I love Christmas music.  Like, I really, really love it.  I really try to hold off until after Thanksgiving, but having satellite radio made me cross over to the jolly side early this year.  It’s not my fault that one of my preset stations changed over to seasonal music before Thanksgiving!  🙂  I can’t bring myself to turn it off, and I’ve learned a lot of new songs or remakes of classic songs that you definitely want to add to your playlist RIGHT NOW.

1. “Little Toy Trains” by Raffi – My husband actually introduced this whole album to me because his parents played it for him when he was little.  At first, I’ll admit I thought it was…different.  But now, it’s one of my go-to Christmas staples and kids LOVE the simple arrangement and easy-to-understand lyrics.
2. “Celebrate Me Home” by the Nashville Cast – I love this show!  When I found out they made a Christmas album, I kind of did a few fist pumps.  Ok, ok.  I’m downplaying my excitement.  But really, the Nashville Cast has such a wide vocal range that this song’s layers are beautifully arranged.
3. “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” by Jonathan Jackson – This is a great remake of an oldie!  Jonathan Jackson is part of the Nashville cast, so you can find this one on their Christmas album as well.  It’s great to see an actor from my childhood (of whom I can remember having teen posters on my wall) being a success in his adult years.
4. “What Do I Do With the Blue” by Tim Rushlow – This song has a great Big Band sound, with just enough blend of old-school and pop music.  TIm Rushlow doesn’t have many songs on iTunes; his Christmas album was released right before Thanksgiving.  I think we might be seeing some future success from this newcomer.
5. “Winter Wonderland/Don’t Worry Be Happy” by Pentatonix – You might have seen their video of “Mary Did You Know” circulating Facebook.  But this Mash Up is really clever, and let’s face it – the list is about songs you haven’t heard!  Pentatonix does a great job of making listeners hear musical instruments that just don’t exist.  As an acapella group, all of the sound is made with the bandmates’ voices.  So freaking cool! The dance teacher in me is drawn to their version of “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” too, especially since this song is originally done with no vocals.
6. “All I Want For Christmas is You” by Idina Menzel – Most people know the song made popular by Mariah Carey BEFORE all artists were releasing the quintessential Christmas album.  But this remake by none other than Elsa herself is a beautiful rendition that adds a retro feel to the music.
7. “Christmas in Dixie” by Alabama – My dad does not claim to like country music, but it never stopped him from playing this album every Christmas I can remember.  It’s such a great classic Christmas song, and I consider it an essential song for my personal Christmas celebrations.
8. “Deck the Rooftop” by the Glee Cast – Yet another great mashup by the talented whiz kids of Glee.  It’s a mix of Deck the Halls and Up on the Rooftop, but it’s literally mashed together in the same line.  Pretty creative arrangement, and kids love this upbeat and fresh version almost as much as adults.
9. “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” by Band Aid 30 – This song is a remake of the 1984 song to raise funds for Ethiopia; an all star cast comes together again to raise funds to support West African nations as they fight the ebola virus.  Artists on this track include: Sam Smith, Ed Sheeran, Emeli Sande, Ellie Golding, One Direction, Bono, and Coldplay’s Chris Martin.
10. “Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays” by N’Sync – I was a teenager during N’Sync’s heyday, so when this Christmas album came out I had to play it about a million times.  Even though it’s been a decade, playing these songs are my own special Christmas tradition.  There are some upbeat ones as well as their take on classic staples.  It’s worth listening to, even if you never were a fan of the boy band era.

That concludes my list of songs you may not have heard.  Of course, this isn’t an exhaustive list!  What are some songs you think I should add?  Leave them in the comments below.

Until next time ya’ll!