Deck the halls with ABC Family's '25 Days of Christmas'

ABC Family's "25 Days of Christmas," cable's biggest holiday programming event of the year, returns with 25 continuous days of holiday-themed entertainment for the whole family. From Dec. 1 to 25, viewers can ring in the holidays with original movies, holiday specials and returning favorites.

This year, "25 Days of Christmas" will feature the world premiere of the ABC Family original holiday movie, "12 Dates of Christmas," starring Amy Smart ("Just Friends," "The Butterfly Effect") and Mark-Paul Gosselaar ("Franklin & Bash," "Saved By The Bell"). Premiering Sunday, Dec. 11 (8 to 10 p.m.), "12 Dates of Christmas" follows a young woman who re-lives the same first date on Christmas Eve over and over again until she learns to open up her world to new things and stop living in the past.

The holiday cheer continues with the television premiere of a "Pink Panther" animated short. MGM Television Presents "A Very Pink Christmas" on Wednesday, Dec. 7 (6 p.m.) What follows is the network premiere broadcasts of "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation," on Wednesday, Dec. 7 (9 to 11 p.m.), and Disney∙Pixar's "Up" on Friday, Dec. 16 (9 to 11 p.m.).

ABC Family's annual "Harry Potter" movie marathon weekend will include, for the first time, the basic cable premiere of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" (Sunday, Dec. 4, 8:30 p.m. to midnight), featuring deleted scenes not included in the original film version.

And a new generation of viewers can enjoy the Rankin Bass classics such as "Santa Claus is Comin' To Town" (Thursday, Dec. 8, 8 p.m.) and "Rudolph's Shiny New Year" (Monday, Dec. 5, 6 p.m.). Other returning favorites include "The Santa Clause" (Thursday, Dec. 1, 7 to 9 p.m. and 9 to 11 p.m.), "The Polar Express" (Monday, Dec. 5, 8:30 to 10:30 p.m.), and the live-action blockbuster "Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas" (Friday, Dec. 2, 8 to 10:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. to 1 a.m.).

Fans can get more information online at:

• http://abcfamily.com/25days
• www.Facebook.com/25DaysofChristmas
• www.Twitter.com/ABCF25Days
• Twitter hashtag: #25DaysofChristmas