NICKELODEON DEBUTS FIRST FULL-LENGTH STOP-MOTION SPECIAL, "IT'S A SPONGEBOB CHRISTMAS!," DEC. 6, AT 8:00 P.M. (ET/PT)

John Goodman Lends His Voice as Santa Claus in Half-Hour Special; Companion DVD, CD and Ebook Round Out Holiday Cheer

Nickelodeon celebrates the holidays with its first full-length stop-motion animated special, It's A SpongeBob Christmas!, premiering Thursday, Dec. 6, at 8:00 p.m. (ET/PT). It's A SpongeBob Christmas! was inspired by the classic Rankin/Bass specials (Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus is Comin' to Town) and the popular SpongeBob song released in 2009, "Don't Be a Jerk (It's Christmas)," co-written by Tom Kenny (voice of SpongeBob) and Andy Paley. The half-hour special features John Goodman as Santa Claus.

In It's A SpongeBob Christmas!, Plankton turns everybody in Bikini Bottom from nice to naughty by feeding them his special jerktonium-laced fruitcake all in an effort to get his Christmas wish - the Krabby Patty formula. The episode includes special bonus scenes featuring a stop-motion version of the character "Patchy," also voiced by Tom Kenny.

The SpongeBob SquarePants: It's a SpongeBob Christmas! iTunes Extras edition that features over 30 minutes of exclusive behind the scenes footage, a sing along version of "Don't Be a Jerk (It's Christmas)," a 360 degree SPIN-Tacular Character viewer plus more is currently available for digital download. Rounding out the holiday cheer, It's a SpongeBob Christmas! Album, which features 11 all new songs and the timeless Bikini Bottom classic, "Don't Be a Jerk (It's Christmas)," is available for digital download from online music retailers and a limited quantity of special edition hard copies of the "Don't Be a Jerk (It's Christmas)"ebook is for sale exclusively on www.NickShop.com.