'Tis the Season

Thanksgiving is over.

Let the Christmas celebration begin.

(On a side note, we had an amazing Thanksgiving dinner. Everything tasted just like it does at home and I got to share one of my favorite holidays with people I've come to really love. Some of them had never celebrated Thanksgiving before. It was a unique and wonderful experience that I'll cherish forever.)

Christmas is by far my favorite holiday. I love everything about it: the lights, the trees, the nativities, the snow, the hot chocolate, buying gifts for people, all the decorations, and the music. Especially the music. To me, Christmas just isn't Christmas without the music! I'm the type of person that doesn't ever change the radio stations from the Christmas stations until the 26th of December. In fact, this season is one of the only times I ever really even listen to the radio at all.

Therefore, I've made a list of my top 10 essential Christmas songs:

1) O Holy Night. This is probably one of my all-time favorite songs, no matter who sings it. Oooh especially when the higher part is belted out and it's just...ahhh...

2) Sleighride. As far back as I can remember, my sisters have played a duet on the piano of Sleighride every Christmas. It's a great memory I have of sitting in the house when it was getting close to Christmas and hearing two of them playing it in the other room. For that reason, it will always be in my Top 10 favorites.

3) Deck the Halls by Mannheim Steamroller. Mannheim Steamroller will ALWAYS remind me of my childhood Christmases. I can remember sitting in our dark living room in our old house with nothing but the lights of the tree shining and having Mannheim in the background. Bliss, I tell you! Deck the Halls, to me, is the essential song to play during Christmastime.

4) O Tannenbaum by Vince Guaraldi Trio. Okay, so any song by Vince Guaraldi for that matter. For those who don't know, he is the one that does the music for Charlie Brown Christmas. It's soothing, it's jazzy, and it's Christmas.

5) God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We Three Kings by Barenaked Ladies feat. Sarah McLachlan. This song....is fantastic. I don't really know what else to say about it other than that, really. I love God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen anyway, but this version is by far my favorite.

6) Christmas Eve by Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Okay, who doesn't love a little Trans-Siberian Orchestra? They rock. Literally.

7) O Come, O Come Emmanuel. Just another favorite of mine and a must for the Christmas season. So beautiful.

8) The Christmas Song. The title says it all. It talks about everything I love about Christmas, and therefore, I must listen.

9) Carol of the Bells. Alright, I'm having a hard time coming up for reasons why these are on my list other than I just really like them and they make the season what it is for me. Okay?

10) Last Christmas by Wham. Okay, I have a reason for this one. And I never said I actually ENJOYED every one of these songs, I just said they made Christmas for me. This song is one of the longer running jokes in my family. Someone has to sing the lines to it at least once when we get together around Christmas. "Last Christmas I GEV you my heart, but the very next day, you GEV it away..." Classic.

So there you have it, folks. Your (my) Top 10 essential Christmas songs. May your days be merry and bright. :)