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Friday Favorite: Christmas Music

December 10th, 2010

Mr Chiots and I are HUGE fans of Christmas music. We have an extensive collection with 492 songs on our playlist, yeah that’s right 492 different Christmas songs on our iPod. Our tastes vary quite a bit, we have everything from traditional blue grass, and George Strait, to Elvis, Johnny Mathis, and other classics. We also have some rock versions and of course no Christmas music collection is complete without Vince Guaraldi’s Charlie Brown Christmas. I have some very talented friends that came out with a small Christmas album last year that we love as well, check it out Ellery Christmas.

I think my all time favorite Christmas song is O Come All Ye Faithful by Sara Evans with Suzy Snowflake by Rosemary Clooney (listen to it on YouTube) and Blue Christmas by Elvis coming in a close second. We have an old Bluegrass Christmas CD that you can’t find any more that’s our all-time favorite when it comes to entire albums. Here are a few of our other most favorite albums:

There are few kinds of Christmas music we don’t really enjoy, things like Manheim Steamroller and Trans-Siberian Orchestra are just not our thing.

Does Christmas music play in your car and home during the holiday season, what are some of your favorites?

28 Comments to “Friday Favorite: Christmas Music”
  1. CA Marshall on December 10, 2010 at 4:54 am

    Look up Kate Rusby and Alli Rogers–both have amazing Christmas (and regular) music that is out of this world amazing!

    Reply to CA Marshall's comment

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  3. nic@nipitinthebud on December 10, 2010 at 6:24 am

    My favourite is Sufjan Stevens ‘Songs for Christmas’.
    I love it so much I listen to it at other times of the year just because it has such a lovely feel-good factor about it. Some of the songs are sung by family members and were recorded like a traditional family sing song around the piano.
    I’m going to go and put it on now …. (you can listen to it free on Spotify).

    Reply to nic@nipitinthebud's comment

  4. Denise on December 10, 2010 at 9:21 am

    I just now started listening to Christmas music.
    It takes me a while : ) I have always loved Amy Grant’s Christmas songs.

    Reply to Denise's comment

    • Susy on December 10, 2010 at 9:32 am

      Oh yes, Amy Grant’s first album was my college roommate’s favorite!

      Reply to Susy's comment

  5. Grace on December 10, 2010 at 9:31 am

    I love Christmas songs. I have the car radios set to all the right stations and I’ve found the holiday music channels on the television.

    A couple of years ago a friend gave me a two-volume cd of mixed classic blues Christmas songs he had recorded from a radio show. It’s amazing and fabulous and unique and a gift I will always treasure.

    I must admit to loving the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Classical music mixed with screaming guitars, what’s not to like? Ah, each to his or her own.

    Happy Holidays to you and Mr. Chiots.

    Reply to Grace's comment

    • Susy on December 10, 2010 at 9:44 am

      We’ve actually been to one of their shows – we have a good friend that LOVES them. So one year for Christmas we all went as a surprise for him – it was a little over the top for me, but he loved it!

      Reply to Susy's comment

  6. Quinn on December 10, 2010 at 9:34 am

    Perry Como’s rendition of O Holy Night can make me weep it’s so beautiful.

    Reply to Quinn's comment

    • Susy on December 10, 2010 at 9:39 am

      Oh yes, we have this on the playlist – love it!

      Reply to Susy's comment

  7. alecia on December 10, 2010 at 9:50 am

    Enjoy variety of Christmas music – adore hearing children’s choirs sing Christmas songs- so very sweet. What child is this and Mary did you know would be my favorite songs.

    Curious what artists make up your bluegrass album-my dh played bluegrass – he would be intererested to know

    Reply to alecia's comment

  8. Abby on December 10, 2010 at 10:31 am

    I didn’t know Kate Rusby has a Christmas album…I need to check that out! I love Dean Martin’s Christmas stuff, as well as Harry Connick Jr’s and Diana Krall’s. Plus most bluegrass, as well. I really just love Christmas music, with the same exceptions as you-Manheim and TSO not so much.

    Reply to Abby's comment

    • Susy on December 10, 2010 at 10:57 am

      We too love Harry Connick Jr’s Christmas stuff, quite festive!

      Reply to Susy's comment

  9. Kaytee on December 10, 2010 at 10:50 am

    Love love LOVE Christmas music. Can’t go wrong with Charlie Brown! And I’ll have to agree that Elvis’ Blue Christmas is one of my favorites as well. I’m also a sucker for some Jingle Bell Rock.

    Reply to Kaytee's comment

  10. Kelly on December 10, 2010 at 12:00 pm

    There are several Christmas albums by Roger Whitaker that I grew up listening to and it’s just not Christmas without Roger, for me.

