Christmas Songs: My Holiday Play List

I'm not a really big fan of Christmas music, as it tends to get overplayed from the time that Halloween is over until after New Years Day. I have always found the inundation of Christmas songs on the radio tends to take away from the Christmas spirit. But this doesn't mean that, as it gets closer to Christmas, I don't want to hear certain Christmas songs.

My play list is really simple and traditional for the most part, but it does have a few twists in it. I think that the traditional songs, done by traditional artists are a better way to celebrate the holiday, but you have to have a bit of fun with parody songs as well. It's all about finding a balance.

My balance comes from the following songs:

Mannheim Steamroller - Carol of the Bells. There is nothing greater than listening to Mannheim Steamroller doing any Christmas song, but Carol of the Bells is so timeless and lovely. I'm not sure there is much more befitting the season than listening to Carol of the Bells.

Wynonna - Oh Holy Night. While she isn't a traditional artist, Wynonna stuck with the traditional arrangement of Oh Holy Night. Christmas songs don't get any more traditional than this. Oh Holy Night is one of the greatest reminders of the true meaning of Christmas. How can one not have a Christmas play list without Oh Holy Night?

Alvin and The Chipmunks - All I Want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth. Christmas songs like this brings me back to childhood. Remembering singing in chorus when I was in the 4th grade, hearing it on television. It was a part of my childhood, it was one of the Christmas songs that was always done in my school as well, so it brings me back there.

Elmo and Patsy - Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer. It wouldn't be Christmas without Elmo and Patsy. It started out as one of my favorite Christmas songs the year it came out, then it was turned into a cartoon. This made it even better, more of a part of Christmas. It's hard to remember a year without hearing about Grandma.

These are just the top four Christmas songs that find my play list every holiday season. There are many other great Christmas songs, such as Walking in a Winter Wonderland or Deck the Halls that you hear and just know that it's Christmas time. If you want more fun Christmas songs, then you can seek out all your favorite parody artists, like Cledus T. Judd or Weird Al Yankovic for Christmas albums.

Just remember, though, Christmas isn't about the songs, it's about the spirit of giving and being with your family.