This duo of dinos was our guide through a “Claymation Christmas Celebration.” (Screengrab)

The Christmas season, at least during my childhood years, was spent in front of a television as much as anywhere else. Christmas specials were appointment viewing. Families all over sat down to watch classics like “Frosty the Snowman,” “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”

Me? I was a child of the 1980s. As much as the aforementioned shows were on my must-see list, I had one that, while not part of that pantheon for most, was a big one for me.

“A Claymation Christmas Celebration.”

Born during the height of popularity of Claymation and the California Raisins (much more on them in a sec), the show was a quintessentially ’80s concoction. It honored those Christmas traditions with the gloss and vibrance the decade was known for.

You’re not familiar with “A Claymation Christmas Celebration?” Allow me to offer a Reader’s Digest version.

(Deep breath)

A pair of dinosaurs host a half-hour Christmas special complete with a trio of doo-wop-singing camels, a crew of critters who spend the entire special figuring out what “wassail” is and the California Raisins subbing in for Santa’s reindeer for a Motown-inspired carol.

I can feel your look through the pages of this paper. Why are you doing that?

As odd (and not just odd but that special ’80s kind of odd) as that sounds, it was awesome.

First, there was just enough silly in the show to honor the holidays and keep it fun for a kid like me. There were a bunch of canines rolling down the street with a waffle cart singing, “Here We Come A Waffling.” For the 10-year-old me, that was peak comedy. So was the skit of the “Carol of the Bells,” as performed by anthropomorphic bells that would chime by bonking themselves in the head with mallets.

That goofiness was juxtaposed with warm, heartfelt entries. My favorite was a soulful rendition of “Joy to the World,” the tune playing over an everchanging kaleidoscope of colorful images, of faces lifting to the sky in song, landscapes bursting into bloom and hands waving in the air in jubilation.

Yet the icing on the cake was the Raisins’ version of “Rudolph.” My dad would pick me up on weekends to take me to his house in Parkersburg, and on those trips, I would get my lesson in Motown and other ’50s and ’60s soul. So I already had a special place in my heart for that sound.

That made me love those 1980s pop-culture staples’ rendition even more. It was different. It was fun. It was really, really good. I’ll still sometimes get an earworm of the Raisins singing out of the skit, “Hey, Rudolph, c’mon and guide my sleigh,” as they pulled a makeshift sleight into the air and across the light of a full moon.

My mom made a VHS tape full of Christmas specials. The old reliables were there, with Frosty shouting “Happy Birthday,” and Rudolph teaming up with Yukon Cornelius, Hermey the Elf and the residents of the Island of Misfit Toys.

But the section that stayed on heavy rotation was that half-hour with that wacky Claymation crew.

I wasn’t the only person who appreciated them. That “Claymation Christmas Celebration” won the 1988 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program. And when I recently called up the show via the internet, I was giggling like a 10-year-old all over again.

So if you’re looking for something different to watch during the holiday season, track this program down and give it a try. You won’t regret it. I mean, how could a pair of clay dinosaurs steer you wrong?