    Reply to Kelly's comment

  11. MAYBELLINE on December 10, 2010 at 1:45 pm

    Sure do!
    I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
    Makes me tear up every time. Every time.
    Check it out on You Tube.

    Reply to MAYBELLINE's comment

  12. Peggy on December 10, 2010 at 2:19 pm

    this is fun —

    Sarah Mclachlan’s Wintersong. I play it till Easter.

    Reply to Peggy's comment

  13. Kathryn on December 10, 2010 at 2:36 pm

    I love Christmas music, too. I looked, my total collection currently is 473 songs. I love some more than others.

    My favorites include the Vince Guaraldi album you mention, and John Denver & the Muppets. I even have Karen Carpenter (& have never been a huge fan of hers), and 3 by Amy Grant.

    I divide my Christmas music into “all,” one that are songs we can sing along with, and one of gentler stuff to use when i’m doing massage (although many clients prefer NOT to have Christmas music during this season of overload).

    Reply to Kathryn's comment

  14. Lisa on December 10, 2010 at 3:30 pm

    Corny as it may be, Andy Williams’ Christmas songs really make my holiday season. He was huge when I was growing up and my parents and other relatives always played his albums and watched his TV shows. I recently inherited my aunt’s LPs and have been wallowing in Andy Williams, Nat King Cole, and the Ames Brothers. Not my generation, but absolutely My Christmas!

    Reply to Lisa's comment

  15. Jennifer Fisk on December 10, 2010 at 9:04 pm

    In the last few years, I’ve become addicted to “Christmas in Maine” which features some very well known artists including Noel Paul Stookey. Even though I don’t understand it, I love the song sung in French.

    Reply to Jennifer Fisk's comment

  16. Susy on December 11, 2010 at 12:58 am

    Mr Chiots should be able to get our play list up close to 600 with all these great suggestions – THANKS! We’ll have a few new tunes this holiday season!

    Reply to Susy's comment

  17. Susanne on December 11, 2010 at 7:05 am

    “… and of course no Christmas music collection is complete without Vince Guaraldi’s Charlie Brown Christmas.”

    Agreed! Plus “Christmas with the Rat Pack” – essential.

    Another favourite of mine is Swedish & jazzy: “Christmas with my friends”, parts i and ii, by Nils Landgren. I listen to part ii mostly these days; particularly love the track “Ding Dong Merrily on High”.

    And for something modern & alternative I like an album called “Seasonal Greetings“, favourite tracks: “Long way around the sea” by Low and the lo-fi cover of “Last Christmas” by Erlend Oye…

    Reply to Susanne's comment

    • Susanne on December 11, 2010 at 7:16 am

      Uh, forgot about “To drive the cold winter way” by Loreena McKennitt! And at least some of the songs on Sting’s “If on a winter’s night” may make it to that pool, too…

      Reply to Susanne's comment

  18. deedee on December 11, 2010 at 9:58 am

    yes, love ellery’s christmas music:) also charile brown, we have the time life christmas cd’s with all of the oldies but goodies. my most recent additions are faith hill (love “a baby changes everthing”) and this year i’m adding crystal lewis’ latest “home for christmas”. my favorite song ever would be “o holy night” by crystal lewis… her version is amazing! (of course i might be a little biased!) i also love “go tell it on the mountain” & “o come o come emmanuel”. also, my latest download was “welcome christmas” (from “the grinch”) by the glee cast!
    okay, so yes, more simply put…. i just love christmas music in general!

    Reply to deedee's comment

    • Susy on December 11, 2010 at 10:35 am

      OOOOOO, I’ll have to buy the Crystal Lewis simply to remind me of you when I hear it :)

      Reply to Susy's comment

      • deedee on December 11, 2010 at 4:07 pm

        those were some looooong car rides for you guys!

        to deedee's comment

  19. Kelly (The Sorry Gardener) on December 12, 2010 at 1:27 pm

    With the other things you seem to like, you might try Suzy Bogguss (http://www.amazon.com/Have-Yourself-Merry-Little-Christmas/dp/B00005S82Q/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1292174791&sr=1-1).

    A Celtic Christmas Story is also nice (http://www.amazon.com/Celtic-Christmas-Story-Dan-Gibson/dp/B000059WWL).

    But Diana Krall is my favorite again this year, second only to Dean Martin. I even listen to him in July for a mental boost.

    Reply to Kelly (The Sorry Gardener)'s comment

  20. Allison on December 12, 2010 at 5:46 pm

    I love your list. I remember listening to lots of those songs from when I was a kid – especially the Muppet Christmas:) (I think we had a Christmas cd from the Oakridge Boys that I also liked, so my taste was interesting back them.) However, when we visit Tim’s parents, it’s lots of Manheim Steamrollers and Transiberian Orchestra… It can get a bit grating after a week.

    Reply to Allison's comment

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This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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