Here are cheerful choices for Christmas-Day TV

By GAIL PENNINGTON

In that perfect world in which few of us live, nobody watches TV on Christmas Day. Carols and board games and touch football on the lawn occupy everyone from the time Santa arrives at dawn through that late-night cup of cocoa.

But in plenty of real American households that celebrate Christmas, television is as much a part of the day as cookies, bringing family members together to laugh or cry, or simply keeping them from killing one another.

Speaking of which: MSNBC has scheduled a whole day of true crime stories for Christmas. That’s just wrong.

No, if you’re going to watch TV on Christmas, at least go for something in the spirit of the season.

Here are some cheerful (and nonathletic) choices.

TBS’ annual “24 Hours of ‘A Christmas Story’” marathon begins at 8 p.m. Christmas Eve and continues till 8 p.m. Christmas night.

The always reliable Turner Classic Movies doesn’t let us down with this Friday lineup: “Little Women” (1933), 7 a.m.; “A Christmas Carol’ (1938), 9 a.m.; “The Man Who Came To Dinner,” 10:15 a.m.; “Christmas in Connecticut,” 12:15 p.m.; “Little Women” (1949), 2:15 p.m.; “Holiday Affair,” 4:30 p.m.; and “Susan Slept Here,” 6 p.m. Sherlock Holmes movies take over at 8 p.m.

The Lifetime Movie Network has scheduled a whole day of cheesy (in a nice way) Christmas movies, 8 a.m. Friday-6 a.m. Saturday. Highlights include “Call Me Claus,” from 2001, with Whoopi Goldberg.

A “Home Alone” marathon airs continuously until 6 a.m. Saturday on Fox Movie Channel. And FX has a minimarathon of “Night at the Museum” from 7 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Friday.

“Bad Santa” — good movie. It’s running from 9 a.m.-3 a.m. on Spike.

June may be wedding month, but TLC airs a Christmas compilation of its wedding shows including “Rock the Reception,” “Happily Ever Faster” and “Say Yes to the Dress” from 11 a.m.-2 a.m.

Isn’t this perfect? GSN has a marathon of “Family Feud” from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday.

“We elves try to stick to the four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corns and syrup.” Just one good line from “Elf,” airing at 8 and 9:30 p.m. Friday on USA.

TNT lets us catch up with Noah Wyle’s “Librarian” movies, with three airing back-to-back at 8 and 10 p.m. and midnight Friday.