CBS Christmas Special Commercials 1984 & 1985

In 1984 & 1985, my father recorded 6 Christmas specials that aired on CBS 2 in New York. At the time he had no idea you could press pause on a VCR during the commercial breaks so the full broadcasts were recorded. This is something I'm grateful for all these years later. Every Christmas season I watch these old recordings and it fuels my childhood nostalgia.
I compiled the commercials for the pleasure of my fellow nostalgia buffs (recently I never thought about when the specials aired, but I realized they are from two different Christmases so they’re not in chronological order).
As seen from most of the bumpers the Christmas specials aired were:
-Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
-Frosty the Snowman
-‘Twas the Night Before Christmas
-A Charlie Brown Christmas
-How The Grinch Stole Christmas
-The Life & Adventures of Santa Claus

[@KohaTheEternal]

I love Christmas commercials from the 80’s! I swear watching these never get old for me.

[@benefactr1840]

Loved when that Special twirling thing came on before like a Christmas show or something...

[@bobblueford]

Networks had such cool intros back then. ABC Sunday Night Movie with stars going through a star-shaped tunnel. NBC Sunday Night at the Movies.

[@aeonthemagus7841]

It's for brainwashing

[@InFltSvc]

The good old 80’s....I am so glad I grew up in the 70’s and 80’s.....things really were much better then. I really don’t think America will be around much longer and will be changing for the worse... it’s such a shame what has happened to mankind...If you can even say that anymore...

[@twilight604]

I was 11 in 1985. I love everything 80s 😍

[@azzur883]

Yep it was a better time

[@la73sh19]

I turned 12 at Thanksgiving.

[@atlsuthngurl1974]

I was 10 back then..in polka dot miniskirt sets lol...if somebody would just invent that dam TIME MACHINE...all would be well LOL...I would LOVE to go back...especially during Christmas I would try to watch all of these specials..while family pops in and out of the house, going to my grandparents houses and aunts...my sister would get on my nerves...all of that..and my dad was alive...I would just stay right there.

[@nouseforaname5378]

nakiar2004 I remember too. I miss those days

[@nicksullivan4994]

What happened to your Dad? How did he Die?

[@dobbins2550]

One of the best Christmas commercial volumes on youtube.

[@erin8205]

Carey Grant was still alive. 😥 it was only 85 and people born around the turn of the century were still alive (my grandparents).

[@ALitleBitSpecial]

I always felt that Christmas felt more 'christmasy' back then, that is to say it seemed like it was more ubiquitous then itinow, and was never sure if that was the reality of just the effects of nostalgia and my age at the time. This video seems to support what I've long suspected, back then it was impossible to turn on the TV (or basically go anywhere) and not know it's Christmas, it was just everywhere and the build up to the actual day influenced absolutely everything. If you were to record a commercial block now, during the same time of year and even during the airing of something like rudolph (also they seemed to air way more Christmas specials than now, plus it seemed like every TV show did a Christmas episode which definitely isn't true currently). I think this was recorded during a time when Christmas commercialism was near it's peak, sometime in the early to mid nineties this anti corporate 'fundamentalist' Christmas idea gained widespread popularity with people seeing any corporate involvement with Christmas as being exploitative and against what Cristmmas 'stood for' or 'was really about.' Then a few years later an even more extreme anti Christmas multicultural fervor came into vogue declaring that practically and corporate or public celebration of Christmas was wrong because it seemed exclusionary towards people who didn't celebrate Christmas. Through this last process Christmas themed advertising was almost a de facto hate crime. I'm glad these were preserved. I can't help but feel terrible for the likely dead Colleen Orsborn featured in the missing child notice. It stands out against the other videos & couldn't help but think how she was a real person with a family that met a tragic end only her a maybe another person know about. I picture her remains still hidden somewhere and all thats left of her life is a few seconds in a youtube video. Sorry for the morbid turn at the end but I think the inclusion of the missing child spot shows these are true sampling of vintage commercials and not just a compilation. Thanks for

[@552mustang]

FYI. I looked it up after reading your post. Colleen was killed by serial killer Christopher Wilder around the same time she was reported missing in 1984. Her body was finally identified by DNA in 2011. You know whats interesting? I too grew up in the 80s and the family values and Christmas spirit and the general warm feeling of the era while it was very much there also coincided with the highest violent crime rates ever in the 80s and early 90s. To give you an idea the homicide rate was exactly DOUBLE what it was last year. That means 15,000 additional people would have been murdered last year if the crime rate matched the 80s. And it was the height of just a staggering number of serial killers including this one. Even knowing all this, I still think I prefer the culture of 1985 to the soulless culture of today. Maybe because society was so bad, it caused us to be more positive and caring in response.

