Joanne, I searched around and couldn't find a list of the air dates for the season :(
Are you using a Tivo or DVR to record? If so, you can tell it to record only first run Survivor episodes and that way, it won't record any holiday specials. If I remember correctly, I don't think the holidays ever preempt Survivor as I missed a Thanksgiving show last year when I forgot to record it and was away.
