Favorite Christmas Songs
My class and I have been listening to Christmas songs for 2 weeks now. Two local radio stations play them, and I created Bingo cards for each child. When a song plays, I tell the kids the title and they mark it. They started learning the names of the songs by the third day, which is great. We write the titles on the board, so they're learning spelling and correct capitalization of titles, too.And we all have our favorites.
They like the Paul McCartney song that is played every five minutes and says the same thing over and over. And they like "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas," though we've only heard it once.
Of course they like the Chipmunk song and Rudolph and Frosty. Surprisingly, they like "Carol of the Bells" by Mannheim Steamroller. They say it's on Guitar Hero or one of those. They like "Sleigh Ride," though last year we graphed it and saw it was the most played.
My favorites are "Do You Hear What I Hear?" though it's incredibly overplayed, and "We Need a Little Christmas," which is incredibly underplayed. "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" was a favorite until that office supply store started playing it at back-to-school time. You might imagine I don't share that sentiment. I love anything from Bing Crosby because my mom used to play that album again and again.
What are some of your favorites? Which are some songs you wish you never heard again?
posted by MJFredrick @ 12:00 AM
11 Comments:
Starting with the worst: The one I'd prefer to never hear again is The Twelve Daze of Christmas, where every day is a different alcoholic beverage and before the song is half over, the "singer" is drunk. Experiences have colored my perceptions too keenly, and I fail to find any humor in such irresponsible behavior.
Off-the-wall songs I enjoy hearing (once a year is enough) include the Hippopotamus song, Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer, The Pretty Little Dolly, and Santa Baby.
Some of my favorites, and it's difficult to keep this list short: Mannheim Steamroller has some wonderful stuff. My favorite is their rendition of Silent Night. Gosh Groban's O Holy Night and Believe. Carpenter's Ave Maria and Merry Christmas Darling. One of my all time favorites is "The Gift" sung by Aselin Debison, about the first nightingale's song. Unfortunately, it is only played very rarely. So many songs; such a short season.
MJ,
A few of my favorites are on Amy Grant's Christmas album: Grown Up Christmas List and Emmanuel, God with Us. I love the song in The Grinch, too, that Faith Hill recorded "Where Are You, Christmas."
I love Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, because it is rather melancholy, especially the version Judy Garland sang in Meet Me in St. Louis.
I'm not too fond of I Saw Mama Kissing Santa Claus or Jingle Bell Rock.
I also love Away in a Manger, which I used to sing to my babies as a lullabye. My baby son is now 6 ft tall and my baby daughter turned 29.
MJ, you are a fun and creative teacher! What a great idea to use Christmas music that way.
What a great teacher you are, MJ! Wonderful way to teach the kids. I love creative learning!
I LOVE Christmas songs...especially the one John Lennon sings. I also love to listen to The Boss's version of "Santa Claus is Comin' To Town"
When I was a kid in Southern Illinois, I was part of a group of carolers who went out for about 3 hours almost every night of the Christmas season, mostly walking and singing, but sometimes going to specific houses. One of our members was an extremely talented musician who had the ability to whistle harmony with himself by warbling very rapidly from one pitch to another. So I have many wonderful memories of Christmas music.
Other than the original Santa Baby, the songs I love most are the traditional Christmas carols. O Holy Night, What Child Is This, Coventry Carol. Although I'm not Catholic, I love hearing or singing Gounod's Ave Maria.
I used to sing O Holy Night as a contralto solo, because I had a very low and high range, from G below Middle C to C above High C. Not anymore, though!
Love the interdisciplinary work, MJ! My kids have been asking for Silent Night. I've been putting Enya's And Winter Came on during writing time. It keeps them working and I think helps to inspire creativity. Personally, I've been enjoying two songs off an old Steven Curtis Chapman CD - Christmas is All in the Heart and The Music of Christmas.
Favorite O Holy Night
Followed closely by Silent Night (I'm always requested to sing it in the original German.)
Ave Maria (the Bach-Gounod version)
The Christmas portion of The Messiah
Songs I would rather not hear ever again.
The Hippopatumas Song and Santa Baby
And I know this is completely and utterly politically incorrect but I cannot stand to hear traditional Christmas carols like O Come All Ye Faithful and Silent Night done in rap. PLEASE !!! Some things ARE sacred!
I like Santa Baby. I know I'm in the minority ;)
I've never heard The 12 Daze of Christmas!
The kids don't like Springsteen or Jimmy Durante. I'm just tickled they have opinions, and this way they're LEARNING the songs. Last year I discovered most kids didn't!
One of my students doesn't like any of the remakes. She thinks the originals are the best. (How she knows which are originals, I don't know.)
When it comes to Christmas carol favorites I'm kind of old-school- Bing Crosby and Perry Como (his version of 'Ave Maria' is my all-time favorite). I also love the Charlie Brown Christmas by the Vince Guaraldi Trio.
My recent favorites are Enya's new one 'And Winter Came' and the Trans-Siberian Railroad's album.
And on the totally irreverant-not-politically correct side: 'Cheech and Chong's Christmas' and the Mackenzie Brothers' 12 Days of Christmas.
And when I was younger, I could sing 'Silent Night' in four languages (English, Spanish, French, and German)
My all-time favorite is Silver Bells, by Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters. It's on my Bing Christmas CD. I'm a big fan of traditional Christmas songs, not so much modern takes on them.
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