Elmo & Mark Rober's Merry Giftmas
This Netflix Sesame Street holiday special (December 8, 2025) is exactly the warm, low-key watch the title promises: Elmo, Abby, Cookie Monster, and friends team up with engineer-turned-YouTuber Mark Rober to hand-make gifts for one another, weaving in bite-sized physics and a cheerful message that mistakes are part of learning. The one mild flag for parents is a visit to Mark Rober's real subscription-box company CrunchLabs, which adds a light commercial undertone, but the special consistently steers toward making gifts rather than buying them.
A perfect holiday queue pick for preschoolers and early-elementary kids who enjoy Sesame Street, with nothing to worry about for ages 2 and up.
If you’d rather skip
Characters tour Mark Rober's actual CrunchLabs facility, a branded subscription-box business; the story frames the visit around building and inventing rather than purchasing, but parents who prefer to avoid brand integrations will want a heads-up.
Oscar the Grouch makes brief grumpy appearances in his classic style; a nice, low-stakes moment to chat with little ones about how even grouchy friends can be part of a community.