If you’re like me, you love everything to do with Christmas, and the end of the holidays is really a downer.  But, as the year draws to a close, some pretty exciting projects are on the horizon.  

In keeping with the wonder of a still-winter wonderland, NBC tries to keep the holiday spirit fresh and alive with its annual New Year’s Eve broadcast, live from Times Square.  

This year is no exception.  “NBC’s New Year’s Eve with Carson Daly” airs on Saturday at 11:30 P.M. with performances by music greats Alicia Keys, Pentatonix, and Blake Shelton – and a special performance by Jennifer Lopez from her Las Vegas headlining residency “Jennifer Lopez:  All I Have,” running now through 2018 at the AXIS Theatre in the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino.  Lopez will also return for a second season on NBC’s “Shades of Blue.”  

Daly currently hosts NBC’s “The Voice” (in its 11th season) as well as late-night’s “Last Call with Carson Daly” (in its 16th season on NBC).  Mel B has last been seen as a judge for NBC’s “America’s Got Talent.”  She will return to that role next summer.  

Co-hosting with Daly on New Year’s Eve is Mel B.  Executive Producers of the seasonal special are Daly and John Irwin.

Then Danica McKellar, whose Christmas plans were to spend the holidays with her extended family in Los Angeles and Idaho before going to Vancouver for New Year’s, premieres in the Lifetime project, “Mommy, I Didn’t Do It” on New Year’s Day at 8 P.M..  This is the sequel to Lifetime’s 2013 “The Wrong Woman,” in which McKellar also starred as Ellen Plainview.  In the sequel, Plainview’s teenaged daughter is on trial for murder.

Another Lifetime project, “The Perfect Stalker,” airs on December 30 at 8 P.M. and stars Danielle Savre as a woman with a personality disorder whose husband is murdered.  On January 4, Savre returns to the TLC series “Too Close to Home” to premiere its second season. 

Henry Winkler, though, may enjoy the best of both worlds when he releases his 33^rd children’s book in the HERE’S HANK series on January 31 – WATCH OUT FOR THE FLYING POTATO SALAD.  When asked how he planned to spend his holidays, Winkler said, “There is nothing that can take me away from home during the holidays.  The most wonderful gift is spending time with my family – my wife, three children, and four grandchildren (with number five coming next year).

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!