December is upon us and once again it's acceptable to get yourself all festive and excited for the holidays. The Christmas songs have started on the radio and every other advert has Santa in it somewhere. Although the shopping can be a killer, all in all it's a truly magical time where love and capitalism meet in harmony. Sometimes it can get a bit too much though and you're left feeling a bit put off. I'm here to tell you that there's an easy way to combat this negativity: cartoons. More specifically I'm referring to the Christmas specials of your favourite animated shows and I thought I'd provide a public service by gathering some of the best here. Looking back over the years I've picked out festive episodes from a wide variety of cartoons ranging from the heart-warming to the hilarious. What's a better way to keep warm in the winter months than some good old fashioned televisual nostalgia? So without further ado, I present twelve of the best animated Christmas specials for getting you in the holiday spirit... If you're worried about finding out festive plot points there are SPOILERS ahead.