Must Have Christmas Music

I actively avoid listening to Christmas music. Until December, that is.

If you live in the Denver area, you probably know that KOSI 101.1 starts playing all Christmas music all the time insanely early. Like, beginning of November early. And this year, the oldies station, KOOL 105.1 also started playing all Christmas music. They may have waited to start until after Thanksgiving however.

I do listen to these stations, but often feel like I hear the same versions of all the songs whenever I am in the car. As for my personal Christmas playlists, I am kind of picky. Here are my essentials:

1. White Christmas by Bing Crosby (duh, right? I love Bing...). White Christmas by Bing Crosby
2. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen and Snow and The Christmas Song and Do You Hear What I Hear and It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas and really anything by Bing Crosby. I'm a big fan. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. White Christmas: Snow (And any songs from the White Christmas musical and movie). The Christmas Song. Do You Hear What I Hear. It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas.
3. Santa Claus is Coming to Town by Frank Sinatra. And Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. Most anything by Frank, really. Frank Sinatra-Santa Claus is Coming to Town. Frank Sinatra - Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.
4. Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth by Bing Crosby and David Bowie. Oh my goodness, best combo ever with two of my very favorite artists. It's almost a miracle to bring so drastically different people with drastically different styles of music together. Listen to it here: Bing Crosby & David Bowie - The Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth. LOVE IT!
5. Little Drummer Boy. If not by Bing, I often like it when a woman sings it. Here is a good version: Little Drummer Boy by the Harry Simeone Chorale.
6. A new discovery this year: Merry Christmas Beautiful by Jim Brickman. Merry Christmas Beautiful. Sigh, makes me stupidly happy to listen to this one...
7. Jingle Bell Rock, one of my favorites. I have it by Bobby Helms (And Straight No Chaser...). Jingle Bell Rock by Bobby Helms 1957.
8. 12 Days of Christmas by Straight No Chaser (and just about anything by Straight No Chaser). This is the only version of 12 Days of Christmas even worth listening to and one that I do not get tired of. Listen to it here: Straight No Chaser - 12 Days of Christmas (1998). Awesome!
9. Silver Bells and Winter Wonderland by Martina McBride. Silver Bells. Winter Wonderland.
10. Carol of the Bells. I have an instrumental version as well as one by Straight No Chaser.Carol of the Bells.
11. Trans-Siberian Orchestra songs. My favorite album and show is "Christmas Eve and Other Stories." Here is the full album (minus narration, which I recommend reading because it really enhances the story and the songs. If you buy the CD it is included in the front cover with song lyrics.): Trans-Siberian Orchestra - Christmas Eve and Other Stories. My absolute favorite song from this album is: Old City Bar. "Because every light is a star..."
12. The Nutcracker by Tchaikovsky. Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker Suite. My favorites are Christmas Tree, March, Mother Gigogne and the Clowns (which was disturbing to watch, but I love the music), Tarantella, and Journey Through the Snow. Here are Christmas Tree and March. Mother Gigogne (Don't watch it, just listen... Don't say I didn't warn you...). Tarantella and Pas de Deux. Journey Through the Snow.
13. I also like fun things like Up on the Housetop and Jolly Old Saint Nicholas.
14. Let it Snow. Let it Snow by Martina McBride. Lots of good versions of this song, I think, but I like it when a woman sings it.
15. Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree. Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree by LeAnn Rimes.
16. Baby Please Come Home. I know Mariah Carey has the most popular version but I like it better when sung by a man. I even like this version (and I don't generally like U2): Baby Please Come Home by U2.
17. We Three Kings. Another I like better sung by women... for instance: Aly and Aj: We Three Kings.
18. Silver and Gold by Burl Ives. And Holly Jolly Christmas. Silver and Gold. Holly Jolly Christmas.
19. Silent Night. I have this version: Straight No Chaser: Silent Night.

What do you like to listen to?

Ornament Wreath

This year I decided to make an ornament wreath to hang on our front door. I had seen ideas on how to make ornament garlands on Pinterest and my friend Katja was making an ornament wreath so I thought I would follow her lead.

Tools of the trade!

I didn't want it to be too big, so I bought three packets of small ornaments. There were 20 ornaments in each package. I got two that were mostly blue with some silver and one that was all different silvers. I ended up having to go back for another package of blue.

For the base I used a coat hanger. Or tried to, but the coating on it was too thick to string ornaments on, which I did not figure out until after I had bent it all out of shape... You live and you learn, right? So I found a thinner wire hanger to use. So make sure ornaments will fit on your hanger before you tear it up...

In a not-so-random order, I strung on the ornaments. It just kind of fills itself out. I wonder if it would fill out more if I had used some larger ornaments as well as small. I will save that for another project.

 

 

Almost done!

I twisted (as best I could) the ends of the hanger together once it was in a nice circle. I tied a ribbon to the top to hang it by and voila! I thought about trimming it with a little ribbon or something, but it didn't look quite right so I left it alone.

The finished product!

A Winter-y Welcome

Hello! And welcome to winter and the holiday season! Of course, if you live in Colorado like me, it is off to a very dry, un-snowfilled start. "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas..." If we are lucky! It would definitely make the holiday season feel like the holiday season.

Beautiful, right? It is called "Where Snowflakes Are Born" by vladstudio. Here is where I found it: Where Snowflakes Are Born

 For those of you who don't know, I celebrate a little Christmas and a little Hanukkah. My dad's side of the family is Jewish, but I wasn't exposed too much to the Jewish holidays. Hanukkah is one of the few I am familiar with. In honor of meshing these two, I usually keep my decor blue and silver. It works out quite nicely. So when you see posts for both holidays here in the future, you won't be confused. I also like to celebrate the solstice. Have to acknowledge that mildly pagan side of me as well. And if you see any references to Midwinter, it is a reference from the Tortall series of Tamora Pierce books, which I highly recommend. My friend Becca and I, in our mildly obsessive nerdiness celebrate this instead of Christmas. I probably just added to the confusion...

Hanukkah starts very soon; at sundown on December 8th. And I am excited because the last night of Hanukkah is on my birthday (eventful month!). I am not sure why that makes me happy, but it does. Aside from my birthday, which should be a good time lasting about a week, as birthdays should, we have some other birthdays, some shows, and a holiday party or two. I am very excited for this month.

Anyway, happy holidays everyone! Whichever one(s) you celebrate! I hope they are wonderful! Welcome to winter! (Unless you are in Colorado, where we don't know it's winter yet. I'm sure the weather will catch up.)