Cathy Steinberg

When Charlie Brown complains about the overwhelming materialism that he sees amongst everyone during the Christmas season, Lucy suggests that he become director of the school Christmas pageant. Charlie Brown accepts, but it is a frustrating struggle. When an attempt to restore the proper spirit with a forlorn little fir Christmas tree fails, he needs Linus' help to learn the meaning of Christmas.

This classic "Peanuts" tale focuses on the thumb-sucking, blanket-holding Linus, and his touching faith in the "Great Pumpkin." When Linus discovers that no one else believes in the creature, he sets out to prove that the Pumpkin's no myth—by spending the night alone in a pumpkin patch.

After their humiliating 999th defeat, Charlie Brown's whole baseball team quits on him. All seems lost...until Charlie Brown learns that his team can join the Little League and become an official team with real uniforms! But as the team's enthusiasm sparks, Charlie Brown learns that neither girls nor Snoopy would be allowed to play. Charlie Brown faces the difficult decision of breaking this horrible news to his excited team.

With the school year coming to a close, Charlie Brown is trying to work up the courage to meet his dream girl, whom he only knows as "The Little Red Haired Girl." However, he's too nervous to go meet her upfront and all his attempts to impress her at school backfire disastrously. His friends, Linus and Peppermint Patty, try to help, but only aggravate the situation, while Charlie Brown desperately tries to find a solution to this romantic conundrum.

The successful comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz, was adapted into animated specials since 1965, most of them released on television.