The Year Without a Santa Claus

By Jennifer Hudock on November 24th, 2009

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In the 1974 Rankin/Bass stop-animation classic, The Year Without a Santa Claus, Santa Claus comes down with the sniffles during the holiday season and decides to take a vacation. Besides, few people even seem to believe in him anymore, so what’s the point?

Mrs. Claus organizes elves Jingle and Jangle to set out and find proof to cheer up the “Jolly One” up, but they run into trouble when down in South Town Vixen gets taken to the dog pound. The mayor of South Town won’t let the reindeer go because the claim of Santa Claus and magical elves is obviously absurd. He finally agrees to let the reindeer go, but only if the elves can muster up the magic to make it snow.

With the help of Mrs. Claus, the elves must approach brothers Heat Miser and Snow Miser, who control the weather. Heat Miser refuses to budge unless Snow Miser gives up the North Pole, and Mrs. Claus is forced to call in Mother Nature to settle the dispute.

Meanwhile, a sniffling Santa Claus suits up in disguise to rescue Vixen.

While talking to a young boy, he discovers that there are people who still believe in him and the magic of Christmas. Upon hearing that Santa is under the weather, the children of the world unite and begin making him gifts to make him feel better. Realizing he can’t let the kids down on Christmas, he packs up his sleigh and makes the late-night Christmas Eve run.

A family favorite from the Rankin/Bass collection, The Year Without a Santa Claus was based around the story by Phyllis McGinley of the same name. With Andy Rooney doing the voice-over work for Santa Claus and Shirley Booth as Mrs. Claus, the show became a family favorite, along with related shows in the Rankin/Bass collection, like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Nestor the Long-eared Christmas Donkey.

Its popularity has since spawned a spin-off, the 2008 A Miser Brothers’ Christmas, and a live-action remake. Available for sale on DVD since 2000, The Year Without a Santa Claus airs annually on the ABC Family network during the month of December, so even if you don’t have a copy to watch, you can still catch it on cable.