The Year Without a Santa Claus

The Year Without a Santa Claus is a 1974 Christmas stop motion animated television special produced by Rankin/Bass Productions in which a weary and discouraged Santa Claus considers skipping his Christmas Eve run one year, and Mrs. Claus and his Elves set out to change his mind. The story is based on Phyllis McGinley's 1956 book of the same name, illustrated by Kurt Werth. It was originally broadcast on December 10, 1974 on ABC.