‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’: How to Watch Online for Free This Holiday Season

The holiday season wouldn’t be complete without an annual viewing of the Peanuts special, A Charlie Brown Christmas, and if you missed the Tuesday, Dec. 17 airing on ABC, there is still a way to stream it online! As with other Peanuts specials that air on the network, A Charlie Brown Christmas will be available to view for free the ABC app, which is supported Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, and other streaming devices.

“Celebrate the joy of the holidays with the classic animated Christmas-themed PEANUTS special, A Charlie Brown Christmas, created by the late cartoonist Charles M. Schulz,” an official summary for the 1965 Christmas classic reads. “In the digitally re-mastered 1965 special, Charlie Brown complains about the overwhelming materialism that he sees everywhere during the Christmas season. Lucy suggests that he become director of the school Christmas pageant and Charlie Brown accepts, but it proves to be a frustrating struggle. When an attempt to restore the proper spirit with a forlorn little fir Christmas tree fails, Charlie Brown needs Linus’s help to learn what the real meaning of Christmas is.”

Although A Charlie Brown Christmas is airing on the Disney-owned ABC network, it is not available to stream on Dinsey+, though there are still other viewing option. The special is also available Hulu + Live TV or Hulu (No Ads) + Live TV, though to reach that tier, subscribers will have to shell out upwards of $50 per month.

Those tuning in to the special might notice something missing, as multiple scenes have been edited out throughout the years. According to the Huffington Post, the opening scene has been edited to remove a bit advertising Coca-Cola.

In the opening scene, Charlie Brown and Linus attempt to join other kids ice skating on the pond, though they become entangled by Linus’ blanket when snoopy grabs hold of it. When Snoopy spins, Charlie Brown and Linus are sent flying in different directions. While Charlie Brown ends up hitting a tree, the current airing version has removed the bit that shows Linus hitting a sign that advertises Coca-Cola.

Another scene at the end of the program has also been edited. In the scene, the kids sing, “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” and a voiceover comes on to say, “Merry Christmas from your local Coca-Cola bottler.”

The scenes were reportedly removed as it became too expensive for one specific sponsor (such as Coca-Cola or Dolly Madison) to sponsor the entire show. Now, multiple brands are sponsor the program.

Still craving more holiday-themed Peanuts specials? ABC has you covered. The alphabet network will be airing I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown on Sunday, Dec. 22 at 7 p.m. ET and Happy New Year, Charlie Brown! on Thursday, Dec. 26 at 8 p.m. ET.