Celebrate more than 40 years of Eat’n Park’s Christmas Star!

For more than 40 years, Pittsburghers have watched Eat’n Park’s Christmas Star get a special lift to the top of the tree.

Like the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and the lighting of the Horne’s tree Downtown, the Eat’n Park Christmas Star is among those traditional holiday things that help us get into the holiday spirit.

The story of the star dates to early 1982 when then-Eat’n Park CEO Jim Broadhurst asked the company’s outside ad agency to create a holiday message that would “last for 20 years.”

After about 30 ideas, the Christmas Star was born. And it’s lasted far longer than anticipated.

“The idea of the relationship between the tree and the star illustrates an enduring holiday lesson – by helping one another, you’re making the world a brighter place,” Eat’n Park says on its site.

Of course, you can see the commercial whenever you’d like on YouTube.

But if you’re in Pittsburgh, Eat’n Park says to watch the programs/channels listed below for the beloved commercial.

WPXI 

• Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade – Nov. 28, 8:30 a.m.  
• How the Grinch Stole Christmas/Frosty the Snowman – Dec. 5, 8 p.m.  
• Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer – Dec. 6, 8 p.m. 
• Little Big Town’s Christmas at the Opry – Dec. 16, 8 p.m. 
• Barry Manilow’s A Barry Christmas – Dec. 19, 9 p.m.   

WTAE 

• Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town – Dec. 3, 9 p.m. 
• CMA Country Christmas – Dec. 5, 8 p.m. 
• Prep and Landing 1 & 2 – Dec. 12, 9 p.m. 
• The Santa Clause – Dec. 22, 8 p.m. 

KDKA 

• Robbie the Reindeer – Dec. 7, 9 p.m.  
• Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer – Dec. 21, 8 p.m. 
• Pittsburgh Today Live – various episodes, Dec. 16 – 27, 9 a.m. 

Freeform 

• 25 Days of Christmas – various programming, Nov. 28 – Dec. 22  

Hallmark 

• Countdown to Christmas – various programming, Nov. 28 – Dec. 22 

Food Network

• Holiday Baking Championship – various episodes, Nov. 28 – Dec. 15

TBS 

• A Christmas Story – Dec. 24, 6 p.m.  

AMC

• Best Christmas Ever – various programming, Nov. 28 – Dec. 22

Looking for some Eat’n Park Christmas Star items? Check out the Eat’n Park Smiley store for cookies, shirts and other goodies.

Plus, you can add it to your Zoom or Teams (or other video chat app) backgrounds, get a mobile phone background image, share it on social media and much more from Eat’n Park’s site!