Every day for the past few weeks, I've been stuck in an office for eight hours a day, forced to listen to a somewhat limited variety of continuous Christmas music. A 'Soft Rock' station plays Christmas music 24/7 from Thanksgiving all the way through December 25th (Heaven help me if it plays through the New Year!) and it's the only time we can have music playing in our office throughout the whole year. Seems rather hypocritical, but I'm not even going to get started on that!
While trying not to puncture my ear drums throughout the day, it got me thinking about my favorite "original" Christmas songs over the past 40 years. Christmas music, in my honest opinion, can be separated into three catagories: Carols, Traditional, and Pop/Modern; but one can only be subjected to "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree," "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year," "Silent Night," "Little Drummer Boy," and "Winter Wonderland" among many others, before you end up in the psychiatric ward no matter which Christmas song I hear.
Thankfully, there are several songs, that no matter how many times I hear them, I never grow tired of them. And what I have listed below are those songs. These songs are in no particular order of preference.
Celebrate Me Home
By Kenny Loggins
Written by Bob James and Kenny Loggins in 1976, 'Celebrate Me Home' radiates great warmth and a nostalgic feeling every time I hear it. It’s very much in the same vein of ‘I’ll Be Home for Christmas’, with the core message of the song hinging on memories of home “whenever I find myself too all alone, I can sing me home.” It’s conveys the perfect emotional tone of the arrival home and a loving family's embrace.
All I Want for Christmas Is You
By Mariah Carey
Written by Mariah Carey and Walter Afanasieff in 1994, ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’ perfectly embodies the bubble gum pop of the 1960s while still staying fresh fifteen years later. It’s a great saccharin sweet love long that conveys the message that material gifts come in a distant second compared to spending Christmas with the one you love.
Christmastime
By Michael W. Smith
Written by Joanna Carlson and Michael W. Smith in 1998, 'Christmastime' sounds more like a modern day carol than a pop song. It encompasses the lyrical and melodic beauty of heaven and earth rejoicing the arrival of the Son of God. I could listen to this song a dozen times a day and never grow weary of hearing it. ‘Welcome to Our World’ and the instrumental ‘Hope of Israel’ are two additional Christmas gems, all located on the same album.
Tennessee Christmas
By Amy Grant
Amy Grant and her then husband Gary Chapman wrote this Christmas staple back in 1983. The album was a constant in our Christmas record rotation soon after its release, but only after moving to Tennessee and getting married here did it begin to hold a special place in my heart. Certain outdoor elements of Christmas may be appealing for some, but being surrounded by family and friends back home “is the only Christmas for me.”
Alfie the Christmas Tree/Carol for a Christmas Tree
By John Denver & the Muppets
John Denver & the Muppets released my all-time favorite Christmas album, ‘A Christmas Together’, back in 1979. It blended traditional carols, contemporary favorites, and new material with the crazy and joyful bliss that only Kermit and his pals could successfully deliver. Written by Lee Elwood Holdridge and John Denver, they bring to life a simple, yet charmingly sweet story of Alfie, a Christmas tree who doesn’t want to leave the forest until it realizes that there are children who still don't know the joys Christmas.