[@spellmanpat8233]

well said and my thoughts exactly thank you! greetings from Buffalo ny

[@Tr0nzoid]

Christmas was more "Christmassy" then because I was a kid who wanted toys. I always was more likely to go to stores since that's what you did to shop. Now, I never go to stores, especially the mall. Being a kid meant I was surrounded by kids also anticipating Christmas, and so I wasn't exposed to any cynicism about the holiday. From what I've seen in my town, a lot of the people who use to decorate their houses with more traditional Christmas lights don't do it anymore. They've aged, and driving around looking at lights isn't the tradition it use to be. Now, most people don't want non-residents in neighborhoods and people aren't that connected to neighbors.

[@bigpaulie806]

I was ten years old in 1985. And it was definitely more Christmas like in those days.

[@yolaa23]

Well said! Thank you 😊

[@bigcgr9758]

I was 9 years old , I can actually remember some of these commercials . Life seemed a lot simpler back then

[@thetrustybutterknifean80sa19]

Go back to 1985 on an adventure that's like the long-lost '80s teen-movie you never saw! THE TRUSTY BUTTER KNIFE!

[@colelocke4967]

Ah that spinning CBS "special" graphic. When you saw that you knew you were in for something good.

[@la73sh19]

YES!!!!

[@dominictropiano8800]

awesome!!! miss these days sooooo much!!!

[@tiffanycurtis4794]

Me To I Was 14😔

[@crb4059]

Such a shame how much we have fallen as a society, a damn shame.

[@2nuts4cars]

Happy Holidays...

[@ransom6892]

@@2nuts4cars Can’t say Merry Christmas anymore proving his point

[@2nuts4cars]

@@ransom6892 Ha it's September and you are triggered about a word, this was too easy...

[@ransom6892]

@@2nuts4cars “triggered” btw. You wrote the comment last December on a video about Christmas commercials. Nice try though.

[@2nuts4cars]

@@ransom6892 Ha ha ha yeah just to triger you & after months of people ignoring it you coulden't, so I win, and all I have to do is spell someing wrong and you get evan more triggard lol. Too eazy...

[@normasalamanca8558]

I’m there with you guys! I was busy being a newlywed and trying to have a baby. The commercials really take you back!

[@jasonbertalotto4296]

Mom skipping rope on the Toys R Us ad is an adorable sight to see!😊

[@mistydelporte6465]

My husband and I just had a blast watching this compilation ! Thanks for the fun time!

[@saltshaker1691]

Holy crap, Teddy Ruxpin!

[@tnawcwvictoria]

I 💜 Teddy Ruxpin, those commercials were warm touching and makes me wanna cry God Bless Teddy Ruxpin

[@peachesandcream.2612]

So good to see the Toys R Us commercial again! So original and adorable! 💕. Thank you for posting!

[@cuddlybear4524]

There's is a pretty good likely hood that I watched this actual broadcast. I was 9 at the time.

[@martinr8278]

The best of times. Look where we’re at now in 2022. The worst to come in 23. Miss the 80s

[@pattibrooks1907]

Love commercials of every decade !

[@luisreyes1963]

That Energizer battery ad before they added the obnoxious bunny.

[@ericzerkle5214]

RIP Toys R Us...........................

[@nicksullivan4994]

Toys R Us is Coming Back this Holiday Season!

[@Kutil99]

I was 19 that year, such good memories. Thanks for posting :)

[@juliatimonen4042]

Thank you for sharing this! My mom recorded this exact same thing either a week before or after I was born and we still have the VHS somewhere.

[@morriskallappa6138]

Julia Timonen that’s going to be awesome to see when you find it

[@mizzarychic]

Love this, thank you for sharing! Similar to an old home-recorded tape I had and lost many moons ago. Also used to have a Kodak Disk camera, and still have Rhonda and Rodney reindeer toys. :) Thanks for the memories!

