In 1932, the Silly Symphony cartoon short "Santa's Workshop" depicted Santa and his elves at work preparing the List and all those toys, while "Mickey's Good Deed", told the story of the Christmas Eve when Mickey Mouse sold Pluto to help out a poor family. The next year, a new Silly Symphony short tackled Santa's task of actually delivering the gifts to the children in the world in "The Night Before Christmas", based on Clement C. Moore's classic poem.

In the decades since, Christmas has turned up as a topic in countless animated specials, and in a number of Disney shorts, as well. "Toy Tinkers"(1949) had Donald fighting with Chip and Dale over the presents under his tree. "Pluto's Christmas Tree"(1952) memorably depicted Mickey and Pluto chopping down their Christmas tree, only to find that it came with inhabitants Chip and Dale.

Probably the most beloved and familiar Christmas short produced by the Disney studio is 1983's "Mickey's Christmas Carol" in which Charles Dickens' immortal classic was brought to life with Scrooge McDuck (naturally) playing the role of the miser who is visited by three ghosts seeking to change his cold heart and bitter ways. The role of Dickens' misfortunate co-worker Bob Cratchit belongs to Mickey, Goofy is the ghost of Scrooge's late business partner Marley, and the three spirits are portrayed by Jiminy Cricket, Willie the Giant (from Fun and Fancy Free), and "Pegleg" Pete. This charming 25-minute piece received an Oscar nomination for Best Short and remains a staple of holiday viewing for many.

Lesser known but affecting all the same is "The Small One", another featurette-length short released five years earlier, which told of an unnamed Judean boy whose difficult trip at the town marketplace ultimately results in his undersized but kind donkey finding an important new home with a pair of Bethlehem-bound passengers.

Disney's 1985 holiday drama One Magic Christmas is a little-known but frequently-praised film that successfully juggles a grim reality, a grimmer potential reality, and a world of magic on its path to discovering and embracing Christmas. Mary Steenburgen delivers a strong leading performance, and Harry Dean Stanton is unforgettable as the mysterious angel Gideon who's playing his harmonica up in the trees when he's not making miracles happen on his assignments from above.

Disney took on Dickens' tale again in 1992's The Muppet Christmas Carol, the first Muppet feature film in eight years and the first following the premature death of visionary creator, puppeteer and voice man Jim Henson. Also the first of the two Muppet literary adaptations distributed by Disney, Muppet Christmas Carol is a warm and witty production that manages to remain surprisingly faithful to Dickens' original text and yet deliver the comedy and music that one associates with the Muppets.

In 2001, Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse blended "House of Mouse" animation of the smorgasbord of Disney characters with recycled Christmas content from over the years, including the aforementioned "Mickey's Christmas Carol" and "Pluto's Christmas Tree." Other recycled animation releases include Recess Christmas: Miracle on Third Street (2001) and Winnie the Pooh: A Very Merry Pooh Year (2002), which edited new content together with episodes of "Recess" and "The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh", respectively.

Made-for-television movies featuring the holiday include 2003's Eloise at Christmastime starring Julie Andrews, Santa Who? starring Leslie Nielsen, Mr. St. Nick starring Kelsey Grammar, and the Disney Channel Original movies The Ultimate Christmas Present and 'Twas the Night.

Finally, there are the video and DVD compilations that Disney has issued to home video, such as the Very Merry Christmas Songs Sing Along Songs volume on DVD and VHS, and A Walt Disney Christmas and Twelve Days of Christmas Sing-Along on VHS. In 2005, holiday-themed episodes of original Disney Channel programming were released as A Very Playhouse Disney Holiday and Disney Channel Holiday for preschool and tween-plus audiences, respectively. The eighth entry in the girl-geared Disney Princess DVD series, Disney Princess: A Christmas of Enchantment culled from shorts ranging from 1930s Silly Symphonies to Fantasia 2000, mostly tied closer to toys or sweets than Christmas itself. Currently, Disney's most satisfying compilation of Christmas-themed cartoons is the seventh volume of its since-ended Walt Disney Animation Collection: Classic Short Films line, which takes its title from Mickey's Christmas Carol but includes three other shorts.