the best holiday dvds

Not Rated

What's It About?: Papa, Brother, and Sister Bear search high and low for the perfect Christmas tree, only to discover it in a very surprising place.

Why Kids Will Want to Watch It: This classic TV special has all the warmth and humor children have come to expect from the Berenstain Bears.

Good Tidings: Celebrating Halloween with some of their favorite characters will be comforting, empowering, and just plain fun for preschoolers.

Bah Humbugs: Papa never listens to Mama's wise advice.

Not Rated

What's It About?: Elmo and Abby help their new friend, Stiller the Elf, find the pieces of his broken Counter-Downer so they can count down to Christmas and let the holiday begin.

Why Kids Will Want to Watch It: Who better to celebrate the most magical time of year with than fairy-godmother-in-training Abby? (Not to mention the rest of the Sesame Street gang and special guests like Sheryl Crow, Jamie Foxx, Alicia Keys, and Jennifer Hudson.)

Good Tidings: The idea that if you believe, miracles really do happen.

Bah Humbugs: Grouchy Oscar singing, "I Hate Christmas," and throwing the Counter-Downer out of his trash can.

Not Rated

What's It About?: Dora, Boots, and Diego have to rescue the animals Swiper scared away, so they can get to the big Three Kings Day party at Dora's house.

Why Kids Will Want to Watch It: Dora, Boots, and Diego are like family to them, and they'll be intrigued by the idea of Three Kings Day.

Good Tidings: Dora makes young viewers feel like they're really involved in the celebration, and empowers them by having them participate in the tasks it takes to get there.

Bah Humbugs: Swiper tries to steal Dora's special Three Kings cake.

Read the Flick for Kids Age-by-Age guide for Dora Celebrates Three Kings Day!.

Rated PG

What's It About?: Eight-year-old Kevin is accidentally left behind when his family flies off to France for Christmas.

Why Kids Will Want to Watch It: It's become a comedy classic, and almost everyone has imitated Macaulay Culkin's famous scream at some point.

Good Tidings: Kids will find it very empowering that Kevin is able to survive on his own.

Bah Humbugs: Kevin has to defend his home against burglars.

Rated PG

What's It About?: Workaholic dad Howard (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is determined to get his son the season's hottest Turbo-Man action figure for Christmas.

Why Kids Will Want to Watch It: They'll laugh at everything Howard has to go through to fulfill his son's wish.

Good Tidings: In the end, Howard realizes he's the only superhero his son really needs.

Bah Humbugs: The mass hysteria to acquire a toy.

Rated G

What's It About?: Four holiday-themed episodes in which the Little Einsteins travel around the world visiting places like the Himalayas, Switzerland, and Iceland.

Why Kids Will Want to Watch It: Leo, Annie, June, and Quincy always introduce them to new cultures, music, and artwork.

Good Tidings: The focus on teamwork.

Bah Humbugs: A baby reindeer gets lost.

Not Rated

What's It About?: Three timeless classics, It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and A Charlie Brown Christmas have been remastered and boxed for family collections.

Why Kids Will Want to Watch It: Spending the holidays with Charlie Brown has become a much-anticipated tradition.

Good Tidings: The Peanuts gang discovers the true meaning of the season.

Bah Humbugs: Everyone makes fun of Charlie Brown's Christmas tree.

Not Rated

What's It About?: Shrek wants to spend his first Christmas celebration with Fiona and the babies, but Donkey has some ideas of his own.

Why Kids Will Want to Watch It: They know they'll hear hilarious lines like Shrek's twisted version of the classic Yuletide story "'Twas the night before Christmas, not a swamp rat did creep as mother and babes played kazoo in their sleep.

Good Tidings: Shrek's realization that Christmas is all about being together with friends and family.

Bah Humbugs: Some potty humor and Shrek yelling at Donkey, "You want to give me a present? Go away!"

Read the Flick for Kids Age-by-Age guide for Shrek the Halls.

Rated G

What's It About?: Young reindeer Niko heads North in search of his father, who he's convinced is a member of Santa's famous Flying Forces.

Why Kids Will Want to Watch It: They'll enjoy meeting new reindeer other than Rudolph.

Good Tidings: Because Niko never gives up, he's able to make the seemingly impossible happen.

Bah Humbugs: Scary wolves want to make Christmas dinner out of the reindeer.

Not Rated

What's It About?: Seven popular holiday stories, including Seven Candles for Kwanzaa, In the Month of Kislev and Too Many Tamales, are narrated by stars like Alfre Woodard and Anthony Edwards.

Why Kids Will Want to Watch It: They love being read to--and having the option to read along themselves.

Good Tidings: This holiday DVD has something for everyone, no matter which one you celebrate.

Bah Humbugs: Some greed and sneakiness, but they're only the means to important lessons learned.

Rated PG

What's It About?: When young Emily asks a store Santa for a boyfriend for her unhappy, overworked single mom Nancy, the big man delivers her wish himself.

