''Once Upon a Sesame Street Christmas'' is a one-hour ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) a ...

'' Christmas special that first aired on

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

on November 25, 2016, and on November 22, 2017, on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

Plot

On Christmas Eve,

Elmo Elmo is a red Muppet monster character on the long-running PBS/ HBO children's television show ''Sesame Street''. A furry red monster who has a falsetto voice and illeism, he hosts the last full five-minute segment (fifteen minutes prio ...

's father Louie tells his son about how

was a dreary place in the 19th century as its inhabitants lack the Christmas spirit enough for

Santa Claus Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a Legend, legendary figure originating in Western Christianity, Western Christian culture who is said to Christmas gift-bringer, bring ...

to not make a stop there and is enforced by a

constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...

that is Mr. Johnson's ancestor. Elmo's great-great-great-grandfather of the same name has moved there as he works to get everyone into the Christmas spirit with the help of some Sesame Street inhabitants that support his motives.

Cast

Jim Gaffigan James Christopher Gaffigan (born July 7, 1966) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. His material often addresses fatherhood, laziness, food, religion, and general observations. He is regarded as a "clean" comic, using l ...

Zosia Mamet Zosia Russell MametAccording to Vermont Births, 1981–2001, and Vermont Birth Records, 1909–2008, at Ancestry.com. (; born February 2, 1988) is an American actress and musician who has appeared in television series including ''Mad Men'', ' ...

as Bella *

Audra McDonald Audra Ann McDonald (born July 3, 1970) is an American actress and singer. Primarily known for her work on the Broadway stage, she has won six Tony Awards, more performance wins than any other actor, and is the only person to win in all four act ...

as Caroler *

Alan Muraoka Alan Muraoka (born August 10, 1962) is a Japanese American actor and director who plays Alan, the current owner of Hooper's Store, on the television show ''Sesame Street'' since 1998. He currently serves on the board of directors at thBayard Rusti ...

as Alan * Suki Lopez as Nina

Muppet performers

Pam Arciero Pamela Arciero (born May 8, 1954) is an American puppeteer and voice-over artist. She has performed for ''Between the Lions'' and ''Sesame Street'', playing Oscar the Grouch's girlfriend Grundgetta in the latter. In addition to performance wor ...

* Billy Barkhurst as

Ernie Ernie is a masculine given name, frequently a short form (hypocorism) of Ernest, Ernald, Ernesto, or Verner. It may refer to: People * Ernie Accorsi (born 1941), American football executive * Ernie Adams (disambiguation) * Ernie Afaganis (born c ...

Jennifer Barnhart Jennifer Barnhart (born March 11, 1972) is an American actress and puppeteer, with a portfolio of television and theatre performances.Tyler Bunch Tyler Bunch, also known as H.D. Quinn, is an American puppeteer, puppet designer, director, and actor. Career In addition to his work for the Jim Henson Company, Bunch has created and performed puppets for PBS, Nickelodeon and Disney's The Mu ...

as Louie *

Leslie Carrara-Rudolph Leslie Carrara, sometimes credited as Leslie Carrara-Rudolph or the misspelling Leslie Carrera-Rudolph, is an American actress, performer, puppeteer, speaker, singer and artist. She is probably best known as a Muppet performer on ''Sesame Street' ...

Abby Cadabby Abby Cadabby, mostly referred to as just Abby, is a Muppet character on the PBS/ HBO children's television show ''Sesame Street'', performed by Leslie Carrara-Rudolph. On August 14, 2006, Abby made her debut in the first episode of ''Sesame Stree ...

, Becky *

Frankie Cordero This list of ''Sesame Street'' puppeteers includes all who have worked on the show, as a regular, backup, guest puppeteer, etc., and by no means should be taken as complete, as many Muppeteers only have done one skit on the show, and thus aren't c ...

Stephanie D'Abruzzo Stephanie Ann D'Abruzzo (; born December 7, 1971) is an American actress, puppeteer and singer. She has performed various Muppets in the TV program ''Sesame Street''. She held starring roles on '' Oobi'' and ''The Book of Pooh''. She was one of ...

Ryan Dillon Ryan Dillon (born May 25, 1988) is an American puppeteer who has worked as an ensemble muppeteer for the Jim Henson Company since 2005. He also played Cooper and Paul Ball for the interactive series Sesame Street TV for Xbox Kinect, and appear ...

* Jamie Donmoyer *

Liz Hara Liz is a female name of Hebrew origin, meaning "God's Promise". It is also a short form of Elizabeth, Elisabeth, Lisbeth, Lizanne, Liszbeth, Lizbeth, Lizabeth, Lyzbeth, Lisa, Lizette, Alyssa, and Eliza. People * Liz Balmaseda (born 1959), Puli ...

Chris Thomas Hayes Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian, Christina, Christine, and Christos. Chris is also used as a name in its own right, however it is not as common. People with the given name * Chris Abani (born 1966), N ...

