Pumpkin spice lattes have given way to peppermint mochas and gingerbread men. Holiday decorations are out in full swing, and you can’t escape the Christmas commercials on TV. It’s officially holiday season, and it isn’t even Thanksgiving yet. This year brings the usual crop of holiday television and songs, with some 2014 updates.

The 88th annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will march down 34th street in New York City and on television screens. This year’s parade will feature balloon favorites including Hello Kitty, Spiderman and Spongebob Squarepants, as well as floats with performers such as Idina Menzel, Megan Trainor and a cappella favorite Pentatonix, according to the Macy’s Parade website.

Once Santa closes the parade, you can expect the usual holiday specials on TV, from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer to Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas. There are, however, several new network specials ready to shake things up. NBC is trying its hand at the live musical again after last December’s The Sound of Music Live! This year, the network will premiere Peter Pan Live! on Dec. 4. The musical will star Allison Williams, from HBO’s hit Girls, as the titular character, while screen legend Christopher Walken will play the villainous Captain Hook. Fans will recognize songs from the 1954 stage production starring Mary Martin, along with new and adapted musical numbers to suit the new cast and era.

NBC will also be showing the animated Elf: Buddy’s Musical Christmas, based on the 2003 live-action comedy Elf, as well as its Broadway adaptation Elf: The Musical. The Big Bang Theory’s Jim Parsons will voice the role of Buddy, previously played by Will Ferrell. The hour-long special, airing on Dec. 16, is made with stop-motion animation like the older television specials but geared towards a younger audience.

This year also brings a fresh crop of holiday tunes, including remakes and originals, to replace the tired, overplayed songs that come back every year. Kristen Bell, of Veronica Mars and Frozen fame, released the cheeky “Text Me Merry Christmas” with a cappella group Straight No Chaser last Monday. With timely lyrics like “Please remember this December to fully charge your phone” and “A snap on Snapchat doesn’t last,” the song appeals to and pokes fun at today’s smart phone obsessed culture.

Bell’s Frozen costar and Broadway star Idina Menzel and crooner Michael Bublé released a version of the classic “Baby It’s Cold Outside.” The duet, which appears on Menzel’s album Holiday Wishes, released in October, has been referred to as a “kid-friendly” version of the original, which was written in 1944 by lyricist Frank Loesser. Questionable lines such as “Hey, what’s in this drink?” have been replaced with “Hey, was that a wink?” The music video, fittingly, features two children lip-synching to the adult vocals.

Finally, if you’re looking to do some good this holiday season, you can purchase the most recent version of “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” by Band Aid 30, the 2014 incarnation of super group Band Aid. The original song was recorded in 1984 and featured artists such as Phil Collins and David Bowie. The song raised money for those starving in the Ethiopian famine at the time. Today’s version features current chart toppers including Ellie Goulding, Chris Martin, Rita Ora, Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith, One Direction and Bono and will benefit the Ebola crisis in Africa.