There’s no doubt the holidays are the best time of the year. It’s socially acceptable to watch “Elf” twice a week, it’s a time to receive an abundance of presents, and Starbucks switches to their signature red holiday cups. Yet topping all of my favorite things about the magnificent season, including the gifts, is holiday music.
Take the song, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” Does its title not summarize exactly how you feel about the holidays? The song captures all the glee I feel for the month of December and serves as perfect background for gift-wrapping.
Another favorite of mine is “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.” It makes me happy though I always end up being distracted by my empathy for poor Rudolph before the joyful part begins.
You don’t have to celebrate Christmas to love the music this time of year – anyone who has seen “Mean Girls” is familiar with the seasonal classic “Jingle Bell Rock.” It’s much more exciting than the original “Jingle Bells” and always reminds me of the scene in the movie when Jason got a stereo kicked in his face.
There’s much more to holiday music than just Christmas jingles. Adam Sandler’s “Chanukkah Song” is hysterical; however, it may be a bit vulgar for Grandma and Grandpa’s liking, so it’s best keep it off the family dinner playlist.
Whether it is a sunny Christmas or a rainy Christmas or Kwanza songs like “Winter Wonderland,” “Frosty the Snowman,” or “Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!” put anyone in the holiday spirit. As a person who’s always cold and would be perfectly happy if it were 75 degrees year round I do make one exception: snow on Christmas. By avoiding windows and listening to these celebrations of snow I am able to create my own white Christmas.
All these songs about snow remind me of another classic, “Baby it’s Cold Outside.” I prefer Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson’s version, although it does make me a bit nostalgic for the “Newlyweds” reality show days.
“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” is perhaps the best curl-up-by-a-fire- -in-warm-socks-and-hot-chocolate song on the planet. Frank Sinatra’s rendition is my most beloved, but there are other popular versions such as Micheal Buble’s, Judy Garland’s, or Amy Grant’s- a preference that depends on family tradition, of course.
My all-time favorite Christmas anthem is more modern than some of the songs above. It’s impossible not to love “All I Want for Christmas Is You” by Mariah Carey. The song radiates holiday cheer. I can be found blasting it in my car any given day in December.
No matter what your holiday playlist looks like, it’s time to crank up the music that captures all the joy felt at “the most wonderful time of the year.”
