Originally, June Foray voiced Karen, the Teacher, and the other children. Karen and most of the childrens' voices were replaced with those of actual children before the original broadcast. The end credits were never changed. In late 2017, some sources started listing Suzanne Davidson as the actor who provided the new voices. The original voices can still be heard however on the original MGM soundtrack, re-released years later by Rhino.
The special begins with children going to school on Christmas Eve, which was common up until the mid-60s.
The train tickets to the North Pole added up to $3,000.04 in the Christmas of 1969 when this was released. That would be the equivalent of $24,360.98 in 2022 dollars.