Merry Christmas!! I don't know about everyone else, but I feel like this year rushed by so fast that I have a hard time believing today is actually Christmas Day. I love this season and this holiday so much, both for the nostalgic traditions, sights, sounds, and smells to the real reason for the season: love, joy, peace, and every good thing God has given us in between. Thank the Lord Christmas doesn't come from a store, as the Grinch reminds us every year - it's so, infinitely much more than that.
I'm glad to introduce my Christmas 2023 playlist - 12 songs selected from my absolutely enormous master playlist to help get you into the holiday spirit.
White Christmas by Andrea Bocelli (written by I. Berlin)
Featured on Bocelli's 2009 album My Christmas, the world famous tenor proves once again that he has the voice of an angel. Blending both English and Italian lyrics for one of our most beloved Christmas songs, this version is beautiful, cozy, and comforting this time of year.
I'm dreaming of a white Christmas/Just like the ones I used to know/Where the treetops glisten and children listen/To hear sleigh bells in the snow/E viene giù dal ciel lento/Un dolce canto ammaliator/Che mi dice spera anche tu/E Natale non soffrire più
Do They Know It's Christmas? by Glee Cast (written by M. Ure, B. Geldof)
Featured on the 2011 album Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album, Vol. 2 and performed by the main cast as New Directions, this song has always given me that very cheesy vibe that lots of 80s music tends to have. Originally performed by supergroup Band Aid, this is another classic Glee cover and they do a really good job at it.
It's Christmas time, there's no need to be afraid/At Christmas time, we let in light and we banish shade/And in our world of plenty we can spread a smile of joy/Throw your arms around the world at Christmas time/But say a prayer, pray for the other ones/At Christmas time it's hard, but when you're having fun/There's a world outside your window and it's a world of dread and fear/Where the only water flowing is the bitter sting of tears/And the Christmas bells that ring there are the clanging chimes of doom/Well tonight, thank God it's them instead of you/And there won't be snow in Africa this Christmas time/The greatest gift they'll get this year is life/Where nothing ever grows, no rain nor rivers flow/Do they know it's Christmas time at all
I'll Be Home For Christmas by Idina Menzel ft. Aaron Lohr (written by B. Ram, K. Gannon, W. Kent)
Featured on Menzel's 2019 album Christmas: A Season of Love and featuring vocals from her husband Aaron Lohr, this jazzed up, big band-esque version of a heartwarming holiday classic fits both Broadway actors' voices to a tee. Maybe it helps that she's the powerhouse voice behind the literal Snow Queen, but Christmas music and Idina Menzel seem to just go hand in hand like a perfect match.
I'm dreaming tonight of a place I love/Even more than I usually do/And although I know it's a long road back/I promise you/I’ll be home for Christmas/You can count on me/Please have snow and mistletoe/And presents on the tree/Christmas Eve will find me/Where the love light gleams/I’ll be home for Christmas/If only in my dreams
Stealing Christmas by James Horner, Jim Carrey, Taylor Momsen, & Anthony Hopkins (written by J. Horner)
Featured on the soundtrack to the 2000 film Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas, this mainly instrumental piece of the film's score sprinkles little bits of the film's dialogue throughout as well. If you're a fan of the movie, like myself and many other Millennials are, this is a fun one to listen to as you wrap presents.
(Everybody's Waitin' For) The Man With The Bag/Jingle Bell Rock by Kristin Chenoweth (written by J. Beal, J. Boothe, H. Stanley, I. Taylor, D. Brooks)
Featured on Chenoweth's 2021 album HAPPINESS is...Christmas!, this festive mashup marries together two really fun Christmas classics that we're all probably used to hearing on the radio. Chenoweth always adds a fun jazzy, swingy aspect to her music, and this energetic number is no exception.
Old Mr. Kringle, is soon gonna jingle/The bells that'll tinkle all your troubles away/Ev'rybody's waitin' for the man with the bag/'Cause Christmas is comin' again/He's got a sleighful, it's not gonna stay full/He's got stuff to drop at ev'ry stop of the way/Ev'rybody's waitin' for the man with the bag/'Cause Christmas is comin' again/What a bright time, it's the right time/To rock the night away/Jingle bell time is a swell time/To go ridin' in a one-horse sleigh
What Child Is This? by Lauren Daigle (written by W. Dix)
Featured on Daigle's 2016 album Behold, this classic carol gets a cool, chill jazz vibe added to it in the style of her home state of Louisiana. I personally like these "minor key" carols like this and O Come O Come Emmanuel, and the jazzy arrangement adds another layer to the somewhat mysterious sound that calls to mind the magnificence of Christ's birth in Bethlehem.
