The “Dancing With the Stars” holiday special, titled Dancing With the Holidays , was filmed in early November 2025, ahead of its December 2, 2025 air date on ABC and Disney+. As with other ABC holiday productions, it was taped weeks before broadcast so producers could edit performances and package the show as a one-night festive event.

Quick Scoop: Filming Timeline

  • The special aired on December 2, 2025, in prime time on ABC and was also available on Disney+ the same day, which strongly indicates pre‑taping rather than live broadcast.
  • Audience call chatter and fan forum posts show that the ballroom taping took place on a Sunday afternoon in early November 2025, aligning with ABC’s usual early‑November holiday‑special production window.

What Kind of Special Was It?

  • The event was promoted as Dancing With the Holidays , a standalone holiday special featuring pro dancers, special guests, and a musical act (including Pentatonix), rather than a standard competition episode with celebrities and eliminations.
  • Reports and recaps describe it as a feel‑good showcase with polished pro routines, family moments, and no judging or voting, more like a festive variety special than a typical DWTS live show.

Why It Was Filmed Early

  • ABC typically films holiday specials in early November so they can add editing, graphics, and promotional material before December air dates, which fits the DWTS holiday special’s production pattern.
  • Early filming also lets the pros fit the special into an already packed DWTS season schedule, since Season 34 had just wrapped a week before the special aired.

In short: the DWTS holiday special you saw in December 2025 was taped in the ballroom in early November 2025, on a Sunday afternoon, then edited and packaged for its December 2 broadcast.

TL;DR: When people ask “when was DWTS holiday special filmed,” the answer is: it was pre‑taped in early November 2025 (on a Sunday), then aired December 2, 2025 as a polished holiday event rather than a live competition episode.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.