It's hard to believe that it has already been 12 longs years since Spongebob Squarepants' only Christmas special "Christmas Who?" premiered back in its second season. Though audiences never quite get tired of once-a-year Holiday episodes, the famous talking yellow sponge has lived on long enough that it seems a bit odd the series has only produced only one Santa-filled half hour. Now over a decade later, it seems both Nickelodeon and Spongebob's creative team have decided it's time to revisit Navidad as they've just announced that there will be an all-new outing that features the cartoon icon in a way you've never seen him before.

Called "It's A Spongebob Christmas!", the special will premiere this Holiday season at a date that is yet to be determined and will feature everyone's favorite characters in classic Christmas fashion: stop-motion animated. Seen as a tribute to the Rankin-Bass features before it, Spongebob will seek to help everyone in Bikini Bottom catch the spirit of the season after Plankton spreads doom and gloom with his newest invention "Jerktonium".

While the series has ventured into stop-motion before very briefly, this will be Spongebob's first full-length episode in the format. The special will be half an hour long, and will also feature guest star John Goodman in the role of Santa Claus.

If you can't wait a few more months, here's a look under the gift wrap with the first extended preview of what you can expect (via HuffPo):