[@stephaniegoodman5619]

+mizzarychic Our tape had Santa Claus is Comin' to Town, though. I miss that tape!!

[@margierogers1815]

Thank you for this ! It makes me happy to remember nice Christmas times back then !

[@richardking1438]

Good old days

[@luisreyes1963]

Planters Cheese Snacks, what an enlightened age that was. 😢

[@RISCGames]

I remember how much I wanted a Teddy Ruxpin but was happy that I ended up with a Mickey Mouse talkie similar to Ruxpin. I'm only just now realizing he looks a lot like Alvin from the Chipmunks.

[@bertmustin]

Tough audience in the Teddy Ruxpin commercial.

[@kjellvb1979]

So I am going to splice this together with all the specials so I can relive the original broadcast as well!

[@darthzyrus]

Thanks for uploading this. Brought back so many memories.

[@belindaczerkowicz5465]

Thank you for sharing this. I'm from NJ and I believe this series of Christmas videos are the ones my mother recorded for me when I was younger. Same time period, same network. She did her best to press pause when the commercials came, but didn't always do so in time, so I vaguely remember some of these commercials. I'm 38 now. Those VHS tapes are long gone, but just seeing these commercials brought back such a special time for me.

[@peachmarie6079]

I had a Teddy Ruxpin. Got it in 1990 fr Christmas when I was 2. Now, from what I understand, they are coming back...Pow-pow Power Wheels. My cousin and I used to sing that jingle all the time lol...That's a creepy Kodak commercial!

[@ericzerkle5214]

I had a friend back then put an AC Dc tape into one. Hilarity ensued!!!!

[@peachmarie6079]

@@ericzerkle5214 Hahaha!! I would've loved to have seen something like that done!

[@mcatherinew4779]

I feel incredibly fortunate to grown up in the 70s and 80s... I know I was 'just a kid' but I just cannot imagine if I were growing up in the 2000s that I would feel the same innocence. We played outside with friends near by till it got dark; we had to engineer our own fun because TV time was not looked fondly upon. It just seems like worlds away... there is so much criticism about the way we all look and have, monetarily mostly. People aren't seen as a whole person... I truly hope we shift our perception. Blessings to you all!

[@spearasea9597]

thank you sir for taking the time to compile & upload these gems!

[@luisreyes1963]

You do realize that Rudolph & Frosty were animated in Japan? One was stop-motion, the other conventional animation.

[@comfeefort]

Never did, makes perfect sense alot was outsourced to Japan and Korea at the time

[@AnShinyCharizard]

Anyone else notice the little football kid getting layed out at around the 5 second mark? I was dyin'

[@mistydelporte6465]

Thank you for that, I laughed so hard!

[@terrelljones7562]

I noticed that also😂😂😂

[@ericzerkle5214]

13:30 LMAO i remember this add. Colgate pump ruled.. Very cool idea and no squeezing the paste out.. Idk if they are still available anymore but they were a great idea.

[@elisahuberman3408]

29:32- Tony the Tiger rides a live-action horse with his friend. Cool way of having cartoon characters ride live-action horses.

[@fatorres10001]

Poor Colleen they finally found her bones in later years 3:10

[@omegamale7880]

Is that true?

[@twilight604]

I still have my pound puppy lol

[@bobblueford]

28:43 I'm watching these commercials the day after Kenny Rogers died.

[@markanthony1546]

You guys will never know the joy of putting Motley Crue’s Shout at the devil in a Teddy Ruxpin doll lol And seeing that Special presentation with the background music is awesome memories

[@JazznRealHipHop]

I know I was spoiled growing up. I had a Teddy Ruxpin, Pound Puppy AND I got spun around the ice pond by Ronald McDonald! 😋

[@Cooldude-bg1jn]

Wow! Cool! I really like your dad because he recorded some Christmas specials from the 80s and he's cool too. And By the Way, I love the classic Christmas specials! 🎄❄🎅

[@jackmamma2777]

Some of the bumpers in this clip were used in 1984-85 and not 1985-86.

