'' Kelly Clarkson 's Cautionary Christmas Music Tale '' marked the first time Clarkson solely hosted a Christmas special . She had previously headlined the '' An American Idol Christmas '' and '' Kelly , Ruben & Fantasia : Home for Christmas '' with Ruben Studdard and Fantasia Barrino , both of which were aired on Fox in 2003 and 2004 , respectively . Clarkson cited the 2003 Christmas feature film '' Elf '' as one of her inspirations , she remarked : " I wanted to tell a real story , make a new classic , not just do some skits that are n't really related . " Ian Stewart , the television special 's executive producer , said it will feature a full narrative from the beginning to end . He remarked , " the spine is her singing . We 'll have a young girl , narrating the story , sitting in an overstuffed chair in front of an amazing fire , reading the story from a book . And yes , it starts with ' once upon a time ' and ends with ' happily ever after . ' " Stewart , through his company Done and Dusted , had previously produced television events such as the '' Victoria 's Secret Fashion Show '' and the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony , revealed producing a Christmas special presents similar challenges , citing : " Supermodels in lingerie is a very lovely thing , but if that 's all you give , like chocolate , it makes you sick , so you keep refreshing , to keep people excited . And that 's what makes you go back to the core — in this case , to see Kelly sing . " The television special aired on December 11 , 2013 on NBC in the United States . According to NBC , the story is based loosely on Charles Dickens ' novella '' A Christmas Carol '' , during which Clarkson ’s character learns about the true meaning of Christmas . It also shares certain metafictional aspects of Mel Brooks ' '' Silent Movie , '' particularly the device of framing cameo appearances by celebrities as requests for such appearances
2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony
2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony
Kelly Clarkson's Cautionary Christmas Music Tale