History Film / AMuppetFamilyChristmas

* FailedASpotCheck: During the final caroling sequence, the Fraggles sneak upstairs and get a chance to observe the action. They hide behind the mantelpiece to watch--and Doc, who's right in front of it, misses his chance to see them (on ''Fraggle Rock'', Sprocket was always attempting to alert him to their presence).[[note]]The special was made after the end of ''Fraggle Rock'', which ended with Doc finally recognizing the existence of Fraggles and befriending Gobo, but based on the dialogue, the events apparently take place before the ''Fraggle'' finale. This may have been done due to the fact that the animated ''Fraggle Rock'' series was airing on Creator/{{NBC}} at that time, to avoid spoiling the plot for viewers just becoming familiar with the Fraggle universe thanks to the animated series.[[/note]]

** Kermit gives Piggy [[PrettyInMink a mink]] for Christmas - a live one who proclaims herself Piggy's biggest fan.

* HurryingHomeForTheHolidays: The Muppets visit the farmhouse of Emily Bear, Fozzie's mother, for Christmas. However, Miss Piggy is busy with a photoshoot and last-minute Christmas shopping, so she can't join the rest of the Muppets right away. On her way to the farmhouse, the worst blizzard in 50 years hits, and this results in Miss Piggy's limousine getting stuck in a snowdrift. Having befriended the Muppets, [[Series/FraggleRock Doc]] volunteers to find Miss Piggy in the snowstorm for Kermit, and he returns with her in a sled.

[[caption-width-right:350:A portion of [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters the cast]] poses for the closing shot.]]

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: This special has the near-entire casts of ''three'' different shows show up.

* IGotARock: In this case, it's apparently a good thing. The "nice yellow pebble" has been a Fraggle gift thirty-seven times. During the special, Mokey gives it to Boober, who gives it to Robin... who later gives it to Grover.

* EncouragedRegifting: The Fraggles have a nice yellow pebble that they've gifted one another well over thirty times as a sign of friendship. During the special, Boober gives it to Robin, who then gives it to Grover.

* IGotARock: In this case, it's apparently a good thing. The "nice yellow pebble" has been a Fraggle gift thirty-seven times, then Boober gives it to Robin, who later gives it to Grover.

* RevisitingTheRoots: This special was an example of this for the Muppet organization. At the time, ''Series/FraggleRock'' was just ending (the original series had aired its finale in March, and the short-lived animated spinoff airing at the time would not be renewed), Jim Henson was working on the concept of ''Series/TheJimHensonHour'', Creator/FrankOz was busy getting his film directing career going, and in general there was a lot of activity happening on a lot of different projects. When Henson, Oz and writer Jerry Juhl worked together on ''Series/TheJimHensonHour'''s pitch reel, they'd had a lot of fun doing it, and decided to make a Christmas special where the core Muppeteers could get together and just do an old-fashioned comedy-variety show.

* BatFamilyCrossover: The only time you'll ever see the four cornerstones of early Muppetdom (''Series/TheMuppetShow'', ''Series/FraggleRock'', ''Series/SesameStreet'', and ''WesternAnimation/{{Muppet Babies|1984}}'') in the same place. Don't expect it to ever happen again, as the ''Sesame Street'' and ''Fraggle Rock'' characters are now owned by different entities and the original ''Muppet Babies'' will be [[KeepCirculatingTheTapes tied up in legal red tape]] until the end of time.
** It was also the only time Creator/FrankOz, who had not worked on ''Fraggle Rock'', participated in a Muppet work in which ''Fraggle Rock'' characters were leads (discounting works where Traveling Matt or Sprocket made cameos).

* CrossCastRole: Bert dons a woman's nightgown during "T'was the Night Before Christmas".

* TerrifiedOfGerms: When the Fraggles first meet Kermit and Robin...
-->'''Boober:''' Don't touch 'em! Frogs are probably noted germ-carriers.

* TerrifiedOfGerms: When the Fraggles first meet Kermit and Robin, Boober warns the others, "Don't touch 'em! Frogs are probably noted germ-carriers."

* AbsenteeActor:
** None of the full-body Muppets, most notably Sweetums, appear, as there simply wasn't room on the set for more than one - and of course, that one is Big Bird.
** All of the ''Sesame'' characters with speaking parts are performed by Jim Henson (Ernie, Guy Smiley), Frank Oz (Bert, Grover, Cookie Monster), Jerry Nelson (Count von Count, Herry Monster, 1/2 of Two-Headed Monster), Richard Hunt (Gladys the Cow, 1/2 of Two-Headed Monster), or Carroll Spinney (Big Bird and Oscar). Elmo (Kevin Clash) and Prairie Dawn (Fran Brill) are present but have no dialogue; characters performed by other puppeteers like Marty Robinson (Telly, Slimey the Worm) or Pam Arciero (Grundgetta) don't appear at all.
* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: Bert and Ernie's "small talk" with Doc.

* TrueCompanions: A major theme of any {{Muppet}} production, but given special emphasis here. Only two sets of characters in this special are blood-related (Kermit and Robin AND Fozzie and his mother), but the special shows everyone coming together in true familial fashion.

* EncouragedRegifting: The Fraggles have a nice yellow pebble that they've gifted one another well over thirty times as a sign of friendship. During the special, Mokey gives it to Robin, who then gives it to Grover.

* EncouragedRegifting: The Fraggles have a nice yellow pebble that they've gifted one another well over thirty times as a sign of friendship. During the special it's given to Robin, who then gives it to Grover.

