Parade of Christmas Specials Tops Fare

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas this weekend.

David Hasselhoff is the grand marshal of the 65th annual “Hollywood Christmas Parade,� Sunday at 6 p.m. on KTLA-TV Channel 5. Besides Santa Claus, the festivities will feature more than 100 celebrities, 14 national bands, 12 equestrian units, 18 floats and 60 classic antique convertibles.

A&E; presents “Swing Into Christmas,� tonight at 8:30, featuring holiday standards performed by Grover Washington Jr., Terence Blanchard and Wynton Marsalis.

Singer-actress Vanessa Williams headlines her first Yuletide special, “Vanessa Williams & Friends: Christmas in New York,� Sunday at 8 p.m. on ABC (Channel 7). Taped at Broadway’s Shubert Theater, the special features guests Phil Collins, Babyface, Shania Twain, Luther Vandross, Rosie O’Donnell, the Boys Choir of Harlem, Elmo and Savion Glover.

Gospel singers Bill and Gloria Gaither usher in the holiday season with “Bill Gaither: Joy to the World,� tonight at 7 on the Nashville Network.

Erik von Detten and Robert Hays star in “Christmas Every Day,� a “Groundhog Day�-type Yuletide fantasy, Sunday at 7 p.m. on the Family Channel.

Non-holiday programming includes CBS’ musical special “Dolly Parton: Treasures,� tonight at 10 on CBS. The country singer performs her favorite songs and shares personal anecdotes about each one.

HBO’s “Comic Relief� celebrates its 10th anniversary with a retrospective, tonight at 10. The special will include new footage with hosts Whoopi Goldberg, Billy Crystal and Robin Williams.

Richard Crenna narrates A&E;’s four-hour documentary on “Las Vegas,� Sunday at 5 and 9 p.m. and Monday at 6 and 10 p.m.

World AIDS Day programming Sunday features the musical special “Red Hot & Rio,� at 6 p.m. on Bravo; and “Positively Global: An MTV News World AIDS Day Report,� at 1, 4 and 10:30 p.m. on MTV.