Christmas specials have been a holiday staple since the advent of television. In many cases, the original shows that spawned them - along with some of the cast members - have long since gone away, but the lone Christmas special remains, gracing our screens each year and serving as a time capsule of a specific Christmas long ago. That's why we can turn on the TV this time of year and still see David Bowie and Bing Crosby covering "Little Drummer Boy," He-Man and She-Ra instilling Skeletor with the holiday spirit, and of course, good ol' Charlie Brown.

First debuting on CBS in 1965, A Charlie Brown Christmas finds the cast of Charles Schultz's long-running comic strip reveling in the holiday season - except for Charlie Brown. The little bald blockhead is depressed because the over-commercialization and secularism of Christmas has made it impossible for him to get into the holiday spirit or even grasp what it's truly about. His efforts to get into the groove by directing a Christmas play and procuring the world's saddest Christmas tree only exacerbate his depression, to the point that even his best friend Linus gets slightly fed up with him, remarking "Charlie Brown, you're the only person I know who can take a wonderful season like Christmas and turn it into a problem. (...) Of all the Charlie Browns in the world, you're the Charlie Browniest." The Emmy and Peabody Award-winning special is notable because, in addition to a decidedly noncommercial ending, (It's not called Santamas, Charlie Brown), and being the first animated appearance of the Peanuts gang, it's also been adapted into a stage play.

The Tacoma Musical Playhouse has made the stage play version of A Charlie Brown Christmas something of a tradition in its own right, and this year is no exception. Starting Dec. 17, audiences can "tune in" in person and watch Charlie Brown and company find the true meaning of Christmas on stage.

The production is very popular in Tacoma, maybe just as popular as the original TV special. "Each year, patrons get excited about an element of the production that reminds them of their own childhood and all of their memories associated with A Charlie Brown Christmas," said Ashley Cozine, Director of Education for TMP.

A Charlie Brown Christmas is the perfect holiday experience, and totally deserving of its enduring popularity. It's kid-friendly, but not pandering, emotionally moving, but not overly sentimental, and unabashedly sincere in its simple message that - just like Charlie Brown - so many of us somehow manage to forget amid the hustle and bustle of the holidays. Even the most hardened Scrooge among us will be hard-pressed to keep from tearing up when Linus takes to the stage to remind Charlie Brown - and the rest of the audience - of the real meaning of Christmas.

A Charlie Brown Christmas, Saturday, Dec. 17 to Friday, Dec. 24, Tacoma Musical Playhouse, 7116 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, $10 general seating. For tickets and showtimes, please call 253.565.6867 or visit tmp.org. Box office is open Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.