Nickelodeon is celebrating the holidays with its first full-length stop-motion animated special, SpongeBob SquarePants: It's A SpongeBob Christmas!, which will air on Nickelodeon Dec. 9 after it premieres on CBS Nov. 23.

Inspired by the classic Rankin/Bass specials Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Santa Claus is Comin' to Town and the SpongeBob song from 2009, "Don't Be a Jerk (It's Christmas)," production on the special began in October 2011. Sixty pounds of baking soda, 42 pounds of glitter, 22 pounds of wood chips and 20 boxes of breakfast cereal were used to create the film’s sets.

In advance of the film’s TV broadcast, Nickelodeon will release SpongeBob SquarePants: It's a SpongeBob Christmas! on DVD Nov. 6, with the “It's A SpongeBob Christmas!” album available the same day on Amazon and iTunes.

To support the movie Nickelodeon will also launch the Don't Be a Jerk–It's Christmas e-book on Nov. 15, with a limited quantity of special edition hard copies available for sale exclusively on www.NickShop.com. Limited edition SpongeBob stop-motion holiday-themed t-shirts will be available in The Children's Place stores across the U.S. beginning Nov. 26.