Little kids know something special is in the air as the year comes to an end. First they can tell because the grown up are extra excited about the return of Pumpkin spiced coffee Then they notice that the Spirit Halloween store has returned to the abandoned shopping mall. Good things are right around the corner for them including trick or treating, big dinners, gifts and counting down the start of a New Year. This means it is time for holiday specials on TV too. And what better place to enjoy the various holidays then a trip down to Sesame Street. The Muppets know how to handle the fun from Halloween until the end of the year. Sesame Street: My Favorite Holidays! takes your kids from trick or treating to dropping the Ball.
The compilation program starts with Halloween and takes your kid to New Year’s Eve. It’s around two months of special events and plenty of holidays. Grover gets a bit of a quiz about the various holidays that are celebrated during the year. Elmo goes trick or treating on Sesame Street and gets freaked out by someone wearing a cooler version of his costume. Rosita gives her friends the meaning behind El Día de Los Muertos or The Day of the Day. The Muppets make the holiday less scary than the title suggests. There’s a group Thanksgiving party where all the residents of the street bring foods that are special to them. Leon Bridges sings about the holiday with Elmo. Cookie Monster has a food truck and shows us how to make an Apple Pie starting with getting apples from an orchard. Gonger is a new chef character. Elmo’s World gets into the winter holidays. Oscar introduces us to Crankymas, the official Grouch holiday. Kwanzaa gets explained as to what is done on the various nights. Cookie Monster does his variation of the 12 Days of Christmas. It has plenty of cookies. Kids explain holidays such as the Korean Harvest Moon Festival, Diwali, Chinese New Year, Rosh Hashanah, Eid, Christmas and New Year’s Eve. We see how the Muppets and people get excited about celebrating New Year’s Eve on the street. The Count and Cookie Monster team up to count some cookies. Elmo has to figure out how to stay awake until midnight.
The biggest thing this collection will do is allow your kids to understand why it’s important to wish people “Happy Holidays” during this time of year because there’s so many various holidays being celebrated by people. The Muppets and their kid friends explain the meaning of them instead of just saying the word and expecting them to look ’em up. There’s a lot of things going on during the final months and a kid can get a bit of a grasp of all the holidays on the calendar while watching the action on Sesame Street. Sesame Street: My Favorite Holidays! will bring home a lot of TV warmth for the season.
The video is 1.78:1 anamorphic. Most of the clips are from more recent shows. There are 1.33:1 full frame vintage clips in the mix. The transfers look fine. The audio is Dolby Digital Stereo. You’ll hear all the holiday explanations clearly. The show is subtitled in English and Spanish.
Once Upon A Sesame Street (51:00) is the uncut holiday special from 2016. Clips from the special are in the main show. Elmo learns about what Sesame Street was like in the 1800s when the neighborhood was more grouchy. We get the true meaning of Crankymas. There’s a special appearance by Jim Gaffigan.
Shout! Factory presents Sesame Street: My Favorite Holidays! Starring Elmo, Cookie Monster, Ernie, Bert, Big Bird and Jim Gaffigan. Rating: Unrated. Running Time: 80 minutes. Release Date: November 1, 2022.
