How to watch A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving for free

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How to watch ‘A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving’ for free
A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving is available for free this weekend. Here’s how to watch it.
Image: Apple/Cult of Mac

With Thanksgiving almost here, it’s time to watch the beloved Peanuts holiday special A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. Apple TV+ subscribers can watch it anytime, but the special is also free for anyone to stream this weekend.

And you do not need an Apple device to do so. It’s easy.

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A streaming exclusive… but free to watch

Apple owns the rights to all Peanuts holiday specials. That means the way to once again see Charlie Brown, Peppermint Patty and Marcie act out The Courtship of Miles Standish is on Apple TV+. And it’s available to subscribers at any time.

But A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving is also open to all via the Apple TV application starting Saturday, November 18 and going through Sunday, November 19. There’s no paywall on those dates.

And later in the year will come free access to A Charlie Brown Christmas.

How to watch the Peanuts Thanksgiving special for free

Apple users play the holiday classic through the Apple TV application, which is available in the App Store for iPhone and iPad. There’s also a Mac version in that app store. Install any or all of these as you would any software.

Once you have the application installed and running, look around for A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (direct link).

Watch on Apple TV

But enjoying the classic holiday special doesn’t require an Apple TV, Mac or other Apple device. The service is watchable on a wide variety of devices, including Windows, Roku and Amazon Fire.

For anyone with a computer running Windows or Chrome OS, watching Apple’s video content is as easy as visiting its website. The same goes for Android phones and tablets. You’ll access the Peanuts special in a browser. You can jump straight to the A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving page.

But Apple made sure there’s a version of the Apple TV application for a wide range of streaming devices. That includes smart TVs too.

On a Roku, go to the Channel Store and download the Apple software. On an Amazon Fire TV, installation can start with saying, “Alexa, find the Apple TV app.” You might need to create a free account, also called an Apple ID, if you don’t have one already.

Buy A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving on DVD

Those who want anytime access to the Peanuts Thanksgiving special and don’t want to subscribe to Apple TV+ can buy the DVD. It’s currently available for under $10.

Buy from: Amazon

2 months of free Peanuts specials on Apple TV+

The Peanuts Thanksgiving special isn’t the only one that Apple will make available for anyone to watch for free. A Charlie Brown Christmas is also an Apple TV+ exclusive, but it’ll be open to all from December 16 through December 17.

While the classics are free on these dates, Peanuts fans might want a subscription to Apple TV+. The service offers Snoopy Presents: For Auld Lang Syne, a fresh New Year’s eve special created by Apple. And there’s also The Snoopy Show starring the irrepressible beagle — a series that has a 100% critics approval score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Apple TV+ is $9.99 a month, and includes a wide variety of other children’s’ programs, too.

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