I was finally able to watch the special today and overall it was good, not fantastic but still good.
This was probably the most I laughed at the show since season 45, it finally had that signature Sesame Street humor that was lacking in most of this year's new episodes.
All the songs were catchy and I especially liked the "Try a Little Kindness" song. I definitely wasn't expecting Ernie and Bert's remake of "Two is You and Me". And speaking of Ernie and Bert, it was great to finally see them in a major role again. I'm still having a hard time getting into Billy Barkhurst's Ernie, but he has improved slightly over time.
Meanwhile, Ryan did a flawless job performing Elmo, he's just completely embodied the character and made him his own. This may be the first time i've ever said this but- Elmo was definitely the highlight of this special. Not that I dislike the little red guy, it's just the writers have rarely succeeded at making him a compelling character for so many years now, it's refreshing to finally see him develop more as a character.
And as someone else said, Leslie did a great job as Smudge. She's a fantastic performer, but she's not always right for some of the characters she gets, so she was well cast here.
All that being said, I think this whole special would've been much better if it was shorter. The pacing was a little off at times and it became pretty dull about half an hour in. I honestly feel the special should've just been around 30 minutes.
As for the guest stars, Audra MacDonald's cameo added nothing to the plot and was easily forgettable and Jim Gaffigan - well, he really didn't need to be there either. He didn't get much to do, so, they could've literally cast any other actor as Santa and it wouldn't have made a difference.
And one other thing, Elmo constantly interrupting the story got pretty annoying after about the third time.
Also, Joey's absence has already become very noticeable. In fact, the lack of Joey characters in season 46 felt a little odd, but had Joey still been with the show, he no doubt would've gotten some part in the special (besides the Two-Headed Monster, I mean). And speaking of Joey's characters, i've grown up with Joey's version of Two- Headed Monster, so it was a little strange hearing him played by someone else.