This is some of our favorite songs of all time for Christmas. As much as we complained about our parents, and the hideous emotional neglect they burned into us, but they did Christmas right. I'm not sure whether is was the time-capsule style decorations that were identical every single year, or the grandiose meals planned around events, Christmas was some of the few happy memories I enjoyed as a child.

Since (shockingly) our whole family never got along so during X-mas break we would have almost everyday assigned as a new X-mas day with new relatives. Our maternal and paternal grandparents exchanged X-mas day and X-mas Eve respectively, then the "satellite" relatives. So we essentially got 2 big X-mases and 2 to 3 smaller X-mases then a day to spend all the money we collected.

The cornerstone of the whole holiday experience was a VHS tape filled with X-mas music. I'm not sure how they did it at the time, but I am still impressed with the idea and innovation behind the idea. They managed to fix 6 hours of X-mas music on a single VHS tape, and it was filled with most of these songs. The tape I can confidently predict that it has survived the years, and has provided a soundtrack two over a dozen X-mases over our childhood.

Please enjoy these as much as we have, add some suggestions on what means alot to you.




1.  Holly Jolly Christmas- Burl Ives "Just a great great song that happens to be about Christmas, and just happens to be a bit creepy.  I love to play this in May or thereabouts on the jukeboxes at places, because people gripe but immeediately accept the greatness therein and start a-grinnin."

2.  Holly And The Ivy- Jon Anderson "Our parents were gigantic Yes fans and there is an obscure print of him doing an entire Christmas album.  The original track 'Easier Said Than Done' always makes me instantly nostalgic, but this is the only place I have heard this song, though I guess it's a traditional."

3.  O Holy Night- anyone "Why Jesus-themed holiday music will always be superior to any secular holiday song.  Seriously makes you (ie, me) feel so miniscule and unimportant that you (rather, I) wish you knew how to fall to your knees and accept there is something much much vaster than anything and everything you've ever experienced and will never know or explain."

4.  Christmas Time Is Here Again- The Beatles  "Best Holiday track ever."

5.  Simply Having A Wonderful Christmas Time- Paul McCartney "Only good solo Macca track???  Oh, not even?  Oh, okay."

6.  I Hate Christmas- Oscar the Grouch "Yeah, but not really..."

7.  Christmas at Ground Zero- Weird Al "Funny?"

8.  Jingle Bells- Barbara Streisand "Sorry.  Will never put BS on another list, but really a big part of our childhood.  Broke down into the feezle-dog dance during the last minute or so of this track... Upsot???"

9. We Wish You A Merry Christmas- Carolers somewhere "You ain't wish me nothin, you just in the market for some free figgy puddin!"

10. Christmas- The Who "The only time Daltrey's obnoxious masculine belting was genuinely appealing... and Tommy doesn't know what  day it is.... YEAAAAHH!!!!!!"

11. River- Joni Mitchell  "Finally, an excuse to weep uncontrollably in fron of everyone on Christmas Eve.  Unfortunately makes me recall reading Perks of Being a Wallflower as a 16 or 17 year old (and not yet understanding some of what was happening!!... I'm a late bloomer.)"

12. Hark The Herald Angels Sing- Vince Guaraldi and Children "There are definitely more moving versions around, but I couldn't say who performs them, so default victory goes to the name-brand recognition."

13. Angels We Have Heard On High- Whoever we used to hear as kids "Sorta the same exact song as the one above, But nothing beats the cascading Glooooria."

14. We Three Kings- Three Kings "The only version I especially like is the completely entrancing one from the 'California Raisins' Christmas special. It may be sung by the same people who voice the raisins, but I don't even need to explain to our Chux Chazerz that The 'Zins do not sing this track, because we all already know who does."

I'm the fucking Champion of Christmas, bitch.