Simple Gifts
A collection of animated Christmas shorts: An original Maurice Sendak piece about a boy with nothing to give for Christmas -- An excerpt from the early part of Virginia Woolf's "Orlando" set in a time of extreme cold in Tudor England -- A short based on the Toonerville Trolley -- A bittersweet excerpt from Moss Hart's autobiography "Act One" narrated by Jose Ferrer -- A reading from the Christmas day entry from the diary of 11-year-old Teddy Roosevelt -- A reading of a letter by Captain Edward James Hulse describing the surprising Christmas Truce of 1914 -- An animated version by R.O. Blechman of his own book "Tutto Esaurito" (No Vacancy) about the travels of Mary and Joseph.
Top cast
Colleen DewhurstSelf - Host
Hermione GingoldNarrator (segment "The Great Frost") (voice)
José FerrerNarrator (segment "A Memory of Christmas") (voice)- Dean WarehamNarrator (segment "My Christmas") (voice)
- David JonesNarrator (segment "December 25, 1914") (voice)
Paul Dooley(segment "Lost & Found") (voice)- Claudette Sutherland(segment "Lost & Found") (voice)
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Not currently available on the supported providers in EG.
Availability can change as licenses rotate — confirm on the provider’s page before subscribing. Last checked: 13 Jul 2026.