The Music
An absolute MUST to start off my holiday season is the cassette tape of Christmas music my mom recorded from vinyl way back when we were kiddies. I refuse to decorate the tree without it and it gets ample play throughout the season. It's a mix of some pretty unique songs, like Marshmallow World by Darlene Love and Christmas in Killarney by Bing Crosby, but has all the classics as well. Plus, there are a few adorable interruptions that were recorded when we would play it on our toy tape player that also had a microphone. It's really all my brother's fault, because as I can be heard saying on my favorite of the recordings, "you can't record on this one Dan, this is not a blank tape." I was such a bossy older sister.
Aside from that entire cassette, I have plenty of other favorites. My mega Christmas play list has a total of 66 songs on it, but I'll try to pick out just a few to share.
First up is a new favorite: Deck the Rooftop by the Glee Cast. When I first heard this song, I died on the spot because it was amazing. I always love their mash-ups and this one is so well done.
Next up is a recent song that, in my opinion, has already become a classic for our generation - All I Want for Christmas is You by Mariah Carey. Any time this comes on the radio, I blast it and sing at the top of my lungs. It's just so damn catchy!
The last one I'm going to put up is Christmas Wrapping by The Waitresses. I adore this song and I really have no idea why.
A few other favorites include: Believe by Josh Groban (it always gives me chills); Maroon 5's version of Happy Christmas (War is Over); Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays by NSYNC; Parade of the Wooden Soldiers by The Crystals; and Step into Christmas by Elton John.
The Movies
Much like my mother's Christmas cassette tape, the holiday season doesn't start until I've watched How The Grinch Stole Christmas, the original cartoon version. I like the new live-action version as well, but it doesn't come close to the original. The ending always makes me tear up, when "he, he himself, the Grinch - carved the roast beast."
A new favorite is A Christmas Story, which I only saw in its entirety for the first time last month. Now that I've finally seen it all the way through, I realized that I actually had seen most of it and that it is amazing.
I generally love most Christmas movies. Love Actually is such a sweet, romantic movie and it makes my heart swell every time. I cry my face off every time I watch The Polar Express, even before it gets to the super weepy parts. My mom and I watch White Christmas together because it was her favorite movie as a kid, and I have to keep myself from rolling my eyes when she starts singing along when they sing Sisters. My favorite Santa Clause is the original, and the same goes for Home Alone. Also, I love the Home Alone "theme song" - it reminds me of all things Christmas whenever I hear it.
And, considering I'm a dance geek, I always need to watch this version of The Nutcracker featuring the New York City Ballet. Yes, it has Macaulay Culkin in it and that just makes it more amazing. Sadly, I cannot find a single clip of it on Youtube other than this trailer, which barely contains any dancing. I love each and every piece of music from The Nutcracker and the dancing is absolutely phenomenal.
What are you favorite Christmas songs and movies?
