Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, make Mel-an-ie the winner, please? Sorry, that's just a personal request in light of this holiday weekend's TV.
X marks the winner: First, Melanie Amaro, Josh Krajcik and Chris Rene will find out who has "The X Factor" on the two-hour season finale of Simon Cowell's new vocal competition series on Fox.
The three -- Melanie mentored by Cowell, Josh mentored by Nicole Scherzinger and Chris mentored by L.A. Reid -- performed Wednesday night. Fox is promising Thursday's show will include surprise guests (Justin Bieber, Pitbull and Ne-Yo are confirmed), special performances and the crowning of the winner, who will receive a $5 million recording contract and a Pepsi commercial.
Christmas with Chuck: You saw WHO kissing Santa Claus (aka Zachary Levi as Chuck Bartowski) on Friday's new episode of "Chuck"? Could it have Gen. Diane Beckman (Bonita Friedericy)? Also in the episode, Chuck and Sarah identify a mastermind. It all happens at 7 p.m. Friday on NBC, channel 2, cable 9.
Time for a parade: Start your Christmas Day TV viewing with the "Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade" at 11 a.m. Sunday on RTV, local digital channel 8.3 and cable 131. Your hosts will be Nick Cannon and Mario Lopez, with co-host Maria Menounos. Headlining will be Grammy-winner Christina Aguilera and teen sensation Justin Bieber. Bicoastal performances will be offered by multi-platinum singer Jennifer Hudson, singer-songwriter and producer Cee Lo Green, rockers OneRepublic, "American Idol" Season 10 winner Scotty McCreery and the McClain Sisters, featuring "A.N.T. Farm" star China Ann McClain, among others.
It's not a holiday without sports on the TV: In the afternoon, forget all those fuzzy feel-good Christmas shows and get ready for some NBA basketball -- Miami Heat at Dallas Mavericks at 1:30 p.m. and Chicago Bulls at Los Angeles Lakers at about 4 p.m., both games on ABC, channel 8.
Then it's football night in America, as Al Roker would say, with the Chicago Bears at the Green Bay Packers at 7:15 p.m. Sunday on NBC, channel 2, cable 9.
Ah, nothing says Christmas like sweaty athletes trying to knock a little ball around. Ho, ho, ho.
