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8 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
The Best Christmas Special Ever!, 12 July 2001
Author: peeweehoglie from Surrey, BC, Canada

This is the best christmas special I have ever seen on TV and on VHS! This christmas has handful of special guest stars who are really great people. Pee-wee was hilarious and all the other characters in the playhouse were also funny. Pee-wee Herman is the funniest guy in the world and I wish he could come back and make brand new Pee-wee movies and bring back Pee-wee's Playhouse on the air again.

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4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Possibly the GREATEST holiday special... EVER!!!, 1 October 2000
10/10
Author: Eric James Jordan (kronosheep@hotmail.com) from Streling Heights, MI

Pee Wee Herman and friends join in the holiday spirit tour de force in what might be the greatest holiday special ever. The regulars are all there, from Capt. Carl (the late, great Phil Hartman) to Reba the Mail lady. In addition to the already sensational cast, numerous guests are in attendance including (but in no particular order by any means) Frankie and Annette, the Derubial Triplets, Charro, Grace Jones, and Little Richard (and I'm positive I'm forgetting a few, and I'm sorry for that [I want to say k.d. lang, but don't quote me on that]).

Now, the special does focus its attention on Christmas, but it also brings Hanukah into light for a moment (hence my persistence on dubbing it as a 'holiday special') - and it does so both educationally and entertainingly (if that's a word).

This single episode of Pee Wee's Playhouse is forever held dear to me, not only because of the sheer amount of comedic goodness, but also because I feel it best sums up entirely the greatness of what was arguably one of the greatest shows ever!

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Campiest, Hippest Christmas Special EVER!, 5 December 2002
Author: melismatica67 from Southeastern New England

Why isn't this available on video or DVD? Fortunately, I taped it when it aired one Christmas when my kids were toddlers. The date above says 1988 which surprises me because I was under the impression it only aired once. My youngest was born in '87 and I'm pretty certain she was older than 1 when we first saw it. The year I taped this, and every year since they have watched it over again, rewinding certain parts to see them played backwards. This was hilarious to them. The Christmas special has the same kitchy, glitzy sets and props of the Saturday morning show with all the regular characters as well as several great drop-ins. Some particular favorites of mine are k.d. lang performing a frenetic "Jingle Bell Rock" and Charo singing "Feliz Navidad". There is even a touching moment when Pee Wee explains the true meaning of Christmas with the aid of an old educational film of children performing a Nativity pageant. We just watched that original tape I made for the gazillionth time. My kids are now 15, 14, and 12 and they catch the sly camp humor that eluded them when they were younger. My copy is old and deteriorating. I can't believe this hasn't been released for purchace by now. Are people still so hung up on that minor picadillo that future audiences will be deprived of ever seeing this truly entertaining, good natured Christmas special? I surely hope not. I don't know how many more viewings my copy will endure.

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The educational angle gets in the way of the comedy...though it is still bright and eclectic, 9 October 2009
7/10
Author: moonspinner55 from redlands, ca

Watching Pee-wee Herman's Christmas special 21 years after it first aired, many thoughts go through the viewer's mind as to what transpired in comedian Paul Reubens' life and career up to this point--and what has happened since (indeed, in his DVD commentary, Reubens is soft-spoken and even contrite concerning the past two decades). Reubens' creation was originally a naughty one-act for grown-ups, his material laced with innuendo, so it has always stumped me why he chose to be a kiddie entertainer. Apparently, his heart was really in it, and the results are there on the screen...yet when hunky construction workers are seen building the fruitcake room, one may sense a wink and a nudge from the old days. Many guests join Pee-wee at his Playhouse to help usher in the Christmas cheer, including a fleeting Cher, a colorful Little Richard, a tormented Frankie Avalon & Annette Funicello, a very young k.d. lang, a scarily elegant Grace Jones, a saucy Charo, and all of Herman's friends from his weekly television program (including co-writer John Paragon as Jambi, with incredible make-up). It's very light and easy, obviously put together rather quickly, and lacking a bit in high-end laughter. Pee-wee's newfound penchant to be educationally sound detracts from the fun, as does the proverbial meaning-of-Christmas speech which comes off a little heavy. Still, it moves along at a merry pace, Pee-wee is occasionally a funny jerk, and the celebrities all seem remarkably in step with the fanciful humor at hand.

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Fun with a moral attached., 20 May 2004
Author: mateuschler from Wisconsin

Pee Wee Herman, many of the Playhouse regulars and a load of celebrities celebrate the holidays in a grand and glorious way. Among the many funny skits is an interminable rendering of 'The Twelve Days of Christmas' by Dinah Shore on Pee Wee's multi-media phone device.

The celebrities are too numerous to mention, and all are very good sports. In the end, Pee Wee (and the viewers) learn a wonderful lesson about selflessness and sharing.

Regardless of his press in recent years, Pee Wee is a comic genius who tickles the funny bones of children as well as adults. Well worth viewing.

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1 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Pee-Wee's Way Cool Special Christmas Special!!, 25 November 2001
Author: (robocoptng986127@aol.com) from U.S.A

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

[CONTAINS SPOILERS]

It's Christmas at the Playhouse and all of Pee-Wee's friends are ready for the holiday. There's Conky, Chairry, Magic Screen, Pterri, Jambi, and more! Pee Wee had written a giant letter to Santa Claus and his friends drop by. He gives them really neat gifts and all they give him are fruitcakes. Pee Wee plays in Magic Screen and meets her cousin, Magic Johnson. He even commissions Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello to make Christmas cards. He goes ice skating with Little Richard and skates a perfect figure 8. It was done by his skating double, though. Dinah Shore even calls him up and sings a long verion of "The Twelve Days of Christmas". Cowboy Curtis and Ricardo show up and give Pee Wee fruitcakes. Mrs. Renae even shows up to teach us about Hanukkah and gives Pee Wee a dradel, which spins into the Dinosaur family's hole. The Dinosaurs are also Jewish.

Soon, night falls. Randy learns the true meaning of Christmas and wishes Pee Wee a merry Christmas by giving him a fruitcake.

Pee Wee found a practical use for all his fruitcakes: he's making a room entirely made of fruitcakes. They sing carols until Santa Claus comes!! He announces that Pee Wee's list was so long that he didn't have enough gifts for all the children of the world, so he requests for all of Pee Wee's gifts and Pee Wee's aid in delivering them all. So it does turn out to be a merry Christmas. But what will Pee-Wee decide? Will he give up his gifts and help out Big Red? Perhaps.

I like this and I do recommend it. This was made back when Pee-Wee's Playhouse was big and before Paul Reuben's, you know, little incident.

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