“Turkey Confidential” is The Splendid Table’s annual live Thanksgiving call-in show. Francis Lam takes calls and comes to the rescue of Thanksgiving cooks, kitchen helpers, and inner guests during the biggest cooking day of the year. Phone lines - (800) 242-2828 will be open nationwide from 12pm - 2pm

Wednesday, December 9 at 9pm

Candles Burning Brightly

A one-hour celebration of Chanukah, the Jewish Festival of Lights with an exploration of Chanukah foods and traditional activities … and plenty of music.

Wednesday, December 19 at 10pm

Hanukkah Lights 2020

NPR has celebrated Hanukkah with original stories inspired by the Jewish festival of lights. Hosted by NPR's Susan Stamberg, and Murray Horwitz, each year Hanukkah Lights marks the age-old Jewish celebration with contemporary fiction.

Thursday, December 24 at 7pm
Julie’s Library: A Family Feast

Legendary actress and author Julie Andrews invites you to join her for story time in her library. Julie and her daughter, children’s author and educator Emma Walton Hamilton will share four stories perfect for a family feast. These stories will be brought to life with music and sound effects.

Special guests will join Emma and Julie in the library – like authors Oge Mora and Mac Barnett. This cozy hour of radio will appeal to multiple generations of listeners, from toddlers to great-grandparents and everyone in between.

Thursday, December 24 at 8pm
Christmas Spirits High & Low

We want Christmas to be merry and bright, but sometimes the season can be challenging. Our two stories, presented by guest host Cynthia Nixon, do deliver good cheer in the end (and Nixon shares a few of her own holiday traditions).

In Laurie Notaro’s “O Holy Night, or The Year I Ruined Christmas” there’s a hideous Christmas tree, and a demanding parent with a long memory. The hilarious tale is read by Kirsten Vangsness.

In Jeanette Winterson’s luminous “Spirit of Christmas” a married couple set off for their holiday with frayed tempers and too much stuff. They wind up with nothing but a miracle. Christina Pickles is the reader.

Thursday, December 24 at 9pm
Hollywood Holiday

Lynne Warfel, host of Saturday Cinema, takes you on a one-hour musical retrospective of some of Hollywood's most cherished Christmas themed movies. Including scores from "Scrooge, the Musical", "A Muppet Christmas Carol", "The Polar Express", "It's A Wonderful Life" and many more.

Thursday, December 24 at 10pm
All Songs Considered for the Holidays | Bob and Robin's Holiday Cruise to Bermuda

This year, All Songs Considered hosts Bob Boilen and Robin Hilton decide to get away from it all with a holiday cruise to Bermuda. Along the way they meet a few special guests aboard the ship, including John Legend, Aloe Blacc, Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers, William Shatner, Lucius, Micky Dolenz of The Monkees and Rodney Crowell, who all try to share their own good cheer for the holidays. But nature inevitably runs its course and the gang finds itself stuck in the swirling vortex of the mystical Bermuda Triangle, desperate for some sort of passage back home. It all unfolds like a bad high school play in this regular, seasonal spoof from NPR Music.

Friday, December 25 at 10am

Jonathan Winters’ ‘A Christmas Carol’

So begins A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Some say this short story, first published in 1843, transformed Christmas into a major holiday. Before A Christmas Carol, there was surprisingly little celebration during the Christmas season. After its publication, the holiday became a high point of the year. The tale has inspired movies, operas, readings and countless stage performances around the globe.

Master comedian Jonathan Winters presents a distinctive reading of this holiday classic, using a special performing edition prepared by Dickens for his own presentations. He re-creates Ebenezer Scrooge, Bob Cratchit, Tiny Tim, Jacob Marley's spirit and the three Christmas ghosts: Past, Present and Future. Mimi Kennedy also performs.

Friday, December 25 at 12pm
Tinsel Tales 3: Even More NPR Christmas Favorites

Lynn Neary hosts a hour-long collection of extraordinary Christmas stories that will transport you to unexpected places. Audie Cornish, Ken Harbaugh, Nina Totenberg and other voices from NPR's past and present tell stories of the season in this hour-long special. Some tales are funny; some are touching; some are insightful or irreverent or nostalgic or surprising. You might recognize them from our broadcast archives — or you might fall in love with them for the first time.

Friday, December 25 at 1pm
Tinsel Tales 2: More NPR Christmas Favorites 2

In this hour-long special, wistfulness, joy, doubt, hope – all the emotions we feel at this time of year – are summoned up from the NPR broadcast archive.

Friday, December 25 at 2pm
All Songs Considered for the Holidays | Bob and Robin's Holiday Cruise to Bermuda

This year, All Songs Considered hosts Bob Boilen and Robin Hilton decide to get away from it all with a holiday cruise to Bermuda. Along the way they meet a few special guests aboard the ship, including John Legend, Aloe Blacc, Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers, William Shatner, Lucius, Micky Dolenz of The Monkees and Rodney Crowell, who all try to share their own good cheer for the holidays. But nature inevitably runs its course and the gang finds itself stuck in the swirling vortex of the mystical Bermuda Triangle, desperate for some sort of passage back home. It all unfolds like a bad high school play in this regular, seasonal spoof from NPR Music.

Friday, December 25 at 3pm
Tinsel Tales: NPR Christmas Favorites

This program features stories from the NPR archives that touch on the meaning of Christmas. David Sedaris, Bailey White, John Henry Faulk -- these and other NPR voices, past and present, tell stories of the season. Hosted by Lynn Neary.