*I participated in this campaign as a Peanuts 50 Years on TV Brand Ambassador. I received a promotional item as a thank you for participating. All opinions are 100% my own.
One of my fondest memories from my childhood is sitting around the television set every Christmas season to watch A Charlie Brown Christmas. It was something that my siblings and I looked forward to every year as we embraced the holiday spirit and cherished our time together as a family. Now that we all have our own children, we are trying to pass down this family tradition to our kids so they can also have the fond memories that we do of these times.
Peanuts Worldwide is kicking off a year-long celebration of 50 years of A Charlie Brown Christmas! December 2014 marks the 50th time the beloved special will air on television. As a Peanuts Ambassador, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Jill Schulz, 56, the youngest of Charles M. Schulz’s five children, with bloggers around the country.
A photo of Jill Schulz with her family (she’s the one on the right.)
She shared with us her personal memories of her Dad; the family Christmas traditions that she shared with her siblings Meredith, Amy, Monte, and Craig; and, of course, the way that A Charlie Brown Christmas has touched her life and the lives of millions of fans across the globe.
What was it like to celebrate Christmas in the Schulz family?
- “We had a pretty typical Christmas, except that we opened our gifts on Christmas Eve. Typically, we’d have neighborhood friends and kids coming over and my mom cooked a great big dinner. Then we’d wait for Santa Claus, I’d always sneak back down and open a window because I thought there was no way he could fit down the chimney.”
- “Once the TV show came out, that became a tradition: both Christmas and Halloween, they became something we’d gather around TV to watch. But to me, it just seemed like a normal family Christmas.”
Was there anything in the special that was similar to your childhood?
- “There are elements that are supposed to come from my family. Like Lucy’s crabbiness came from Meredith. I’m told that Linus has a blanket because I always had a blanket.” But I can’t say there’s anything specific in the special.”
- “Dad was active in Sunday school when we were much younger, he taught there on Sundays for many years. So the Linus speech was something very important to him.”
Why do you suppose after 50 years, it’s still resonating with people?
- “Because the characters, the experiences they have, in the strip and the TV show are things that every generation has, does, and will continue to experience in life. Football with Charlie Brown. Everyone experiences losing. Everyone comments on commercialism. It’s been happening for years, will continue to happen. Siblings teasing each other, fighting, even if they love each other.”
What is Christmas like for your family today?
- “After those big Christmases as a kid, I had to get adjusted to having Christmases with just my husband and my two kids. It felt so small. I tried to do the same traditions, watch the special, do the presents.”
- “Now we invite good friends and go to Utah to go skiing, have snow, make snowmen, do all of those traditional Christmas things we’ve heard of, even though we live in California.”
- “One tradition I didn’t keep: My parents always put an orange in Christmas stockings, I switched that to chocolate.”
If you haven’t seen this heartwarming story before or even if you’ve seen it a dozen times, launch the holiday joy early, as you anticipate the 50th airing of A Charlie Brown Christmas!
Let’s Discuss: What are some of your favorite Christmas memories and memories of watching A Charlie Brown Christmas when you were a kid?
GIVEAWAY:
Our Sponsor is spreading the cheer of A Charlie Brown Christmas with a soft and huggable Snoopy plush which brings cheer any time of day or night, while a charming Be Joyful book keeps you in a Peanuts spirit year-round.a Rafflecopter giveaway
Disclosure: This post is part of a blogging campaign as a Peanuts 50 Years on TV Brand Ambassador. I received a promotional item as a thank you for participating. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
© 2014, Tough Cookie Mommy. All rights reserved.
I adore charlie brown. This brings back so many childhood memories. Thank you for this.
aww too bad you are giving it away! he looks so happy with snoopy.
No worries, Amanda. That’s his Snoopy. A second prize pack will be given away. 🙂
we watch all of the specials every year since as young as I can remember, it’s like a family tradition for sure!
What a great opportunity you had! It has long been our tradition to sit as a family and watch A Charlie Brown Christmas also (a tradition I grew up).
Charlie Brown Christmas and It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown are traditions in our house. We have both on DVD, but always sit down and watch them when they are on tv.
I love Charlie Brown. My kids have grown to love them too. When I was a kid i used to watch every peanut cartoon that came on TV.
Wow, has it been 50 years?! I remember watching both the Halloween and Christmas specials every year as a kid – they preempted all the normal shows and made such a huge deal out of the specials.
i remember watching charlie brown’s christmas every year as a kid ,but my favorite is the great pumpkin charlie brown
It was always something we as kids looked forward to. Just sitting by the tv w a sweet treat… We knew Christmas was near.
I always looked forward to all of the Charlie Brown holiday specials when I was growing up (actually, I still do). But the Christmas one was always special since I used to watch it with my grandparents.
We would watch the Christmas shows together on the TV during the holidays. It was a nice relaxing time to spend together
I remember checking the TV guide to see when Charlie Brown would be on every holiday season! We always got to stay up late to watch it!
Christmas is just not Christmas without Charlie Brown and his gang. We are already reading our Charlie Brown Christmas books.
I remember we would watch it on tv. I always loved it cause I thought snoopy was adorable. My favorite was the Halloween one with the great pumpkin.