[@M-7412]

I remember many of these commercials. I'm feeling old now. LOL

[@kascnef]

Me too i was near 3

[@DreamDancer82]

I was two years old in 1984, and three in 1985. I'm guessing that's the 1985 broadcast of "Rudolph," because my family had the 1984 broadcast, and the commercials were different. We also had the "Frosty" broadcast in 1984, and the commercials are the ones I remember. Stupid us (me and my sister) unfortunately taped over everything on that old tape in the mid 1990's, and have regretted it. EDIT: We actually still have the 1984 broadcast of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" that you have here. Except that one's on Beta.

[@jeffmays5434]

Love these commerials

[@crystalwaddell537]

I still have my teddy ruxpin😂

[@JoeMotionVideos82]

Having all of these Christmas specials put on VHS and DVD, took away some of the magic.

[@deeprose4]

I didn’t realise Barry Mannilow was in a TV film about his song.

[@waynemacfarland1546]

LMAO at the guy in the Mounds/Almond Joy commercial when he gets splashed wet. At least he didn't get carried off by some Hawaiian hula girl.

[@ranielpangilinan727]

I always loved TV Commercials like this and back when the Philippines has its own Gaddafi named Ferdinand Marcos.

[@mrawesome3915]

Marcos wasn't that bad

[@nicksullivan4994]

@11:01, Emmanuel Lewis in a Toys R Us Commercial?😱🤯

[@tiffanycurtis4794]

THATS JALEEL WHITE FROM FAMILY MATTERS😁

[@dootuss83]

Looks more like Urkel to me.

[@rmx4087]

My first friend was a girl; she had a Teddy Rux-how-you-spell-it. It never had working batteries. She also had a Strawberry Shortcake plush.

[@Slickmickyoyo97]

00:05 Definitive origin of the phrase "Herb," used heavily in the mid to late 90's in the NY metropolitan region as a synonym for "dork" or "loser".

[@MarjorieEarlDean]

Rest in peace Crayola dog. 😔

[@unclebugspayton]

Another 15years we wouldn’t even know what Christmas is anymore...smh

[@robs5252]

I wonder if they ever found Colleen Orsborn?!

[@aarons.1289]

Evidently she was a murder victim of a serial killer. So sad.

[@comfeefort]

A Teddy Ruxpin in 2020 dollars would be $240

[@Eddie62070]

12/3/85

[@jamiemacdonald9085]

I wonder if any of today's kids know that McDonald's had a cast of characters?🍔

[@comfeefort]

Right! You never see the Hamburgler anymore

[@ALitleBitSpecial]

Boy to his dog "Don't you remember when you married my baseball?' It's crazy what can trigger otherwise lost memory! @14:38 It would appear that the age of consent in Mcdonald Land is four...

[@cattoes]

It's buried, not married.

[@aarons.1289]

That comment made me LOL

[@FirstNameLastName-kt3zn]

13:27 I love this

[@Goonies-xh3qr]

Wow, eight years have already flown by since this video was posted? Can someone slow down time, please?!

[@valeriewood5515]

Wow I do not remember pryors place.🤔😯

[@Stablemable2]

The missing person announcement is a sad one.

[@chriscampbell5538]

based on the logos the beginning of this is from '85 but I think the rest is from 1984

[@hopegrimsley3427]

My mom had the Kodak Disk. What a piece of garbage! I liked “The Christmas Toy” inspired commercial. Actually, I like all of the ads.

[@hopegrimsley3427]

The M&Ms Christmas commercials from the 1980s were the best!

[@camerongage1237]

In hindsight I'm glad I didn't get a Teddy Ruxpin like I thought I wanted.

[@JazznRealHipHop]

Cameron Gage I played with it enough til the first set of batteries ran out, then had no desire for it afterward

[@azzur883]

Remember the cabbage patch dolls you had to wait 9 months 🤣🤣

[@roblabow9702]

Do you remember pet rocks?

[@zaq55]

7:54 - Veteran character actor William O’Connell

[@musicnerd72]

I LOVE SEEING THESE..... but I have to admit, the Kodak Disk ad was a little creepy....

[@mistydelporte6465]

Yes! Have a feeling I’m going to have a nightmare about the doll tonight!

