This is probably my favorite Christmas special of all time, and I never even saw it as a kid. I have a weakness for the Muppets, and this special literally just hits you with all the muppety goodness you could ever ask for. The crossovers with Sesame Street and Fraggle Rock are so well done, and the little relationships they build with the characters (Oscar and Rizzo, Big Bird and Swedish Chef, Animal and Cookie Monster, Kermit and Doc) are just so sweet and funny and incredibly heartwarming. That's the best word to sum the whole thing up- heartwarming. The music is wonderful, the jokes are actually kind of hilarious (the scene with Fozzie and the Snowman is INCREDIBLE), and it's just a lot of fun. My favorite bit in the whole thing has got to be the scene with Ernie and Bert and Doc ("where we're from, this is small talk), and the whole plot line with Miss Piggy trying to get to the farmhouse and her big entrance at the end is so CLASSIC Piggy, and that cameo at the end has me in tears every single time. I can't ever not watch this special, as it's the biggest and best crossover the Jim Henson Company ever did, and it's just DRIPPING in Christmas magic. I absolutely love this special, and I highly recommend it. 9.5/10

"A Muppet Family Christmas" is not only the greatest Muppet Christmas TV special ever made, but it is also the greatest Muppet TV special bar none. Some may even consider it the greatest Christmas TV special ever made."A Muppet Family Christmas" is so delightful to watch that you may not find yourself caring that the special really doesn't have a plot. Most of the adult Muppets (i.e. the ones from "The Muppet Show" (1976-1981)) accompany Fozzie Bear to his mother's country house, and they spend the rest of the special settling in and getting ready for Christmas.That's pretty much the extent of the story. What makes this special . . . well . . . special is when more Muppets appear and crowd the house. First, there are most of the "Sesame Street" Muppets who come a-caroling, only to later make themselves at home.Later, the Fraggles from "Fraggle Rock" appear below Ma Bear's house. Oh yeah, and those Muppet fans who are relatively unfamiliar with "Fraggle Rock" may not notice that the human who intended to rent Ma Bear's house for the holiday is none other than Doc (Gerard Parkes), who brought his dog Sprocket with him.Muppet fans who are familiar with all three Muppet universes (or at least two) will find some surprising poignancy in these different characters interacting. I especially treasured scenes like Bert & Ernie engaging in "small talk" with Doc, or the Swedish Chef trying in vain to cook Big Bird only to reconsider after receiving a special gift. I also laughed when Rowlf and Sprocket speaking "dog".To fully enjoy this special, it helps if you know most of the Muppet characters beforehand, which is a prerequisite almost all children of the 1970's and 1980's fulfilled effortlessly. I imagine children born after 1990 will know the "Sesame Street" characters, but not the others as much. Undoubtedly, they will wonder why Elmo didn't get more screen time."A Muppet Family Christmas" was actually one of Jim Henson's favorite specials on which he worked, and was even described by Henson biographer Brian Jay Jones as "one of (Henson's) finest, and most under-appreciated, productions". It's under-appreciated for a good reason: it has rarely been seen on TV in years, and is out of print on VHS and DVD.Also because of music royalty issues, and because the "Muppet Show" Muppets are owned by Disney, the "Sesame Street" Muppets are owned by Sesame Workshop, and "Fraggle Rock" is owned by HIT Entertainment, the best chances of seeing this special are unfortunately by spending $50+ on a DVD copy on eBay or Amazon.A special like this one, which Muppet fans love and some have even worn out their old VHS copy they taped from TV, deserves to be seen perennially, and obtaining a copy of it should not be difficult. In fact, there is a Facebook group dedicated to getting the special the DVD release it deserves, and the page is already "liked" by several cult followers (Campaign for Eventual "Muppet Family Christmas" DVD Release).This special is very much like the holiday season: craziness and chaos abound, but it is nothing that good company, song, and the comfort of love and companionship can't make worthwhile. Just like the holiday season is one to which people look forward, they may have to wait longer to own a copy of this movie. However, if you find yourself lucky enough to get your hands on an uncut copy, consider yourself lucky.

In my opinion, this ties with "Christmas Eve on Sesame Street" for being the best Muppet Christmas special out there. I have a copy tapes off of Nickelodeon, so it's ALMOST uncut, but it's better than the DVD print out now.You get to see many classic Muppets from the Muppet Show, with their original performers (Jim Henson, Richard Hunt, Frank Oz, and others). The show is also chock full of classic Sesame Street characters, too! Elmo is here, but thankfully, he has no lines. A bunch of rare, forgotten Sesame characters are here, too, including Simon Soundman (a guy who can make sound effects), Sherlock Hemlock (a Sherlock Holmes-wannabe), Forgetful Jones (a cowboy with bad memory), and even Guy Smiley! (OK, so he's not that forgotten, but he was retired when Jim Henson died.) :( But this is still a great way to see many old Muppets (just as "Christmas Eve on Sesame Street" is a great way to see Mr. Hooper).Also, the live-action Muppet Babies are SO CUTE! Their voices are the same as on the "I'm Gonna Always Love You" song in "The Muppets Take Manhattan," but I prefer the cartoon voices for them better, even though the cartoon makes Gonzo sound like a girl. :P I also think that the REAL star of this special is Jerry Nelson, a talented veteran Muppet performer whom has worked with the Henson company since 1970. He gets to do many of his Muppet Show characters, including Robin the Frog, Emily Bear, Lew Zealand, Crazy Harry, Camilla the Chicken, and Floyd Pepper. But he seems to be more well-known for his Sesame Street work, for this special also features Herry Monster, Count Von Count, Biff the Construction Worker, Fred the Wonder Horse, Simon Soundman, Sherlock Hemlock, and a few others. He also performed Gobo Fraggle on "Fraggle Rock." He seems to be a man of many voices, and he has also done announcers on those shows, too.Anyways, I recommend it to all you Muppet and Sesame Street fans, but make sure you don't get the DVD or VHS version!

This like many shows and movies brings back many memories of Christmas when I was a kid. This special aired in 87 when I was 5 and I am now 24, and to this day I still love this xmas special. Its always nice to remember xmas's from years ago just by watching a show or a movie. The first time I watched this Im pretty sure was the first time it aired on TV, my sister and I watched it Dec 24th, and i remember for at least a few years it aired on Dec 24th, and I remember it well when it didn't come on the next Dec24th, and thats been at least 15 years...Though it did come on many times it was never the same, it would come on early in the month, it would b edited to rat sh!t, just like this DVD release, I would never buy it cause it wouldn't be the same, but if your someone who can deal with about 10mins of edits, then buy it, cause its still a great xmas special..Heres a few of the edits, Most if not all the musical numbers, which do come on TV, I guess the musical #'s are copyrighted for TV, Fozzie bear's and the snowman telling jokes, Miss piggy falling on the steps, Most of the muppet babies, and much more...Though I have found this on the internet, with all of it intact, but it looks like someone taped it from years ago and put it on the internet for download...Though its not the same as I was a kid, every time I watch on my computer it brings back floods of great memories, and to me thats more important.