While many folks love the Rankin/Bass Christmas cartoons like Rudoph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and others prefer classic animated holiday specials like A Charlie Brown Christmas or How the Grinch Stole Christmas, my holiday tastes run a big less mainstream.

The 1977 holiday special Cosmic Christmas -- the first-ever cartoon from the longtime Canadian animation powerhouse Nelvana -- has been my December comfort entertainment ever since I rediscovered it streaming online. This year it's available to watch for free only on Tubi.

Unlike today's pixel-perfect and polished animation, the drawings in Cosmic Christmas are a retro delight -- it feels like a messy mashup of Mad Magazine's Don Martin and classic animator Ralph Bakshi. Cosmic Christmas isn't as squiggly as Dr. Katz or Home Movies, but there's a hand-drawn chaos that seems to no longer exist in modern cartoons.

The story of Cosmic Christmas follows Peter, a young boy with a pet goose named Lucy. He discovers three mysterious aliens who've landed their spaceship on the outskirts of a town preparing for Christmas. The three visitors report seeing a new star in the sky outside Earth 2,000 years ago, and have come to the planet to learn the true meaning of the holiday.

Peter's grandma, a gang of colorful teen delinquents and Lucy the goose drive the holiday plot forward until it reaches an exciting climax that shouldn't be too scary for kids of any age, and a resolution that warms the heart.

Clocking in at a brisk 24 minutes, Cosmic Christmas wastes a little time on weird musical interludes -- including a bizarre dance number with Lucy and the alien's flying robot helper -- but the core action keeps the story moving forward to a satisfying conclusion. 

When first meeting the aliens, Peter explains the "Star of Bethlehem" and mentions Jesus Christ, but Cosmic Christmas mostly approaches the holiday from a secular perspective. The true meaning of Christmas, according to Peter, is, "love, peace and caring for others."

Fun fact: Cosmic Christmas director Clive A. Smith also directed the Star Wars special A Wookiee's Christmas (also known as The Faithful Wookiee). 

If you enjoy weird retro animation or are looking for something a little different to watch with the kids this holiday season, give Cosmic Christmas a shot while it's free on Tubi.

For more, learn how to use Netflix secret codes to find a wider range of holiday movies and shows.