[@FakeyFake]

@rubysuncle is there any way I can buy the original block from you. I have to show this to my son

[@jackmamma2777]

But when exactly did CBS abandon its 84-85 campaign and begin 85-86?

[@MLaker221]

I'm trying to recreate our missing tape! It was made 1986-1990.. bc it has the Garfield Christmas/claymation Christmas Combo

[@Mr19841985jpdyman]

12/17/85

[@bobblueford]

Yes! The week of Enemy Mine, which was released 12/20/85

[@13lake]

Thanks for this. Was that Jaleel White (Urkel) at 11:00?

[@brentmann2988]

22:54 voice-over by Bob Landers; 23:57 John Connell on the voice-over

[@zaq55]

One of your favs at 10:59

[@brentmann2988]

@@zaq55 Excellent Beverly Sanders catch! Well done. :)

[@imame1433]

Proof "happy holidays" has been said for 30+ years, so there's never been a "war on christmas" like some like to claim

[@ArtimusDragon]

35:50 amazing. 101 Dalmatians had just came out.

[@gogglespisano24]

It was a rerelease. The original movie came out in 1966.

[@hrtvfan2870]

@@gogglespisano24 Actually 1961. Guessing Disney re-released 101 Dalmatians as a lead-in to that film's 25th anniversary

[@Eddie62070]

15:44 ….still LUV it!!

[@dynacomarantz3381]

2:58 Unfortunately this did not end well for Colleen

[@spellmanpat8233]

all these fucking commercials!!! im trying to watch Rudolph the red nosed reindeer greetings from Buffalo ny

[@jp10manager15]

The Ronald commercial at the ice skating ring got me 😢

[@trentdawg2832]

Rockford files. ...how did that get in there?? Did you know his firebird was actually a trans am but they put a stock looking hood on it and tried to make it look like a standard firebird. .....it was a big block car!!

[@ericzerkle5214]

Kodak disc camera = POS... They never worked right and pics never turned out right,..

[@TDTam11]

after noticing alot of things, i determined this is from December 1984, not 1985.

[@scottbarnes6674]

The tv show "Mary " 7:31 premierd in 85

[@bobblueford]

Enemy Mine came out Dec-20-85

[@rubysuncle]

Looking back, this is something I never took full notice of. The VHS tapes were taped from two Christmases. 1984 and 1985. The commercials aren’t in chronological order. I’ve altered the title and the description of the video.

[@cuddlybearred9446]

26:09 What Eddie Murphy movie came out in late 85, early 86?

[@TDTam11]

Golden Child came out Dec 1986....u sure this recording isnt from 1986??

[@TDTam11]

CORRECTION. THIS IS FROM 1984 AND THEY WERE REFERRING TO BEVERLY HILLS COP

[@rubysuncle]

Do you know what it is, I need to change the title. I never thought about it before now, but the commercials are a combination of specials that were taped by my dad in 1984 AND in 1985. So it’s a combo of two separate Christmases.

[@tiffanycurtis4794]

AT 0:00 TO 0:35 REMEMBER THAT COMMERCIAL LIKE YESTERDAY I WAS 14 NOTHIN HAS CHANGED SOME PARENTS STILL WIPE THEY GROWNS KIDS ASS🙄

[@HilbertSpace]

Nightmare fuel at 12:09.

[@luisreyes1963]

Also at 15:44 😨

[@JennieBonbons]

My nightmare fuel in the 1980's used to be the General Electric commercials where the logo stood alone and metallic and showed kinetic light effects on the logo. I had nightmares about the G.E. logo in my childhood!!

[@ArtimusDragon]

urkel!!! 11:00

[@TMoody]

Chewy Chips Ahoy!

[@ilovethisshowisaveryeducat1392]

😆😆😆😆😆😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@JennieLovedoll]

16:00-16:10 Oooooh! Soooo Creepy!! 😵‍💫

[@06mrselfdestruct]

3:00, ruined a wholesome video with this very dark stuff

[@dillengerleanardoloronzomarche]

i love comechels of the egite si misi themusic the juingles the comemchels stairnignig the 2thoudsadfdsn ar ejust lousyerand justplain stupid dum i htin k life was vertyveyrmuch morenormel in 1984and 1985

[@jimt.626]

Rockford Files the only good crime drama

[@jackquick9632]

jhih