Claymation Tuesday
Cross-legged Television Day
A Marathon of Christmas Claymation Films
About Claymation Tuesday
Claymation Monday is your official pass to sit cross-legged on the floor (or reclined on the couch—no judgment) and indulge in a marathon of Christmas claymation films. This day celebrates the quirky, nostalgia-packed specials that have enchanted audiences for decades. Starting with the iconic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964) and extending to the broader canon of Rankin-Bass Productions, these films combined stop-motion magic with imaginative, clever storylines (like an elf dreaming of becoming a dentist). The charm and lo-fi puppetry of these classics will make you feel like a child again, when you were held rapt by the technological marvel of layered felt and wire armatures.
Ways to observe
(A) Low effort
Watch Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer while sipping hot cocoa, and marvel at how you never noticed just how sad the misfit toys were.
(B) Recommended
Plan an afternoon or evening dedicated to watching Rankin/Bass specials. Gather a few friends, make some popcorn, and laugh at the lovable oddities of the claymation universe.
(C) High effort
Host a Claymation Christmas Marathon for friends and family. Set the scene with vintage Christmas decorations, themed snacks (like snowman-shaped cookies), and a screening schedule. Encourage guests to dress as their favorite characters.
Inspiration
There was a time when the annual airing of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer marked an unspoken seasonal turning point. No amount of parental humbuggery could override the signal: Christmas was here. The only thing that rivaled it for pure, hypnotic excitement was a rare TV airing of Jason and the Argonauts, which also involved puppets, stop-motion monsters, and a generous dose of heroics. (You’ll get your Harryhausen fix on Epic, Day 103.) There’s something about stop-motion that bypasses our usual defenses. Maybe it’s the texture, or the slight jitter in the movement that reminds you someone made this by hand, frame by frame, with painstaking care. Or maybe it’s because some stories just make more sense when told by woolen puppets with no visible eyelids.
Rankin-Bass launched Rudolph in 1964, using a labor-intensive animation technique that gave their characters a physical, almost magical presence. The success of Rudolph opened the sleigh door for a string of offbeat classics: Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town, The Year Without a Santa Claus, Jack Frost. The studio folded in the late 1980s, outpaced by faster, cheaper animation tech, but the legacy stuck. These specials became the visual language of the holidays for generations of kids who knew instinctively that Christmas wasn’t real until they saw a stop-motion snowman play a banjo.
Adornments
Watch
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)
The crown jewel of claymation Christmas, this stop-motion classic introduced the world to the Island of Misfit Toys, a kvetching prospector, and a reindeer with a radioactive nose. Underneath its vintage charm lies a surprisingly sharp tale of exile and redemption.
The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974)
Best remembered for the unhinged musical numbers by Heat Miser and Snow Miser, this special leans into absurdity and camp. Yet it sneaks in a touching message about faith, fatigue, and rekindling joy. Plus, Mrs. Claus gets her moment, taking matters into her own hands when Santa decides to go on strike.
Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town (1970)
An origin story for Kris Kringle that includes toy bans, penguin sidekicks, and a totalitarian Burgermeister. It’s weird, it’s whimsical, and it serves up a satirical bite with its sugar cookies. The claymation here leans theatrical.
Listen
Toyland by Doris Day
Lifted from the operetta Babes in Toyland, this version turns the innocent nostalgia of toys into a bittersweet ode to childhood. Ideal as a sonic background for a day spent with emotionally odd clay puppets.
Read
Tinsel: A Search for America’s Christmas Present by Hank Stuever
A deeply reported, witty book that follows three women through the Christmas-industrial complex in Texas. Surprisingly relevant to anyone thinking about how we package and sell nostalgia, especially the kind you find in animated holiday specials.