A selection of the best festive television offerings

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14: Starting at 8am on Saturday, December 17, and running until 8am on January 3, 2012, all CableVision customers will have access to the full range of channels in our line-up, at no extra charge, with the exception of Pay-Per-View and HDTV.

There is a dizzying array of choices. But first, a reminder to parents: to avoid little ones having access to inappropriate content, remember that easy-to-use parental control options are built into every one of our digital home communications terminals. If you haven’t already set up yours, visit www.cablevision.bm for instructions (under “Support”), or pick up a copy of the parental control brochure at our Washington Mall location.

With so many great options to choose from, I can only point out a few tidbits:

Start by getting into the Christmas spirit with CD-quality non-stop holiday music, on channel 733 featuring The Sounds of the Season.

If it’s sports you are craving, tune in to SportsMax, on channel 350, where you’ll find international cricket from Australia, India, New Zealand and England. In basketball, since the lockout, the NBA has decided to squeeze in as many games as possible during the shortened campaign, which will run from December 25 to April 26. The first pre-season games take place on December 16. On Christmas night, the opening game of the season will pit the Miami Heat against the Dallas Mavericks. If that’s not enough excitement for you, the Chicago Bulls will take on the Los Angeles Lakers on the same day.

On December 18, HGTV, channel 46, will give you a sneak peek at how the rich and famous do Christmas with their special Celebrity Holiday Homes.

Enjoy a family movie night on December 20 at 9pm when Starz Kids and Family, on channel 343 will show Disney’s Toy Story 3. Woody, Buzz Lightyear and the gang find themselves in the midst of new adventures when the toys are mistakenly donated to a day-care center after Andy goes off to college.

On December 23 on TCM, channel 107, at 12 noon, treat yourself to the 1938 vintage, A Christmas Carol. Then at 7pm, TCM will show the 1970 classic, Scrooge.  Later that evening, on ABC Family, channel 40, at 9pm who can resist “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas?”

If you have not checked out some of the hottest original series on Showtime, now is your opportunity to sample the critically acclaimed Homeland, the irreverent Shameless, and of course Dexter.

Then, on December 24, at 7pm on HGTV, see what it takes to deck out the Obama residence for the holidays. White House Christmas 2011, hosted by Genevieve Gorder, takes us behind the scenes to experience Christmastime in this very special home.

Also on December 24 at 9pm, on HBO 2, channel 301, you can watch the award-winning drama series, Boardwalk Empire. Set in Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the Prohibition era, it is one of the most successful original series the network has ever produced. We hope everyone enjoys the free viewing. Happy Holidays to all!