‘Little House on the Prairie’: How Many Christmas Episodes Does the Series Have and Are They Available To Stream?
For nine seasons, Little House on the Prairie captured what life was like in the 1870s. The western drama about the Ingalls family premiered in 1974 and lasted until 1983. The show launched several actors’ careers, such as Melissa Gilbert, Melissa Sue Anderson, and Alison Arngrim.
Although the show tackled multiple issues, it also featured holidays like Christmas. But are fans of Little House on the Prairie able to watch the series on a streaming service?
‘Little House on the Prairie’ had 3 Christmas episodes
Throughout the series, Little House on the Prairie aired three episodes about Christmas. According to Wide Open Country, each episode focused on the meaning of the holiday. In the first Christmas episode, Laura Ingalls (Gilbert) tries to sell her horse. Laura wanted to get rid of the horse to buy her mother, Caroline (Karen Grassle), a new stove. Additionally, Caroline and Charles (Michael Landon) took on extra jobs to help with Christmas presents. The episode also infamously includes Carrie (Sidney Greenbush and Lindsay Greenbush) asking her father what Christmas means.
Little House on the Prairie went on to have several joyous moments in honor of Christmas. In the second Christmas episode, Laura is all grown up and expecting her first child with her husband Almanzo Wilder (Dean Butler). Although Laura started a family, she joined the Ingalls for Christmas. Once they got snowed in, the family shared old stories about celebrating Christmas together. For the second installment, which aired in season 3, the Ingalls faced a blizzard on Christmas Eve.
‘Little House on the Prairie’ is available to stream
Little House on the Prairie aired its final episode on March 21, 1983. Since it ended, the show found a new audience with the help of syndication. However, many television watchers have pivoted to streaming services to watch some of their favorite shows.
In March 2019, Little House on the Prairie found a streamer to call home. Amazon Prime Video picked up the series and its nine seasons. The service also features shows like The Boys and Fleabag.
While some fans might view Little House on the Prairie for nostalgia, Gilbert said some episodes still hold weight today. In an interview with Parade, Gilbert shared the show often parallelled what was going on during the 1970s and 1980s. Gilbert also stressed the importance of period pieces like Little House on the Prairie broadcasting to new generations. The old episodes of Little House on the Prairie air in 30 countries worldwide, including U.S. networks like Cozi TV, UPtv, and Hallmark Drama.
“I think it’s important to acknowledge our history. Our cultural history is as much a part of our history as our political history or any other sort of history that we have. It shows who we were at specific times in our development as a people. Not just a nation but as a world,” Gilbert said. “Little House on the Prairie was an enormous part of that cultural history. Not just a cultural reflection of what the time was like from ’73 to ’83, but who we were before then by telling the stories of these pioneers and what their lives were like.”
A reboot of ‘Little House on the Prairie’ is in the works
According to Entertainment Weekly, fans of Little House on the Prairie won’t have to binge the entire series again for too long. The outlet reported in December 2020 that Paramount TV Studios and Anonymous Content has a reboot of the series in the works. Nearly four decades since the first series ended, the network plans to develop a one-hour dramatic series adaptation.
Since its announcement, the studio hasn’t shared who will be in the new Little House on the Prairie cast. However, Arngrim, who played Nellie Oleson, said she would join the show and joked that she could play her character’s mother.
“I’m just the right age to play Mrs. Oleson,” Arngrim said. “I’m totally there. I have no shame.”
