A Parade of Thanksgiving and Christmas Festivities

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas this weekend, as the networks start ushering in the holidays with Yuletide specials, movies and the Hollywood Christmas Parade.

But first there is Thanksgiving today, with the usual parades and football games.

CBS’ “The All-American Thanksgiving Parade,” at 8 a.m. on Channel 2, covers the festivities in New York, Detroit, Hawaii and, for the first time, Nashville. NBC’s “Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade,” kicking off at 9 a.m. on Channel 4, is hosted by Katie Couric, Willard Scott and Al Roker. This year’s floats include Garfield, Spider-Man, the Cat in the Hat and Nickelodeon’s Rugrats.

Traditional holiday NFL games today feature the Chicago Bears at Detroit against the Lions at 9:30 a.m. on Channel 11 and the Tennessee Oilers against the Cowboys in Dallas at 1 p.m. on Channel 4.

Christmas fare begins with Mara Wilson and Richard Attenborough starring in the ill-fated 1994 remake of “Miracle on 34th Street,” at 8 tonight on Channel 11. The Oscar-winning 1947 classic original shows up at 1:10 a.m. on Channel 7.

USA’s retrospective, “TV Guide Looks at Christmas,” Saturday at 7 p.m., presents clips of holiday episodes of “The Honeymooners,” “The Brady Bunch” and “The Simpsons.”

CBS encores the 1996 Jerry Herman musical, “Mrs. Santa Claus,” Saturday at 8 p.m. on Channel 2. Angela Lansbury stars in the title role.

Tom Arnold is the grand marshal of the 66th annual “Hollywood Christmas Parade,” Sunday at 6 and 11 p.m. on Channel 5. Bob Eubanks and Leeza Gibbons co-host the two-hour telecast covering the celebrity-laden parade during its 3.2-mile route.

Today

The day before the series finale, Beavis and Butt-head express their thoughts about turkey day with Kurt Loder on “Beavis and Butt-head Do Thanksgiving,” at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. on MTV.

CBS kicks off coverage of the skating competition “Ice Wars: USA vs. the World,” beginning at 1:30 p.m. on Channel 2. The competition continues Friday at 9 p.m.

FX marks the spot as the cable network presents a 12-hour viewers’ choice marathon of “The X-Files,” blasting off at noon.

In celebration of Native American Heritage, KCET is offering a marathon of Native American-themed programming from 1:30-5:30 p.m.

Friday

TBS presents its sixth annual “24 Hours of Eastwood” festival, beginning at 3:05 a.m. with Don Siegel’s “Coogan’s Bluff.”

KTTV serves up its “I Love Lucy Marathon,” beginning at 9 a.m. on Channel 11.

Fox presents “Skate International of Canada,” at 8 p.m. on Channel 11.

Olympic gold medalist Ekaterina Gordeeva stars in CBS’ original ice musical “Snowden on Ice,” at 8 p.m. on Channel 2.

“Beavis and Butt-head” say their farewells tonight at 10 on MTV with an episode titled “Beavis and Butt-head Are Dead.”

Saturday

AMC presents an entire day of Charlie Chan mysteries, beginning at 7 a.m. Warner Oland and Sidney Toler play the famed sleuth in these less-than-politically-correct thrillers.

Fox offers coverage of “Skate International of France,” at 8 p.m. on Channel 11.

UPN presents the “U.S. Open Professional Championships,” at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 7 p.m. on Channel 13.

Sunday

Andrea Friedman stars in TNT’s “Smudge,” at 3:30 p.m., a family film about a woman with Down syndrome who finds a cute little puppy and takes him home.

A&E;’s “Midnight in Savannah,” at 5 and 9 p.m., examines the real-life story of the murder mystery depicted in “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.”

The History Channel goes back to “The Fifties,” at 6 and 10 p.m., an eight-hour documentary based on David Halberstam’s book. The series, which features newsreels, commercials, TV shows and home movies from the decade, continues through Friday.

ABC’s “The Wonderful World of Disney” offers an update of the classic Disney movie “The Love Bug,” at 7 p.m. on Channel 7. Bruce Campbell stars; original star Dean Jones is also featured.

Country singer Randy Travis narrates Fox’s “Annabelle’s Wish,” at 7 p.m. on Channel 11, an animated musical about a calf who wants to fly like one of Santa’s reindeer.

VH1 presents the documentary “Andy Gibb: Behind the Music,” a behind-the-scenes look at the late pop singer, at 9 p.m.

Don’t adjust your dials! Fox’s “The X-Files,” at 9 p.m. on Channel 11, presents a black-and-white episode.

Sherry Stringfield, who left “ER” last fall, returns to the small screen to co-host with Linda Ellerbee the Lifetime documentary “Shoot the Clock: Fitting Your Life Into Your Life,” at 10 p.m.

Roma Downey and Hector Elizondo star in the CBS holiday movie “Borrowed Hearts,” 9 p.m. on Channel 2.