Wow, 50 years! Such a classic cartoon too! We always watch the Christmas one every year <3
I never get sick of peanuts and my favorite time to watch them is during the holidays. Even as a grownup I still take away something from that show.
I love this. As a kid I remember putting everything down to watch this. It just isn’t Christmas with out watching these classics.
I didn’t read the title before beginning this post. I thought it was about the food peanuts lol Our neighbor has a little girl who loves Snoopy.
i love this! we loved to watch the charlie brown christmas story it is so classic
We always enjoyed watching Charlie Brown Holiday shows to get excited for Christmas .
kellywcu8888ATgmailDOTcom
We used to always watch the Christmas special, and we’d get up and dance during the scene when the kids are dancing.
entered the Chicken of the Sea giveaway
What a cute gift! I loved watching Charlie Brown specials as a kid and reading the comics, too. Now, it’s so great to share them with my children. They are certainly classics!
Remember watching this as a kid. Looks like it’s pretty timeless. Cute snoopy dog 🙂
What a great interview. A Charlie Brown Christmas is such a holiday tradition for so many people!
Charlie Brown Christmas special meant the official start to the holiday season when I was a kid. We would watch it and then head out to drive around downtown looking at the store’s Christmas displays in the windows. A magical time.
We love Charlie Brown in our family. That Snoopy doll and book look adorable and perfect for my 4 year old little boy.
We love Charlie Brown in our family. That Snoopy doll and book look adorable and perfect for my 4 year old little boy. I remember watching Charlie Brown on t.v. when I was a little girl. It was always a highlight.
We always loved to gather and watch a Charlie Brown Christmas. It was always a treat and something special. I remember it all fondly. I think all kids should have these special memories of their favorite Christmas cartoons and their excitement and joy of the holiday.
For me and my sister, watching A Charlie Brown Christmas was the real beginning of the Christmas season. Now, decades later, my spouse feels the same way about it, and watching that special is a big part of the holidays for us.
I have very fond memories of Christmas with my family. We would always go to my grandparents on Christmas Day. One of the things we would always watch was the Charlie Brown Christmas.
I love Snoopy! Christmas isn’t Christmas without The Charlie Brown Christmas special playing on TV. 🙂
I love a Charlie Brown Christmas! I even looked for it online to show my kids last year because we are in India and it obviously isn’t shown here.
We always start the holidays with watching a Xmas special and Snoopy;s is one of our favorites. Now my children will do the same.
Of course our fond memories are those watching the holiday cartoons together as a family. My sister-in-law is a huge peanuts fan, so she would love this prize.
My mom loved the Peanuts but that was never one of my favorites. I let the kids watch the movies when it comes on in memory of my mom.
I looked forward to the Charlie Brown program every year. We didn’t have DVD’s or even cable in the 70’s, so it was special to wait eagerly for it to on.
Charlie Brown is a family favorite! Thanks for the giveaway. So many awesome memories watching the holiday specials.
I remember watching this on tv as a child with my family.
I remember calling my cousin to come over to watch this with me every year,we were so close then. My favorite memory is my Dad carving the ham every year.
I loooove Snoopy! I am obsessed with it. Lol
i remember watching the charlie brown holiday specials as a kid and i love sharing them with my daughter now.
I loved the Peanuts when I was a kid.We watched the holiday shows every year!
I remember all us kids sitting on the floor watching Charlie Brown. My mom would make us chocolate pudding or chestnuts.
We love Snoopy!!!! Would love this to put under my tree 🙂
A Charlie Brown Christmas has been a must watch every single Christmas all of my life and all of my kids’ lives. We love all of the Charlie Brown holiday specials!
We watched ALL the Charlie Brown specials 🙂 I loved the peanuts and had a LUCY doll.
I always loved Snoopy and Peanuts. I need to introduce Charlie Brown to my boy. I know he would love it, He is starting to explore more cartoon characters since we have Netflix. Thank you for the reminder.
I remember as a kid, when the specials were to be on tv. My brother and I would plow through our dinner so we could eat our dessert in front of the tv to watch. Each time it was a special night.
we each this every year
I watched all the Charlie Brown specials with my kids when they were young. The Christmas special was our favorite.
We always knew the date it was going to be on tv, and the whole family would watch it together. I have always loved the adults’ voices!
We watched it every year growing up and I watched it with my kids when they were little, now I watch it with my grandson. It has become a holiday tradition in our home.
My favorite memory was watching it with my family every year as tradition in our pj’s and usually eating some popcorn 🙂
My favorite was The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. It brings back such wonderful childhood memories!
We watch it together on Christmas eve.
We always watched “A Charlie Brown Christmas” as a family growing up.
When my first child was born I continued the tradition with my family. I can’t imagine Christmas without it.
jweezie43[at]gmail[dot]com
We watch The Great Pumpkin and A Charlie Brown Christmas every year with all three kiddos they love it and I hope they pass it down some day.
I love watch the peanuts holiday special with my son every year, he really looks forward to seeing snoopy.
we love watching the peanuts movies around the holidays
We always watched this when it came on…every single year. and now my kids do too!
My dad, me and my grandmother would watch this every year. My grandmother would make a big bowl of popcorn and we would have glasses of root beer with it. It was my favorite time of year.