I was born in 1980 — barely. Arriving in mid-December, I showed up for the last two weeks of the year. Perhaps quite naturally, I developed an abiding affinity for the cultural trappings of Christmas.

It’s hard for me, a former child superfan of “Sesame Street,” to write about the show without sounding mawkish. It’s even harder now that I’ve got two small children of my own. So I might as well ...