What Child is this, who laid to rest/On Mary's lap is sleeping/Whom angels greet with anthems sweet/While shepherds watch are keeping/This, this is Christ the King/Whom shepherds guard and angels sing/Haste, haste to bring Him laud/The Babe, the Son of Mary
Please Come Home For Christmas by Leslie Odom, Jr. (written by C. Brown, G. Redd)
Featured on Odom's 2016 album Simply Christmas, this version of this song and its accompanying album have been in regular holiday rotation for me for several years now. Odom has an incredible voice, and his performance here is both effortless and dramatic, simple and grand, and overall just absolutely delightful.
Bells will be ringing the sad, sad news/Oh, what a Christmas to have the blues/My baby's gone, I have no friends/To wish me greetings once again/Choirs will be singing Silent Night/Christmas carols by candlelight/Please come home for Christmas, please come home for Christmas, yeah/If not by Christmas, then New Year's night
Revelation 19:1 by Maverick City Music ft. Naomi Raine & Mav City Gospel Choir (written by J. La Valley)
Featured on Maverick City's 2021 album A Very Maverick Christmas and featuring vocals from worship leader Naomi Raine, this declaration of praise comes to us straight from Revelation 19 (NLT version here): "After this, I heard what sounded like a vast crowd in heaven, shouting, 'Praise the Lord! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God.'" The addition of the choir behind Raine creates a full, glorious sound of joy and praise like I enjoy imagining we'll hear tenfold when we get to Heaven.
Hallelujah/Salvation and glory/Honor and power/To the Lord, our God/For the Lord, our God is mighty/The Lord, our God is omnipotent/The Lord, our God/He is wonderful
Good King Wenceslas by Muppet Brass Buskers (written by J. Neale, V. Svoboda, T. Helmore)
Featured on the soundtrack to the greatest Christmas film of all time, 1992's The Muppet Christmas Carol, this brass instrumental arrangement of a holiday classic is some of that pure nostalgia I mentioned in my intro. Based on real life Bohemian (which would nowadays be Czech) Duke and Saint Wenceslas, it's one that's fallen a bit out of the zeitgeist over the last several years but is a good carol nonetheless, reminding us all to be kind to those around us who may be less fortunate this time of year.
High King of Heaven/Jesus We Love You by Paul & Hannah McClure (written by P. McClure, H. McClure, K. Heiligenthal, T. Wood)
Featured on The McClure's 2020 live album Christmas Morning, this beautiful mashup is a sweet reminder of the reason Christians celebrate this holiday: the birth of Jesus. The act of stepping from His Heavenly throne down to a human existence on earth is part of what makes our Savior stand out from the rest - that, and His sacrifice for all of humanity's sins that we will celebrate this coming March in the form of Easter.
High King of Heaven, You stepped from Your throne/Took on our flesh and made this world Your home/Trembling in rev’rence, Lord we look above/Overcome by such unmerited love/Jesus my Savior, I bow at Your birth/Awed by the mercy that brought You to Earth/Leaving the angels in glorious light/For the deep shadows of Bethlehem's night/Oh, oh, what a wonder/How, oh, how could it be/Oh, oh, sacred myst’ry/The high King of Heaven born low to save me
Silent Night by Pentatonix ft. The King's Singers (written by F. Gruber, J. Mohr)
Featured on Pentatonix's 2022 album Holidays Around the World, this is a stunning a capella rendition of one of our most recognizable Christmas carols featuring British vocal group The King's Singers. This isn't the first time PTX has covered Silent Night, but each version they've done has sounded unique, beautiful, and calming, encapsulating the beauty of Christ's birth at the first Christmas.
Silent night, holy night/All is calm, all is bright/Round yon Virgin Mother and Child/Holy Infant, so tender and mild/Sleep in heavenly peace/Sleep in heavenly peace
Can't Believe It's Christmas by VeggieTales (written by K. Heinecke, P. Vischer)
Originally featured in the 1996 VeggieTales special The Toy Who Saved Christmas, this song has been a holiday staple for me since I was in Kindergarten. This cute number is a great example of how easy it can be to get caught up in the "stuff" of Christmas, but going through the story Phil Vischer and team created back in the 90s, the kids come back around to remembering the true reason we celebrate this special holiday.
I can't believe it's Christmas, I think I'm finally gettin' something/Can't believe it's Christmas, my favorite time of year/I can't believe it's Christmas, been dreaming of a sugar-plum thing/Can't believe it's Christmas, oh, boy, it's finally here/Ho, ho, away we go, with rosey cheeks and hearts aglowin’/Hey, hey, our favorite day, it makes us want to cheer/Yo, ho, we love the snow, at least we know we won't be mowing/Ya, hey, we're glad to say that Christmas time is here
I wish all of you who celebrate a very merry Christmas, and hope you have a wonderful, magical day with those you love. Happy listening, and see ya'll next week!
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