Merry Madness

Despite my mood of late, there was one topic I was really looking forward to sharing this holiday...Christmas Music! I was reminded of this topic as I drove home last nigh, and listened to my iPod, as opposed to the Christmas radio stations, who have become repetitive by now. I realized that I haven’t listened nearly enough to my own favorites this year, and I’d better pick up the pace. As I heard the wind begin to blow with the eerie chimes of what sounds like a child’s piano, my favorite song (see below) instantly relaxed me, and brought about a calm I’ve been lacking this season. 

The first year Hubby and I were together, we discovered our mutual love for the music of the season. That first year, we hosted a party we called Marry Madness, which went on to become a tradition we kept up for tree years. The idea was this, we asked all the guests to submit to us a ranked list of their own personal “definitive” Christmas songs. Definitive described as, now that I’ve heard this song, it really feels like Christmas. Based upon my reaction tonight to Silent Night by Manheim Steamroller, my original list from 2006 still holds true. Here it is...what do you think?

1	Silent Night	Manheim Steamroller
2	Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24)	Trans-Siberian Orchestra
3	Sleigh Ride	Leroy Anderson
4	Winter Wonderland	Harry Connick Jr.
5	Hannukah Song	Adam Sandler
6	God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen	Barenaked Ladies
7	Carol of the Bells	Morman Tabernacle Choir
8	Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)	U2
9	Sleigh Ride	The Ronnettes
10	Do You Hear What I Hear	Perry Como
11	Let it Snow	Frank Sinatra
12	The Little Drummer Boy	Harry Simeone Chorale
13	Christmas Wrapping	The Waitresses
14	Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree	Brenda Lee
15	Santa Baby	Madonna
16	Skating	Vince Guaraldi Trio
17	Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas	Judy Garland
18	Feliz Navidad	Jose Felciano
19	Hark! The Herald Angels Sing	Vince Guaraldi Trio
20	Blue Christmas	Elvis Presley
21	All I Want for Christmas is You	Mariah Carey
22	The Nutcracker Suite	The Brian Setzer Orchestra
23	The Grinch	Movie Theme
24	O Holy Night	Tevin Campbell

After we had all the lists, as short or as long as each guest desired, Hubby compiled them all into a spreadsheet and used his patented algorithm to rank the songs and break them into brackets before all the guests arrived. 

The night of the party, we played about 30 seconds of each song (64 in total, March Madness style) in each match up and who ever was in the room at the time voted. So you have to be careful going to the bathroom during your favorite! The winning song would advance to the next round. It was so fun to sit around with loved ones (Those darn little brothers were both present at that first party! They each have a bigger love of music in general than Hubby and me) and sing and bop along to the merry music. 

The winner that night, although surprising, was quite clear, based on the reaction bopping of heads that quickly spread around the room each time it was played. 

Feliz Navidad by Jose Feliciano. 

Everytime I hear it, I am reminded of that night. It beat The Little Drummer Boy (Little bros fav) in the final, which beat The Christmas Song by Nat King Cole in the Frosty Four. 

The next year, we did it again with a different group. The winner was O Tannenbaum by Vince Guaraldi (Charlie Brown) which beat out The Christmas Song, which made it to the finals that time. 

The winner the third year was It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year by Andy Williams. I can't remember how the rest broke down. 

The fourth year, we switched it up and hosted a New Year’s Eve party to ring in the new decade, and celebrate with an 80s music bracket instead. Winner, in case you're curious, was Don’t You Forget About Me from the Breakfast Club. But really, the 80s are another topic for another day!

So my friends, what are your definitive Christmas songs, the ones that once heard really make you say, OK, now it’s Christmas?

PS - I have a typography disease. I just spent a few minutes replacing all the foot (') the inch marks ("") that are the default for quotes (“ ”) and apostrophes (’). It's been a while since I've been obsessed enough to tweak copy in this manner, but the key command for the special character came right back to me. Something about seeing the word it’s in bold might be what set me off. I know, it’s a small detail, but it matters people, it matters! There really is a difference! I know at least a few of you out there will understand.