We are a family steeped in tradition who loves Christmas, with all its trappings and trimmings. So what better way to kick off all the merriment than with the beautiful, sometimes corny, but wonder-filled sounds of the season. We have one solid rule: No Christmas songs fill our home until after Thanksgiving Day. And I mean this quite literally. On the way home from my brother-in-laws, on Thanksgiving evening, the music begins.
Up first, no questions asked, our all-time favorite, based on an NBC Christmas Television Special that first aired in 1997 is Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton’s Once Upon a Christmas. We know every word and every harmony and we sing our lungs out all the way home. There are a few classics like Winter Wonderland and White Christmas…and some not so familiar, like With Bells On, a rousing tuneful celebration of coming home for Christmas and the soulful Hard Candy Christmas, with Dolly at her finest.
Another one we love is We Three Kingsby The Roches. Three Irish-American sisters, Maggie, Terre, and Suzzy, and sometimes their brother, David, blend unique and beautiful harmonies to bring a new, well, different twist to a whole host of beloved seasonal standards. This CD was produced in 1990 and features favorites like Angels We Have Heard on High, Do You Hear What I Hear, and the moving Break Forth O Beauteous Heavenly Light. If you haven’t heard of The Roches, check them out at www.Roches.com.
Sting’sIf On A Winter's Night...is a more recent addition to our collection. This CD with it's celtic tones and often haunting melodies took some getting used to. It has none of the Christmas classics we usually listen to, but instead an eclectic collection of thoughtful tunes, some of them written by Sting, like You Only Cross My Mind in Winter with music by J.S. Bach. Others are old English carol’s like The Snow Melts the Soonest. Decidedly different musical food for thought!
We have quite a collection that we try to add a little something to every year. Oh and I even have a CD of my own, featuring me and my sisters with our musical director and artist Vesper, called Vesper and the Daly Sisters. We’ve sold out of CDs, but have a listen here.
There’s so much more we enjoy as well--the beloved A Charlie Brown Christmas, Sarah McLachlin’s Wintersong, Nicole C. Mullen’s Christmas in Black & White... and so many other December delights.
What are your favorite Christmas albums? CLICK HERE and let me know. You’ll have a chance to win one of your very own copies of Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton’s Once Upon a Christmas. I promise you’ll love it!
Elise has been married for 28 years and is mom to four mostly grown girls. She is a writer, editor, writing coach, and blogger. She believes we all have stories that matter--big life bios and small meaningful moments. Elise believes our stories are a reflection of God’s glory and are meant to be shared. They have the power to inform, reform, and transform. She loves God, familly, friends...and really likes travel!