Haley Jenkins Haley may refer to: __NOTOC__ People and fictional characters * Haley (given name), a list of people and characters with this name * Haley (surname) * Haley McCallum, Canadian-American musician known professionally as Haley Geography * Haley, Tenn ...

Eric Jacobson Eric Jacobson is an American puppeteer. He is best known for performing Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, and Sam Eagle for The Muppets Studio, as well as ''Sesame Street'' characters Bert, Grover, Oscar the Grouch, and Guy Smiley—all role ...

Bert Bert or BERT may refer to: Persons, characters, or animals known as Bert *Bert (name), commonly an abbreviated forename and sometimes a surname *Bert, a character in the poem "Bert the Wombat" by The Wiggles; from their 1992 album Here Comes a Son ...

Grover Grover is a blue Muppet character on the popular PBS/ HBO children's television show ''Sesame Street''. Self-described as lovable, cute and furry, he is a blue monster who rarely uses contractions when he speaks or sings. Grover was original ...

Two-Headed Monster The Two-Headed Monster is a comical, light purple Muppet monster on the television show ''Sesame Street'', first appearing in season 9, 1978. History The Two-Headed Monster, as the name implies, is an example of bicephaly. The right-hand hea ...

(Left head);

Oscar the Grouch Oscar the Grouch is a Muppet character created by Jim Henson and Jon Stone for the PBS/HBO children's television program ''Sesame Street''. He has a green body, no visible nose, and lives in a trash can. Oscar's favorite thing is trash, as eviden ...

(puppetry only) *

Kathleen Kim Kathleen Kim is an American operatic coloratura soprano. Her repertoire includes roles in operas by Handel, Mozart, Donizetti, Verdi and Offenbach, among others, as well as in oratorios such as the ''Messiah'' and sacred works such as Mozart' ...

Tim Lagasse Tim Lagasse (born 1968/1969) is an American director, puppeteer and puppet designer. He has worked on films and television programs for Sesame Workshop, Nickelodeon, Disney XD, and HBO. He is known for playing the title character on Noggin's '' O ...

* Spencer Lott * Lara MacLean *

Joey Mazzarino Joseph Mazzarino (; born June 4, 1968) is an American actor, puppeteer, writer and director. He is best known for his roles on ''Sesame Street'' as Murray Monster, Stinky the Stinkweed and other Muppets, and being Head Writer and Director on ' ...

* Andrew Moriarty *

Carmen Osbahr Carmen Osbahr-Vertiz (born April 21, 1962) is a Mexican-born American puppeteer, singer and voice actress who has performed Rosita in the popular hit children's series ''Sesame Street'', since 1991. Osbahr has also performed Kiki Flores in ''Th ...

as Rosita * Martin P. Robinson as

Mr. Snuffleupagus Aloysius Snuffleupagus (), more commonly known as Mr. Snuffleupagus or Snuffy for short, is one of the characters on ''Sesame Street'', a long-running PBS/ HBO educational television program for young children. He is a giant anteater-like elephant ...

David Rudman David Rudman (born June 1, 1963) is an American puppeteer, puppet builder, writer, director, and producer known for his involvement with the Muppets and ''Sesame Street''. Career David Rudman has been a ''Sesame Street'' Muppet performer sinc ...

Cookie Monster Cookie Monster is a blue Muppet character on the long-running PBS/HBO children's television show ''Sesame Street.'' In a song in 2004, and later in an interview in 2017, Cookie Monster revealed his real name as "Sid". He is best known for his ...

(Right head) *

Caroll Spinney Caroll Edwin Spinney (December 26, 1933 – December 8, 2019) was an American puppeteer, cartoonist, author, artist and speaker, most famous for playing Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch on ''Sesame Street'' from its inception in 1969 until 2018. E ...

Big Bird Big Bird is a Muppet character designed by Jim Henson and built by Kermit Love for the long-running children's television show ''Sesame Street''. An eight-foot two-inch (249 cm) tall bright yellow anthropomorphic bird, he can roller skat ...

(voices only) * Matt Vogel –

Count von Count Count von Count (known simply as the Count) is a Muppet character on the PBS/HBO children's television show ''Sesame Street.'' He is meant to parody Bela Lugosi's portrayal of Count Dracula. He first appeared on the show in the Season 4 premiere ...

Constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...

;

(puppetry only)

Background Muppets

Baby Bear, Curly Bear, Mama Bear, Papa Bear, Zoe, Telly Monster, Gladys the Cow, Anything Muppets, AM Monsters, Grouches, Rocky the Cat, Crab

Songs

*"Holiday Lights" *"Let Santa Know We're Here" *"Two is You and Me" *"

Deck the Halls "Deck the Hall” is a traditional Christmas carol. The melody is Welsh, dating back to the sixteenth century, and belongs to a winter carol, "Nos Galan", while the English lyrics, written by the Scottish musician Thomas Oliphant, date to 1862. ...

" *"Kindness"

References

External links

* * 2016 television specials Sesame Street features Christmas television specials HBO network specials PBS original programming Musical television specials American Christmas television specials {{Christmas-tv-film-stub