It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown

It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown.
Original airdate: April 9, 1974.

It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown.
Original airdate: March 16, 1976

Available from Amazon as a single DVD, or as part of the Peanuts Deluxe Collection, a Barnes & Noble exclusive.

While most of the gang is getting ready for Easter, Linus is convinced that it's all a waste of time, and he vainly tries to convince everyone that this "Easter Beagle" will handle everything. Only Sally believes him, and even she isn't totally convinced. Elsewhere, Peppermint Patty and Marcie attempt to color eggs, but Marcie doesn't seem to grasp the concept of hard boiled eggs, as she instead fries them, puts some on a waffle iron, and even cooking them inside the oven, all to Patty's chagrin.

Snoopy gives Woodstock a wooden birdhouse, which he hates at first, but he soon renovates it into a '70s bachelor pad. While trying to get a closer look, or perhaps because of a fit of jealousy, Snoopy gets his nose stuck inside, wrecking it. Meanwhile, Lucy, convinced that Easter is the "gift-getting season" (to Schroeder's annoyance), decides to have her own Easter egg hunt, but Snoopy takes all of the hidden eggs and distributes them to the rest of the gang on Easter Sunday. Well, everyone except Charlie Brown!

Two years later, the gang celebrates Arbor Day, and they all work together to plant a garden...in Charlie Brown's baseball field. The scheduled game between his team and Peppermint Patty's squad still must go on, despite the large amount of gloves placed in the trees. Schroeder promises to give Lucy a kiss if she hits a home run, never thinking she would, and she does, scoring the only run of the game. Rain cuts short the contest, and Charlie Brown accepts it later as a de facto victory.

This was also Vince Guaraldi's last Peanuts special; he died shortly after completing the music for the show. Some fans consider It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown the last episode of the "golden age" for the Peanuts TV specials. Others have criticized the show for resorting to a relatively obscure national holiday for a storyline idea.