A Garfield Christmas facts for kids

A Garfield Christmas Special is a fun animated TV show from 1987. It's based on the super popular Garfield comic strip, created by Jim Davis. The special was directed by Phil Roman.

In this special, Lorenzo Music voices Garfield, the lazy but lovable house cat. Other voice actors include Thom Huge, Gregg Berger, and Pat Carroll. The story is all about Garfield spending Christmas with the Arbuckle family on their farm. He learns a big lesson about the true meaning of Christmas.

Jim Davis, who wrote the story, said it was a bit like his own childhood Christmases. The special first aired on December 21, 1987, on CBS. It was shown again every Christmas for many years. It was even nominated for a big award, the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program. You can also find it on DVD. This was the seventh of twelve Garfield television specials made between 1982 and 1991.

The Story

Christmas Eve on the Farm

The story begins on Christmas Eve morning. Jon wakes up Garfield with exciting news. They are going to the countryside to celebrate Christmas with Jon's family! Garfield isn't too happy about it. He complains that they always go to the farm.

During the car ride, Jon talks about his childhood Christmases. He remembers his parents, his brother Doc Boy, and his Grandma. Garfield listens, but he's not very excited about it all.

Family Fun and Secrets

When they arrive at the farm, Garfield quickly makes a special friend: Grandma. She and Garfield get along really well. While Jon, Garfield, and Odie go for a walk, Grandma adds a secret ingredient to Mom's sausage gravy. She brags that her gravy won an award at the Greene County Fair!

Jon and Garfield come back for dinner. Meanwhile, Odie is working on something very secret. He sneaks back into the house later. After dinner, everyone helps decorate the Christmas tree. Jon asks Garfield to put the star on top because he's the only one who can reach! The family sings Christmas songs together. Grandma tells Garfield about her husband, who has passed away. She misses him a lot, especially at Christmas, because he loved the holiday so much.

Later, Mom asks Dad to read a book called Binky, the Clown Who Saved Christmas. Dad is tired of reading it every year, but he agrees.

Discovering the True Meaning

At night, Garfield notices Odie acting strangely. He follows Odie to the barn. There, Garfield sees Odie building something special. It's made from wood, wire, a plunger handle, and a hand rake! While in the barn, Garfield finds some old letters. He realizes they are about 50 years old.

On Christmas morning, after all the other presents are opened, Garfield has a surprise. He gives Grandma the old letters he found in the barn. These letters are love notes! They were written to Grandma by her husband from when they first met and got married. It's a very touching moment.

Then, Garfield finds out what Odie was secretly making. It's a homemade back scratcher! Garfield is so happy and thankful for Odie's thoughtful gift. He even gives Odie a hug, which is rare for Garfield! In this moment, Garfield learns a big lesson about Christmas. He realizes, "It's not the giving, it's not the getting, it's the loving!"

Voice Cast

Pat Carroll voiced Grandma Arbuckle.

• Lorenzo Music as Garfield
• Thom Huge as Jon Arbuckle
• Gregg Berger as Odie
• Pat Harrington as Dad Arbuckle, Jon's father
• Julie Payne as Mom Arbuckle, Jon's mother
• David Lander as Doc Boy Arbuckle, Jon's younger brother
• Pat Carroll as Grandma Arbuckle, Jon's paternal grandmother

Songs

The special features several songs that add to the Christmas spirit:

• "Gimme, Gimme, Gimme, Gimme" performed by Lou Rawls
• "Can't Wait Till Christmas" performed by Thom Huge, Lorenzo Music, and Gregg Berger
• "O Christmas Tree" performed by Pat Carroll
• "Christmas in Your Heart" performed by the cast and Desirée Goyette
• "You Can Never Find an Elf When You Need One" performed by Lou Rawls and Desirée Goyette
• "A Good Old-Fashioned Christmas" (the ending song) performed by the cast

You can also hear an instrumental version of "Here Comes Garfield" from the special of the same name. It plays when Jon wakes up Garfield from his dream.

How It Was Made

Jim Davis's Inspiration

When Jim Davis wrote the story for A Garfield Christmas, he based it on his own life. He grew up celebrating Christmas with his family on their farm in Indiana. Many of the Arbuckle family members in the special are like people from Davis's own family. For example, Davis's real-life brother was also known as Doc Boy.

Davis said the story was "very autobiographical," meaning it was a lot like his own experiences. He added, "That was my Christmas on the farm." However, he mentioned that Grandma was a made-up character. She was added to the story to show the important feeling of spending time with loved ones at Christmas.

The Voice Actors

The familiar voices of Garfield, Jon, and Odie returned for this special. Lorenzo Music voiced Garfield, Thom Huge was Jon Arbuckle, and Gregg Berger was Odie.

Julie Payne and Pat Harrington Jr. voiced Jon's mother and father. David L. Lander voiced Jon's brother, Doc Boy. Grandma was voiced by Pat Carroll. She was a very popular voice actress at that time. She had also worked on shows like Legends of the Superheroes and Pound Puppies.

Broadcast and Release

When It Aired

A Garfield Christmas Special first aired on television on December 21, 1987. It was shown on the CBS network. The special was very popular and was rebroadcast every year until 2000. It often played alongside another classic Christmas special, A Charlie Brown Christmas, from 1965.

Home Video and Digital

In 2004, A Garfield Christmas was released on a DVD called Garfield Holiday Celebrations. This DVD also included Garfield's Halloween Adventure and Garfield's Thanksgiving. The DVD was quite popular, ranking high in TV DVD sales in November 2007.

By 2014, copies of the DVD were becoming rare. They were even selling for high prices on eBay! Also, Garfield holiday specials, including A Garfield Christmas, were getting millions of views on YouTube. Because of this, the special was released again on a new DVD. This one was called The Garfield Holiday Collection. It came out on November 4, 2014, and was sold only at Walmart. It was also made available for digital download starting November 11 of that year.