The Christmas Raccoons is the first of four Canadian animated television specials, before the main animated television series succeeding it, The Raccoons, took place. It was first broadcast on CBC in Canada on 17 December 1980 and three days later in first-run syndication in the United States on 20 December. The story takes place in the Evergreen Forest, home of the forest ranger Dan, his children Tommy and Julie, and their pet sheepdog, Schaeffer.

The special was followed by The Raccoons on Ice (1981) and The Raccoons and the Lost Star (1983), the direct-to-video special The Raccoons: Let's Dance! (1984) and finally the television series beginning in 1985.