# Early 1970s Christmas themed puppet(?) TV special **URL:** \ **Category:** TV\ **Created:** [December 14, 2022, 5:48am UTC](https://filmfind.me/t/early-1970s-christmas-themed-puppet-tv-special/1938 "2022-12-14T05:48:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Adam\_Frankenstein](https://filmfind.me/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Adam\_Frankenstein](https://filmfind.me/u/Adam_Frankenstein)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2022, 5:48am UTC](https://filmfind.me/t/early-1970s-christmas-themed-puppet-tv-special/1938/1 "2022-12-14T05:48:34Z")
I saw this on TV as a very young child. I _think_ it was focused on the birth of Jesus, being set in the manger. I don’t recall any live actors or human puppets, but I could be wrong about that. I do remember a donkey and possibly a (horse drawn) wagon. I’ve looked for this before on my own with no luck. I don’t want to watch it again, I just want to clear out the memory vault a bit. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Tim](https://filmfind.me/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@Tim](https://filmfind.me/u/Tim)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2022, 12:15pm UTC](https://filmfind.me/t/early-1970s-christmas-themed-puppet-tv-special/1938/2 "2022-12-14T12:15:19Z")
Can you eliminate [Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076448/)? You are probably looking for something a bit more obscure than a 1977 Rankin and Bass stop-motion Christmas special. And you said you didn’t recall any human characters, and this special does include a few: the donkey’s keeper, a Roman Centurian, Joseph and Mary, and even Santa Claus. It was pretty much a reworking of the Rudolph story. Nestor has very long ears and is an outcast. But Joseph buys him anyway to carry Mary to Bethlehem. When a big sandstorm imperils the holy family, Nestor’s long ears save the day. Afterwards, he returns to his old stable and is admired by all. ---
**Author:** ![Adam\_Frankenstein](https://filmfind.me/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Adam\_Frankenstein](https://filmfind.me/u/Adam_Frankenstein)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2022, 12:37pm UTC](https://filmfind.me/t/early-1970s-christmas-themed-puppet-tv-special/1938/3 "2022-12-14T12:37:23Z")
It’s not Nestor. As the title states I saw this thing in the early 70s. ---
**Author:** ![VHS\_Lives](https://filmfind.me/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/v/41988e/32.png) [@VHS\_Lives](https://filmfind.me/u/VHS_Lives)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2022, 2:32pm UTC](https://filmfind.me/t/early-1970s-christmas-themed-puppet-tv-special/1938/4 "2022-12-14T14:32:48Z")
the night the animals talked? > **[The Night the Animals Talked (TV Movie 1970) - User reviews - IMDb](https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0066146/reviews/)** > > The Night the Animals Talked (TV Movie 1970) - Movies, TV, Celebs, and more... it was shown in 1970 and has jesus birth, manger, and animals ---
**Author:** ![OmegaMan](https://filmfind.me/user_avatar/filmfind.me/omegaman/32/71_2.png) [@OmegaMan](https://filmfind.me/u/OmegaMan)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2022, 3:03pm UTC](https://filmfind.me/t/early-1970s-christmas-themed-puppet-tv-special/1938/5 "2022-12-14T15:03:44Z")
[The Little Drummer Boy (1968)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Little_Drummer_Boy_(TV_special)) is a stop-action Christmas special by Rankin-Bass in the manner previously described. It contains elements of the Nativity story and was rebroadcast many times in the 1970’s (as I recall…) ---
**Author:** ![Adam\_Frankenstein](https://filmfind.me/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Adam\_Frankenstein](https://filmfind.me/u/Adam_Frankenstein)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2022, 11:10pm UTC](https://filmfind.me/t/early-1970s-christmas-themed-puppet-tv-special/1938/6 "2022-12-14T23:10:23Z")
It’s not either The Night the Animals Talked or The Little Drummer Boy. I am more convinced that it was a puppet show. I remember the odd and specific lighting from the late 60s/early 70s and the sets had the same set-up for puppeteers as Sesame Street where you never see the floor, there are no floor objects to get in the way, etc. ---
**Author:** ![CarlosCM](https://filmfind.me/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@CarlosCM](https://filmfind.me/u/CarlosCM)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2022, 11:50pm UTC](https://filmfind.me/t/early-1970s-christmas-themed-puppet-tv-special/1938/7 "2022-12-14T23:50:11Z")
> **[John Denver & the Muppets: A Christmas Together](https://muppet.fandom.com/wiki/John_Denver_%26_the_Muppets:_A_Christmas_Together)** > > A Christmas Together is a television special starring John Denver and the Muppets. Preceded by the album of the same name, this one hour Christmas special was originally produced for ABC and aired on December 5, 1979. Denver and the Muppets sing "The... ---
**Author:** ![VHS\_Lives](https://filmfind.me/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/v/41988e/32.png) [@VHS\_Lives](https://filmfind.me/u/VHS_Lives)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2022, 3:04am UTC](https://filmfind.me/t/early-1970s-christmas-themed-puppet-tv-special/1938/8 "2022-12-15T03:04:32Z")
spirit of christmas? > **[The Spirit of Christmas (1950 special)](https://christmas-specials.fandom.com/wiki/The_Spirit_of_Christmas_(1950_special))** > > The Spirit of Christmas, presented by Bell Telephone, is a Christmas television special performed mostly by marionettes which first aired in 1953. Its half-hour showing time is divided into two segments, one dramatizing A Visit from St. Nicholas and... I see the whole thing with the marionettes is on youtube ---
**Author:** ![Adam\_Frankenstein](https://filmfind.me/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Adam\_Frankenstein](https://filmfind.me/u/Adam_Frankenstein)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2022, 4:11am UTC](https://filmfind.me/t/early-1970s-christmas-themed-puppet-tv-special/1938/9 "2022-12-15T04:11:27Z")
Nope and nope. I’m thinking it’s possible it was a regional thing as that was still a thing in the early 70s. If that’s the case, then the American mid-west: Ohio, Illinois, Minnesota.