Why Kids Will Want to Watch It: They'll find rapper/producer J-Jizzy a fascinating character, and they'll enjoy Queen Latifah and Terence Howard's appearances as an angelic narrator and devilish sidekick.

Good Tidings: The philosophy that "the best Christmas present is a happy family all wrapped up in each other."

Bah Humbugs: Alcohol consumption and some suggestiveness.

Read the Flick for Kids Age-by-Age guide for The Perfect Holiday.

Not Rated

What's It About?: When a fairy tale Mouse King steals the Nutcracker they were given for Christmas, Linny, Tuck, and Ming-Ming jump into a picture book to retrieve it.

Why Kids Will Want to Watch It: The trio's irreverent attitude makes for a very spirited Christmas.

Good Tidings: The beautiful music of Tchaikovsky's beloved ballet provides the soundtrack to the story.

Bah Humbugs: At first, nobody's satisfied with what they have.

Read the Flick for Kids Age-by-Age guide for Wonder Pets! Save the Nutcracker.

Rated G

What's It About?: Jim Henson's popular puppets re-enact Charles Dickens's tale of Ebenezer Scrooge, a greedy penny-pincher who says "bah, humbug" to Christmas but learns the true meaning of the holiday when he's visited by the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future.

Why Kids Will Want to Watch it: The Muppet cast brings Charles Dickens's story into a whole new fuzzy dimension.

Good Tidings: This story about the importance of sharing the holidays with the ones you love is heartwarming in any version. With the Muppets at the helm, it's the epitome of warm and cuddly.

Bah Humbugs: Some greed and meanness, but they ultimately serve as moral lessons.

Not Rated

What's It About?: Disillusioned by the commercialization of Christmas, good old Charlie Brown directs the holiday play and gets teased by the rest of the Peanuts gang for picking the scrawniest and ugliest Christmas tree.

Why Kids Will Want to Watch it: Charlie Brown and his friends bring humor and goodwill to the holiday season.

Good Tidings: It's a holiday tradition! Just try listening to Linus's straight-from-the-heart speech without wishing you had your own blanket to clutch.

Bah Humbugs: Charlie Brown is teased by his friends.

Not Rated

What's It About?: The beloved children's book character celebrates Christmas at the Plaza Hotel, where she lives with her "mostly companion" Nanny, while her mom is off in Paris.

Why Kids Will Want to Watch it: They'll love Eloise's enlivening yet exasperating attitude.

Good Tidings: Although Eloise is definitely a material girl, the message is clear that "it's not the presents that come wrapped in ribbons and bows that count, but the ones that come from [the heart]"--even if this is one of the few things Nanny doesn't repeat three times!

Bah Humbugs: Eloise can be a bit of a troublemaker.

Rated PG

What's It About?: Living alone on a mountain with his dog, the grumpy Grinch--who's mean and green with a heart that's "two sizes too small"--plots to take Christmas away from the residents of Whoville below.

Why Kids Will Want to Watch it: Seuss's classic tale is packed with holiday jokes and exciting, adventurous scenes.

Good Tidings: As the Grinch listens to the Whos sing and celebrate, he learns that you can take away all the trappings of Christmas, but not the spirit; his heart "grows three sizes that day."

Bah Humbugs: The Grinch can be very mean--especially to his poor dog, Max!

Read the Flick for Kids Age-by-Age guide for How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

Not Rated

What's It About?: Kris Kringle, the Santa at Macy's department store in New York City, goes to court to prove he's the real Santa Claus.

Why Kids Will Want to Watch it: They'll love to see Santa interacting with the children around him.

Good Tidings: The film has an exhilarating "I Believe!" message.

Bah Humbugs: The question, "Does Santa exist?" is raised throughout the film.

Not Rated

What's It About?: All the other reindeer used to laugh and call him names, but red-nosed Rudolph ends up saving the holiday when he lights the way for Santa one foggy Christmas night.

Why Kids Will Want to Watch it: Spending time with Rudolph and his group of unforgettable friends is a holiday tradition!

Good Tidings: The important messages about accepting those who are different.

Bah Humbugs: Rudolph is teased by the other reindeer.

Not Rated

What's It About?: While Grandpa Boris is performing in the Chanukah play, Tommy and the babies get into a little holiday drama of their own.

Why Kids Will Want to Watch it: Easy; it's the Rugrats!

Good Tidings: It celebrates the meaning of the Jewish holiday, providing solid cultural and historical information in the babies' own inimitable way.

Bah Humbugs: There are slightly graphic depictions of the ten Plagues of Egypt.

Rated G

What's It About?: Doubting the existence of Santa, a young boy takes a magical Christmas Eve train ride to the North Pole, where he gets a special gift from the man in the red suit himself.

Why Kids Will Want to Watch it: All of the wonderful, wintry action!

Good Tidings: The main character's sentiment: "I believe."

Bah Humbugs: The film questions Santa's existence.

Read the Flick for Kids Age-by-Age guide for The Polar Express.