TV's Best Christmas Offerings: What to Watch This Holiday Week

When to watch marathons of Breaking Bad and Modern Family and airings of classic Christmas movies such as Home Alone and It's a Wonderful Life

By Tierney Bricker Dec 23, 2013 8:00 PMTags
Maggie Q, Macaulay Culkin, Jane Lynch,  Bryan CranstonThe CW; 20th Century Fox; FX; NBC

Feel like hibernating from your family this holiday week? Or are you already trying to decide how best to get over your food hangover after all the feasting you'll be doing on Christmas Eve and Christmas?

We're here to help, as we've got a guide to the week's best TV offerings, including marathons of fan-favorite series such as Breaking Bad, Modern Family and NCIS, as well as when you can check out classic Christmas movies, including Home Alone, A Christmas Story...and Snowmageddon! Plus, the finales of Nikita and The Sing-Off are also going down this week. 

Merry Christmas, ya filthy animals. And keep your remote close by!

Monday, Dec. 23

Shrek the Halls and A Chipmunk Christmas: Check in with your inner child with ABC's one-two punch of fun. (8 p.m. on ABC)

The Sing-Off: Nick Lachey's reality singing competition wraps up its fourth season with a two-hour finale. (8 p.m. on NBC)

Home Alone: A Christmas classic and one of our favorite movies, period. Enjoy it, ya filthy animals. (8 p.m. on AMC)

WWE Monday Night Raw: It ain't the holidays without a little wrestling, right? (8 p.m. on USA)

The iHeartradio Jingle Ball 2013: Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, Enrique Iglesias, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Robin Thicke, Ariana Grande and more will all perform. (8 p.m. on the CW.)

Hollywood Game Night: NBC's fun celebrity-filled game show hosted by Glee's Jane Lynch returns for its second season with a holiday edition, featuring Rachel BilsonRay Romano and more. (10 p.m. on NBC)

SCOOP: Beloved TV Couple Will Finally Kiss

Tuesday, Dec. 24

Malcolm in the Middle: Before he was Breaking Bad's Walter White, Bryan Cranston was this sitcom's family patriarch. Ah, memories. You can relive all of the laughs and non-meth related family issues with a day-long marathon. (6 a.m. on IFC)

A Christmas Story: A 17-year-tradition, a 24-hour marathon of the classic movie will air for you and your nostalgia's viewing pleasure. (8 p.m. on TBS)

Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas: Jim Carrey chews scenery as the green Christmas-hater. (8 p.m. on ABC)

Modern Family: This 11-episode marathon focuses on the unsung hero of the Dunphy family: teen drama queen Haley! (8 p.m. on USA)

It's a Wonderful Life: The perfect flick to watch with a nice mug of hot cocoa surrounded by your family. (8 p.m. on NBC)

A New York Christmas to Remember: Regis Philbin hosts this holiday special. (11:35 p.m. on CBS)

Wednesday, Dec, 25

Oy! to the World! A Mel Brooks Christmas Marathon: Check out this roster and try not to tune into at least one. We dare you! The Producers ('05 version), The Producers ('68 version), History of the World, Part IYoung FrankensteinRobin Hood: Men in Tights (6 a.m. on Sundance)

Syfy Christmas Movie Marathon: What better way to spend your Christmas than with cheesy horror flicks, including Snow Beast and Snowmageddon? (9 a.m. on Syfy)

Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade: Neil Patrick Harris and Nick Cannon host the 30th annual parade. (10 a.m. on ABC)

The Bible: Perfectly timed re-airing of this miniseries, no? (8 p.m. on History)

Kelly Clarkson's Cautionary Christmas Music Tale: Don't you wish the Idol alum was a member of your family? Now you can pretend she is with the re-airing of her hilarious holiday special, featuring Blake Shelton, Robin Williams, Whoopi Goldberg and more. (8 p.m. on NBC)

Michael Buble's Third Annual Christmas Special: Ditto what we said about Clarkson, just swap in Mariah Carey and Mary J.Blige. (9 p.m. on NBC)

Doctor Who: The Time of the Doctor: The cult hit's current Doctor Matt Smith bids farewell in this annual special. (9 p.m. on BBC America)

Thursday, Dec. 26

NCIS: What better way to cure your food coma than with an all-day marathon of the CBS hit series? Trick question: There is no better way. (6 a.m. on USA)

ABC Family's 25th Day of Christmas: The network will air some of its best Christmas offerings to close out its annual 25 Days of Christmas programming, including National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation and The Santa Clause. (7 a.m. on ABC Family)

20/20: Anglophiles, gather around the boob tube as this special  is all about Downton Abbey. Well, at least the castle that inspired that inspired the series. (9 p.m. on ABC)

Friday, Dec. 27

Breaking Bad: Sick of people harassing you to watch the series? We've got a quick fix: watch it, you idiot! AMC is airing a nonstop marathon on the entire series over the course of the weekend, with new eps beginning at noon each day. (12 p.m. on AMC)

Nikita: Say goodbye to one of the CW's most underrated series as Nikita's series finale airs as a belated Christmas gift to fans. Well, a gift if everyone makes it out alive. (9 p.m. on the CW)

What We Wasted Our Year On: Look back on the year's biggest moments in this special. (9 p.m. on NBC)