If you’re looking for safe Christmas plans that will succeed in bringing some joy to a holiday that’s coming at the end of an extremely difficult year, remember that TV is always here for you. Whether you celebrate Christmas or Dec. 25 is just another day for you, there’s something airing on television you’ll probably enjoy.
Hallmark is capitalizing on the moment by doing what it does best: airing a bunch of those lovably corny Christmas movies they put out each year. There’s also, of course, TBS’s annual 24-hour A Christmas Story marathon, which TNT will mirror. But if you can only stomach so much of that, E! is playing It’s a Wonderful Life all day, Cartoon Network has an all-day Paddington marathon scheduled (who doesn’t love that sweet bear?), and for something entirely different, VH1 will air 24 hours of Coming to America.
Over at FX, there’s an all-day back-to-back marathon of the 1951 A Christmas Carol and the network’s own 2019 adaptation of the classic tale, FX’s A Christmas Carol. USA is also playing the first four Harry Potter movies, while A&E is offering a break from all the holiday cheer with a Jurassic Park marathon.
Here’s a rundown of all the marathons you’ll be able to catch this Christmas, Friday, Dec. 25. (All times Eastern.)
Christmas marathons by network:
A&E:
Jurassic Park (8 a.m. – 11 a.m.)
The Lost World: Jurassic Park (11 a.m. – 2 p.m.)
Jurassic Park III (2 p.m. – 4 p.m.)
AMC:
Jack Frost (11:15 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.)
The Year Without a Santa Claus (12:30 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.)
Scrooged (1: 45 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.)
Four Christmases (3:45 p.m. – 5:45 p.m.)
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (5:45 – 8 p.m.)
Elf (8 p.m. – 10 p.m.)
BBC:
Doctor Who (1 a.m. – 4:03 p.m.)
Cartoon Network:
Paddington (7 a.m. – 9 p.m.)
E!:
It’s a Wonderful Life (6 a.m. – 12 a.m.)
Freeform:
The Santa Clause (10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.)
The Santa Clause 2 (12: 30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.)
The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.)
Frosty the Snowman (4:30 p.m. – 5 p.m.)
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (5 p.m. – 6 p.m.)
Home Alone (6 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.)
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (8:30 – 11 p.m.)
FX:
A Christmas Carol (6 a.m. – 10:10 p.m.)
FX’s A Christmas Carol (7:30 a.m. – 1:40 a.m.)
FXX:
The Simpsons (6 p.m. – 12 a.m.)
Hallmark:
Jingle Bell Bride (12:30 a.m. – 2 a.m.)
Never Kiss a Man in a Christmas Sweater (2 a.m. – 3:30 a.m.)
One Royal Holiday (3:30 a.m. – 6 a.m.)
Christmas in Vienna (6 a.m. – 6:30 a.m.)
A Timeless Christmas (6:30 – 8 a.m.)
Heart of the Holidays (8 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.)
The Christmas House (9:30 a.m. – 11 a.m.)
A Nashville Christmas Carol (11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.)
A Christmas Tree Grows in Colorado (12:30 p.m. – 2 p.m.)
Christmas Waltz (2 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.)
Christmas by Starlight (3:30 p.m. – 5 p.m.)
Five Star Christmas (5 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.)
If I Only Had Christmas (6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m.)
IFC:
The Godfather (9 a.m. – 1 p.m.)
The Godfather, Part II (1 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.)
Sundance:
White Christmas (1 a.m. – 12 p.m.)
TBS:
A Christmas Story (12 a.m. – 8 p.m.)
TNT:
A Christmas Story (12 a.m. – 9 p.m.)
USA:
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (8:30 a.m. – 11:55 a.m.)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (11:55 a.m. – 3:35 p.m.)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (3:35 p.m. – 6:35 p.m.)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (6:35 p.m. – 10 p.m.)
VH1:
Coming to America (12 a.m. – 1 a.m.)
Christmas marathons by airtime:
A Christmas Story (12 a.m. – 8 p.m., TBS)
A Christmas Story (12 a.m. – 9 p.m., TNT)
Coming to America (12 a.m. – 1 a.m., VH1)
Jingle Bell Bride (12:30 a.m. – 2 a.m., Hallmark)
White Christmas (1 a.m. – 12 p.m., Sundance)
Doctor Who (1 a.m. – 4:03 p.m., BBC)
Never Kiss a Man in a Christmas Sweater (2 a.m. – 3:30 a.m., Hallmark)
One Royal Holiday (3:30 a.m. – 6 a.m., Hallmark)
Christmas in Vienna (6 a.m. – 6:30 a.m., Hallmark)
A Timeless Christmas (6:30 – 8 a.m., Hallmark)
It’s a Wonderful Life (6 a.m. – 12 a.m., E!)
A Christmas Carol (6 a.m. – 10:10 p.m., FX)
Paddington (7 a.m. – 9 p.m., Cartoon Network)
FX’s A Christmas Carol (7:30 a.m. – 1:40 a.m., FX)
Heart of the Holidays (8 a.m. – 9:30 a.m., Hallmark)
Jurassic Park (8 a.m. – 11 a.m., A&E)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (8:30 a.m. – 11:55 a.m., USA)
The Godfather (9 a.m. – 1 p.m., IFC)
The Christmas House (9:30 a.m. – 11 a.m., Hallmark)
The Santa Clause (10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., Freeform)
A Nashville Christmas Carol (11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., Hallmark)
The Lost World: Jurassic Park (11 a.m. – 2 p.m., A&E)
Jack Frost (11:15 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., AMC)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (11:55 a.m. – 3:35 p.m., USA)
The Year Without a Santa Claus (12:30 p.m. – 1:45 p.m., AMC)
A Christmas Tree Grows in Colorado (12:30 p.m. – 2 p.m., Hallmark)
The Santa Clause 2 (12:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m., Freeform)
The Godfather, Part II (1 p.m. – 5:30 p.m., IFC)
Scrooged (1:45 p.m. – 3:45 p.m., AMC)
Christmas Waltz (2 p.m. – 3:30 p.m., Hallmark)
Jurassic Park III (2 p.m. – 4 p.m., A&E)
The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m., Freeform)
Christmas by Starlight (3:30 p.m. – 5 p.m., Hallmark)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (3:35 p.m. – 6:35 p.m., USA)
Four Christmases (3:45 p.m. – 5:45 p.m., AMC)
Frosty the Snowman (4:30 p.m. – 5 p.m., Freeform)
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (5 p.m. – 6 p.m., Freeform)
Five Star Christmas (5 p.m. – 6:30 p.m., Hallmark)
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (5:45 – 8 p.m., AMC)
Home Alone (6 p.m. – 8:30 p.m., Freeform)
The Simpsons (6 p.m. – 12 a.m., FXX)
If I Only Had Christmas (6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m., Hallmark)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (6:35 p.m. – 10 p.m., USA)
Elf (8 p.m. – 10 p.m., AMC)
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (8:30 – 11 p.m., Freeform)