Are you planning on watching any Christmas specials on TV this year? With so many programmes airing, you might be wondering when and where you can watch them.

From Gavin and Stacey’s finale episode to a two-part Call the Midwife special, there’s something for everyone this Christmas.

To help you choose what to watch, we’ve rounded up the TV schedule for BBC One, ITV1, Channel 4 and more on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

Let’s take a look at the shows you can enjoy over the festive period. We’ve listed the highlights here but you can find the full TV guide via the Radio Times website.

What to watch on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day

Christmas Eve

We're just a few days away from Christmas Eve and there’s plenty to watch for all the family.

BBC One

  • CBeebies Panto: Beauty and the Beast – 9am
  • Chicken Run – 10am
  • Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway – 11.20am
  • Shaun the Sheep: The Flight Before Christmas – 1.20pm
  • Stick Man – 1.50pm
  • Moana – 2.20pm
  • Shrek – 3.55pm
  • Ghostbusters: Afterlife – 5.50pm
  • The Repair Shop Christmas Special – 8.15pm
  • Strike: The Ink Black Heart – 9.15pm

BBC Two

  • Great Expectations – 9.50am
  • White Christmas – 2.15pm
  • Carols from King’s – 6pm
  • Richard Osman’s Festive House of Games – 7.15pm
  • Celebrity Mastermind – 7.45pm
  • Only Connect Christmas Special – 8.15pm
  • Christmas University Challenge – 8.45pm
  • Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Christmas Fishing – 9.15pm
  • A Ghost Story for Christmas: Woman of Stone – 10.15pm
  • Beetlejuice – 10.45pm

ITV1

  • In for a Penny: Christmas Crackers – 1.15pm (repeat)
  • Shrek the Halls – 2pm
  • It’s a Wonderful Life – 2.30pm
  • Royal Carols: Together at Christmas – 7.30pm

ITV2

  • A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie – 10.50am and 11.55am
  • The Masked Singer: Christmas Special – 12.35pm
  • Mariah Carey: Merry Christmas to All – 2.05pm
  • Celebrity Catchphrase: Christmas Special – 3.50pm
  • Deck the Halls – 4.50pm and 5.55pm
  • Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again – 6.45pm and 7.50pm
  • Bridesmaids – 9pm and 10.05pm

Channel 4

  • The Snowman – 7.50am and 4.15pm
  • Father Christmas – 8.20am
  • The Snowman and the Snowdog – 8.55am and 5.20pm
  • Close Encounters of the Third Kind – 11.25am
  • A Christmas Carol – 2.10pm
  • Mog’s Christmas – 4.45pm
  • Home Alone – 6.05pm
  • The Great Christmas Bake Off – 8pm
  • Gogglebox 2024 – 9.15pm
  • 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Christmas Countdown Special – 11.15pm

Channel 5

  • Thomas & Friends: The Christmas Letter Express – 7.35am
  • Scrooge: A Christmas Carol – 9.30am and 10.35am
  • The Holiday – 11.15am and 12.25pm
  • The Man in the Iron Mask – 2pm and 3.05pm
  • Catch Me If You Can – 4.35pm and 5.40pm
  • Christmas at the Four Seasons: Park Lane – 8.15pm
  • The Madame Blanc Mysteries Christmas Special – 9.15pm

The best Christmas TV specials of all time

Christmas Day

This Christmas, there is plenty to watch on various TV channels, including BBC One, ITV1, Channel 5 and more.

BBC One

  • Trolls Holiday in Harmony – 9am
  • Christmas Morning Service from Halifax Minster – 10.15am
  • Toy Story 3 – 11.20am
  • Minions: The Rise of Gru – 12.55pm
  • The Weakest Link: Christmas Special – 3.10pm
  • Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special – 3.55pm
  • Doctor Who – 5.10pm
  • Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl – 6.10pm
  • EastEnders – 7.30pm
  • Call the Midwife – 8pm
  • Gavin & Stacey: The Finale – 9pm
  • EastEnders – 10.35pm
  • Mrs Brown’s Boys Christmas Special – 11.05pm

BBC Two

  • Wallace & Gromit: The Wrong Trousers – 10.15am
  • Wallace & Gromit: A Grand Day Out – 10.45am
  • High Society – 11.05am
  • Swan Lake from English National Ballet – 12.50pm
  • Some Like It Hot – 3.10pm
  • North by Northwest – 5.05pm
  • The Musical Classics of Morecambe and Wise – 7.20pm
  • The Morecambe and Wise Christmas Show 1977 – 7.55pm
  • From Roger Moore, with Love – 9pm
  • The Lady in the Van – 10.20pm

ITV1

  • James Martin’s Christmas Day – 12pm
  • Ainsley’s Festive Flavours – 2pm
  • Home Alone 2: Lost in New York – 3.10pm
  • Bullseye Christmas Special – 5.25pm
  • Emmerdale – 6.25pm
  • Coronation Street - 7pm
  • The Chase Celebrity Christmas Special – 8pm
  • Downton Abbey: A New Era – 9pm
  • The Royal Variety Performance 2024 – 11.50pm

