Christmas Favorites

Here are some lists of my "Christmas Favorites." They're in no particular order.

My Favorite Christmas Music

1. Sarah McLachlan's album "Winter Song." So good!
2. Jon Schmidt's Christmas album
3. anything Kurt Bestor
4. anything Tabernacle Choir. I especially like the one showcasing the soloists from the past few years
5. My CD with Vivaldi's "Gloria" and Bach's "Magnificat" by Robert Shaw. It's a must at Christmas time!
6. My CD of Polyphony. If you like classical Christmas carols, you NEED this CD.
7. In my opinion, no one else should ever sing "The Christmas Song" except Nat King Cole. No one does it better, although Michael Buble is a close second. The same goes for Judy Garland and "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas."
8. You might laugh at this one, but I love the "Little Drummer Boy" by David Bowie and Bing Crosby.
9. I love the carols of Alfred Burt. You probably know some of them without realizing it. Among them are "Some Children See Him," "Caroling, Caroling," and "Star Carol." They're all little Christmas masterpieces, and what I love most about them is they were all written as part of the family Christmas card each year.
10. Last but not least, I love my John Denver and the Muppets CD. It's not Christmas without that.

My Favorite Christmas Songs (I of course love almost all the classics, but there are a few that I can't get enough of. Most of them are choral works.)

1. Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah
2. Jesus Christ the Apple Tree by John Rutter
3. What Sweeter Music Can We Bring? by John Rutter
4. Shepherd's Pipe Carol by John Rutter
5. Whence Is That Goodly Fragrance Flowing? by Mac Wilberg
6. In the Bleak Mid-Winter by Gustav Holst
7. O Magnum Mysterium by Morten Lauridsen
8. Away in a Manger
9. Some Children See Him by Alfred Bert
10. Bring a Torch Janette Isabella
11. Silent Night

My Favorite Christmas Movies

1. It's a Wonderful Life
2. Holiday Inn (Fred Astaire's dancing steals the show!)
3. White Christmas
4. Christmas In Connecticut (this really is kind of a dumb movie, but for some reason, I love to watch it every Christmas season)
5. Meet Me In St. Louis (Joel calls this "Gag Me in St. Louis" and refuses to watch it with me. It is pretty cheesy, but that's what I love about it!)
6. The Muppet Christmas Carol (this is our favorite version of the classic story, although the new one with Patrick Stewart is also good)
7. Elf
8. Miracle On 34th Street
9. The Christmas Story
10. One Magic Christmas
11. Little Women (for some reason I consider this a Christmas movie. I LOVE it so much. I think it might even by my all time favorite movie.)
12. Mr. Kruger's Christmas
13. The Nativity Story (made by the church, although I do like the one Hollywood did too)
14. We rented the TV classics for Noah (Rudolph, Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town, and Frosty) and you can't help but love those too.)

My Favorite Christmas Books

1. The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey
2. I Believe in Santa Claus
3. A Christmas Bell for Anna
4. The Christmas Carol
5. Christmas Jars
6. The Christmas Box
7. The Christmas Story in Luke, of course
8. I love almost any story of Christmases past

My Favorite Christmas Activities

1. baking, baking, baking
2. eating, eating, eating (it's a good thing I'm still nursing because I would be huge if I wasn't!)
3. sledding
4. singing Christmas songs
5. looking at Christmas lights with the kids
6. going to Christmas concerts (this year I got to go to the Tabernacle Choir Concert and Weber's Choral and Orchestra concert at St. Joseph's Cathedral. They helped me so much in getting into the Christmas mood)
7. family gatherings
8. decorating the house
9. giving
10. playing in the snow with my kids
11. making Christmas crafts

These are just some of the things that give me the warm fuzzies every year. I'm sure you all have similar lists of your own. I hope you all have a Merry Christmas!