Best and Worst Christmas Music

I love Christmas. I love the trees, the decorations, the hot chocolate and the lights. I love putting up our Christmas tree and then sitting on our couch with a book after the kids go to bed. I shut all the lights off except the tree and read by the light of the glowing lights. It is relaxing and beautiful and I cannot quite get that feeling any other time of the year. Christmas makes winter more bearable and the gray days less dreary. I especially love Christmas music. There is something about listening to the crooning of these special songs once a year that makes Christmas that much more fun.

I listen to Christmas music a lot. I flip it on as soon as Halloween is over. Yes, I am one of those people. I cannot help it. Christmas music makes me smile and with the days growing shorter and darker, I need every reason to smile. Because I listen to Christmas a lot, I have developed a few favorite songs. And a few … not so favorite songs. So… here is my rather biased list of best and worst Christmas songs:

The Best of the Best:

White Christmas, Bing Crosby: This is the best version of my favorite Christmas song. I love the song, I love Bing’s old-school tone that makes me long to live in the 1940s. I grew up watching the movie “White Christmas” which makes this version of this song even more meaningful.

O Holy Night, Josh Groban:  It’s possible that I could sit and listen to this song all day long. No one sings this song quite like Groban- except maybe Celine Dion.  I am sucker for a guy who can belt out a good high note and Groban does it better than anyone else I’ve ever heard.

We Need a Little Christmas:  This song is terribly cheesy and perky and I LOVE it. I blast the radio every time it comes on because it is so much fun to sing.

Mary Did You Know?, Kenny Rogers:  I’ve never actually heard a bad version of this song but Kenny’s version is raspy. This song gives me chills. I love the though-provoking lyrics. The words are beautiful. The song makes me look at my girls and think about how it would feel to watch my kids grow up and go through everything Jesus Christ did. It reminds me to give a little respect to the strength she must have had to be able to survive that.

The Worst:

 As much as I like Christmas music there are a few songs that make me change the channel every time they come on.

We Wish You a Merry Christmas:  This song is just annoying and ignorant. In particular the second verse which demands: “Now bring us some figgy pudding, now bring us some figgy pudding and bring it right here.” Then the singers refuse to leave until their host gives them food. Seriously? Who actually eats figgy pudding... and I find it rude that these carolers are demanding free food.

Carol of the Bells: I have a very good reason for not liking this song, it just creeps me out.  When I was a kid I accidentally discovered this “Killer-Barney” game on the computer. If you got caught by Barney a giant purple face would fill the screen with pointy, bloody teeth…. And the theme song to the game was Carol of the Bells.

Do They Know it’s Christmas: I know this makes me a terrible person because the song is meant as a tribute to the suffering in Africa. The song is just very overplayed. It is not a stretch to say I hear the song at least four or five times a day… at least.

Last Christmas: I will admit to being a little partial to Taylor Swift’s version of this song but again, it is overplayed. It has a catchy tune, which is why this one barely made the list of songs I do not like.

What makes you list of favorite or not so favorite Christmas tunes?