ITV2

  • Shrek the Halls – 9am
  • Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas – 9.35am
  • In for a Christmas Penny – 10.10am
  • Peter Pan – 10.50am and 11.55am
  • Celebrity Catchphrase Christmas Special – 1.05pm
  • How the Grinch Stole Christmas – 2.05pm and 3.10pm
  • Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – 4.10pm and 5.15pm
  • Jurassic World – 6.25pm and 7.30pm
  • Fast and Furious 9 – 9pm and 10.05pm

Channel 4

  • The Snowman – 6.45am and 11.50am
  • Father Christmas – 7.10am
  • Monsters vs Aliens – 8.10am
  • Shrek Forever After – 10am
  • Mog’s Christmas – 12.25pm
  • The Snowman and the Snowdog – 12.55pm
  • The Great British Christmas Bake Off – 1.30pm
  • The Italian Job – 2.45pm
  • Miracle on 34th Street – 5pm
  • The Piano at Christmas – 7.05pm
  • Raiders of the Lost Ark – 8.20pm
  • Notting Hill – 10.35pm
  • East is East – 12.55am

Channel 5

  • Greatest Family Christmas Hits – 8.10am
  • Britain’s Favourite Christmas Songs with Andrew Ridgeley – 9.05am and 1.05pm
  • Britain’s Favourite 80s Songs – 11.05am and 9.15pm
  • The Railway Children Return – 3.10pm and 4.15pm
  • Britain’s Favourite Christmas Comedy Moments – 5.15pm
  • Christmas Day Party Songs – 7.15pm
  • When 80s TV Goes Horribly Wrong – 11.05pm

Boxing Day

After the big day, you can put your feet up and enjoy more Christmas specials, films and more.

BBC One

  • Inside Out – 9.55am
  • How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World – 11.20am
  • Paddington – 1.50pm
  • Beauty and the Beast – 3.15pm
  • Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical – 5.40pm
  • Call the Midwife – 7.30pm
  • EastEnders – 8.30pm
  • Blankety Blank Christmas Special – 9pm
  • Outnumbered Christmas Special – 9.40pm
  • Match of the Day – 10.40pm

Best family-friendly Christmas movies (IMDb Ratings)

BBC Two

  • Mary Makes Christmas – 6.30am
  • Holiday Affair – 8.30am
  • The Big Sleep – 10.55am
  • Casablanca – 12.45pm
  • The Magnificent Seven – 2.25pm
  • Final Score – 4.30pm
  • The Two Ronnies at Christmas – 5.10pm
  • Richard Osman’s Festive House of Games – 7pm
  • Celebrity Mastermind – 7.30pm
  • Only Connect Books Special – 8pm
  • Christmas University Challenge – 8.30pm
  • Gladiator – 9pm
  • And Now For Something Completely Different – 11.25pm

ITV1

  • Deal or No Deal: Celebrity Special – 5.05am
  • Mariah Carey: Merry Christmas to All – 6am
  • James Martin’s Christmas Day – 7.25am
  • On Her Majesty’s Secret Service – 9.25am
  • ITV Racing: Live from Kempton – 12.25pm
  • Grease – 3pm
  • Tipping Point: Best Ever Finals – 5.10pm
  • Pictionary – 5.40pm
  • Emmerdale – 6.30pm
  • The Masked Singer: Christmas Special – 7.30pm
  • The 1% Club Christmas Special – 9pm
  • Live Free or Die Hard – 10.15pm

ITV2

  • Trolls Holiday – 9am
  • Family Fortunes – 9.35am
  • Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted – 10.35am and 11.40am
  • The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader – 12.20pm and 1.30pm
  • Matilda – 2.30pm and 3.35pm
  • Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs – 4.35pm and 5.40pm
  • Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom – 6.25pm and 7.30pm
  • Wonder Woman 1984 – 9pm and 10.05pm

Recommended reading:

Channel 4

  • Ted the Lost Explorer and the Secret of King Midas – 8.05am
  • The Dog House at Christmas – 9.45am
  • Christmas at Lapland UK – 10.50am
  • Jamie’s Christmas Shortcuts – 11.55am
  • A Very British Hotel at Christmas – 12.55pm
  • Dad’s Army – 2pm
  • Zulu – 3.50pm
  • Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom – 6.40pm
  • The Festive Pottery Throw Down 2024 – 9pm
  • Gogglebox 2024 – 10.15pm
  • Boxing Day - 12.10am

Channel 5

  • Christmas at the Four Seasons: Park Lane – 9.20am
  • An American in Paris – 10.15am and 11.30am
  • Seven Brides for Seven Brothers – 12.35pm and 1.45pm
  • The Glenn Miller Story – 2.50pm and 3.55pm
  • Crocodile Dundee – 5.15pm and 5.45pm
  • World’s Strongest Man 2024 – 7pm
  • World’s Biggest Sweet Shop at Christmas - 8pm
  • The Serial Killer’s Wife – 9pm
  • Queen’s 30 Greatest Moments – 10pm

What will you be watching over the Christmas period? Let us know in the comments.