16, 26

This adventure finds the Cat in the Hat, Nick and Sally on a journey around the world to help a lost reindeer find his way home to Freezeyourknees Snowland in time for Christmas. On the way, the Thinga-ma-jigger breaks down, and they depend on a variety of animals - from African bush elephants to bottlenose dolphins to red crabs - and their remarkable abilities to help them make an amazing journey home.

SPLASH AND BUBBLES: Whitebeard/Coral Day - NEW

Airs December 11, 15-17 (on PBS KIDS Family Night)

Whitebeard - Ripple is excited because, according to legend, tonight is the night that Whitebeard, a mysterious creature who lives at the North Pole, sails over Reeftown, singing his beautiful music. She tries to convince the other Reeftown friends to stay up and watch for him to appear.

Coral Day - It's the holiday season in Reeftown as everyone gets ready for Coral Day, a celebration of the wonderful coral that makes up their home. Splash, new to Reeftown and its traditions, wonders what he can contribute to the festival.

PEG + CAT + HOLIDAYS

Airs December 11, 15-17 (on PBS KIDS Family Night), 26

The Hanukkah Problem - When Albert Einstein invites Peg and Cat over for Hanukkah, he shows them how to make a 2D piece of paper into a 3D dreidel. Later, they need to use this process to bring peace to Al's home and save his Hanukkah.

The Christmas Problem - When Santa Claus is in trouble, Peg and Cat have to solve their biggest problem ever: how to make and wrap presents for all the children of the world and deliver them using 100 sleighs.

The Penguin Problem - Peg and Cat coach a team of skiing penguins, who would have a shot at the Olympic gold medal if only they knew over, under and in between.

READY JET GO!: Holidays in Boxwood Terrace - NEW

Premieres and streams December 11, December 22-24 (on PBS KIDS Family Night)

Holidays in Boxwood Terrace, Part 1 - Jet pitches an idea for the annual Boxwood Terrace Christmas Pageant, and not only is it accepted, he gets to direct it! He casts Sean, Sydney, Mindy and Sunspot as characters in the play and hires Mitchell Petersen to help him find this elusive thing called Christmas Spirit.

Holidays in Boxwood Terrace, Part 2 - Jet is looking for the Spirit of Christmas, something intangible that Sean and Sydney can't quite define. Mitchell wants to belong to the group, but doesn't know how to do it. Both kids get their answer in a heartfelt conclusion.

WILD KRATTS: A CREATURE CHRISTMAS

Airs December 11, 12, 14, 15, 17, 22-24 (on PBS KIDS Family Night), 25

In this one-hour special, it's Christmastime and the Wild Kratts are taking a break from creature adventuring to celebrate. But when the Wild Kratts receive an alert that their favorite creatures are suddenly disappearing around the globe, their holiday party quickly turns into a rescue mission. The Wild Kratts must race against time to thwart their greedy archrival

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