These guests include Elvis Costello (who is actually at the set waiting for him to show up for the filming), Willie Nelson, John Legend, Toby Keith, Feist and Jon Stewart. Much like the bear posted outside of his cabin, much of this special's feel hearks to those very cheesy setups and effects. When Feist appears as an angel atop Colbert's Christmas Tree, there is no real attempt made to try and blend her into the background and the post-processing work is quite obviously done. The same can be said for Willie Nelson's scene in Colbert's piano-top nativity scene as the Fourth Wise Man and the bad blue-screening done while Toby Keith sings his song about the separation of church and state.
Each of the special's guest stars sings a song that feels like a classic Christmas carol, but the words are changed to portray a very different meaning. Feist's version of "Heark the Herald Angels Sing" is a please-hold message while Colbert prays to God about making it to his Christmas Special on time. Meanwhile, John Legend sings a song about nutmeg in eggnog that is ripe with double entendres, and Willie Nelson's song has him bringing a very different gift to the baby Jesus to the tune of "Little Drummer Boy" (the David Bowie and Bing Crosby version, to be precise).
Besides these songs, there is even a new Christmas carol that Colbert creates and sings at the beginning of the show, as well as one that doesn't appear in the special as a separate feature called "Cold, Cold Christmas."
One of the funnier parts of the special, at least to followers of The Colbert Report, is probably Jon Stewart's stop at the cabin. Beside's Stewart's bad reciting of his lines, the two have a discussion about how Hanukkah being what Colbert celebrates if he can't make it to his special. And to top it all off, there is a surprise guest in Santa Clause himself!
Special features include a video of a crackling fire (the same one that appears in Colbert's cabin's fireplace), an advent calendar and a few alternate endings (that probably were never actually meant to be alternate endings).
A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All definitely won't win over any new fans. In fact, it might lose a couple of borderline ones. But those viewers who know Colbert and know what to expect from his specific style of comedy will enjoy this special and will want to add it to their holiday collection and tradition.