Followed by ''Miss Piggy's Hollywood'' in 1989, among many other Muppet specials; but in a holiday context, ''Film/TheMuppetChristmasCarol'' arrived next in 1992. ''Sesame Street'' next had a new Christmas special of their own with 1996's ''Film/ElmoSavesChristmas'' (note that in ''A Muppet Family Christmas'', Elmo was just a background character with no lines). Both ''Fraggle Rock'' series had ended earlier that year, but the computer-animated spin-off ''The Doozers'' followed in 2012, with an Apple TV+ reboot of the main series premiering in 2022. ''Muppet Babies'' continued first-run episodes until 1991, and saw its own CGI reboot in 2018, which has had two Christmas episodes of its own.

Followed by ''Miss Piggy's Hollywood'' in 1989, among many other Muppet specials; but in a holiday context, ''Film/TheMuppetChristmasCarol'' arrived next in 1992. ''Sesame Street'' had a new Christmas special of their own 1996's ''Film/ElmoSavesChristmas.'' (Note that in ''A Muppet Family Christmas'', Elmo was just a background character with no lines.) Both ''Fraggle Rock'' series had ended earlier that year, but the computer-animated spin-off ''The Doozers'' followed in 2012. ''Muppet Babies'' continued first-run episodes until 1991, and saw its own CGI reboot in 2018.

** All of the ''Sesame'' characters with speaking parts are performed by Jim Henson (Ernie, Guy Smiley), Frank Oz (Bert, Grover, Cookie Monster), Jerry Nelson (Count von Count, Herry Monster, 1/2 of Two-Headed Monster) Richard Hunt (Gladys the Cow, 1/2 of Two-Headed Monster) or Carroll Spinney (Big Bird and Oscar). Elmo (Kevin Clash) and Prairie Dawn (Fran Brill) are present but have no dialogue; characters performed by other puppeteers like Marty Robinson (Telly, Slimey the Worm) or Pam Arciero (Grundgetta) don't appear at all.

* AbsenteeActor: None of the full-body Muppets, most notably Sweetums, appear, as there simply wasn't room on the set for more than one - and of course, that one is Big Bird.

* TheCameo: While he doesn't appear anywhere else in the special, ''Fraggle Rock''[='s=] Uncle "Traveling" Matt can be seen singing alongside Doc and Sprocket during the final carol sequence. Meanwhile, Sam the Eagle seems to ''think'' this is his role in the show, since one of his only lines has him asking no one in particular, "Why am I here?"

* CanonDiscontinuity: A possible example regarding ''Fraggle Rock''. The show had aired its last episode nine months earlier, in March 1987, and had concluded with Doc and Sprocket befriending the Fraggles. However, in this special, Doc apparently still doesn't know what Fraggles are, as upon encountering the ''Muppet Show'' cast, he asks Sprocket, "Are these anything like those Fraggles you keep telling me about?" Partially justified in that ''Fraggle Rock'' was likely a new franchise to many American viewers who didn't get Creator/{{HBO}} or Creator/{{CBC}} and/or might be familiar with it only from the animated adaptation.

* CanonDiscontinuity: A possible example regarding ''Fraggle Rock''. The show had aired its last episode nine months earlier, in March 1987, and had concluded with Doc and Sprocket befriending the Fraggles. However, in this special, Doc apparently still doesn't know what Fraggles are, as upon encountering the ''Muppet Show'' cast, he asks Sprocket, "Are these anything like those Fraggles you keep telling me about?" On the other hand, Emily's house just happens to have a Fraggle hole, which would seem to jibe with the ''Fraggle Rock'' concept of "You cannot leave the magic": it's possible the portal to Fraggle Rock followed Doc and Sprocket to Emily's.

* MusicalisInteruptus: When the ''Sesame Street'' gang show up outside caroling, the second song they sing is "Deck the Halls". When it gets to the line "Follow me in merry measure" which turned out to be Oscar's part, he grumpily says he refuses to sing as the music halts, before the song continues normally.

* AnOddPlaceToSleep: With the house crammed with guests and space at a premium, Emily tells the gang that two of them will have to sleep suspended from hangers on a hook on the wall. Gonzo and Animal are only too happy to comply.

* BatFamilyCrossover: The only time you'll ever see the four cornerstones of early Muppetdom (''Series/TheMuppetShow'', ''Series/FraggleRock'', ''Series/SesameStreet'', and ''WesternAnimation/{{Muppet Babies|1984}}'') in the same place. Don't expect it to ever happen again, as the ''Sesame Street'' characters and ''Fraggle Rock'' are now owned by different entities and the original ''Muppet Babies'' will be [[KeepCirculatingTheTapes tied up in legal red tape]] until the end of time.

* AnOddPlaceToSleep: With space at a premium, Emily tells the gang that two of them will have to sleep suspended from hangers on a hook on the wall. Gonzo and Animal are only too happy to comply.

The best-remembered of several {{Christmas Special}}s featuring Franchise/TheMuppets, this could probably be better called ''A Creator/JimHenson Family Christmas''. It originally aired in 1987 on Creator/{{ABC}} in the U.S. and Creator/{{CBC}} in Canada.[[note]]although it was filmed at CFTO-TV in Toronto, a Creator/{{CTV}} affiliate[[/note]]

The best-remembered of several {{Christmas Special}}s featuring Franchise/TheMuppets; it could probably be better called ''A Creator/JimHenson Family Christmas''. It originally aired in 1987 on Creator/{{ABC}} in the U.S. and Creator/{{CBC}} in Canada.[[note]]although it was filmed at CFTO-TV in Toronto, a Creator/{{CTV}} affiliate[[/note]]