I dearly love Christmas music, but after awhile all Christmas music seems to be the same. I know artists try to put their own twists on it and all, but with a few exceptions, the older version by like Bing Crosby can't be beat.

However, there are artists out there who come out with unique Christmas songs. Phillips Craig and Dean have two that I love: "A Kid in Me" and "Night of Hope." Unique songs like these are great.

Branded Duo has one that has me giggling every time I hear it played. The song was released the year before it snowed in Houston, TX on Christmas. The title of the song is "White Christmases in Houston" and it fits Houston in the Christmas season to a T. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJa1rA_YVPg

Another song that rates high on the unique scale is Denver and the Mile High Orchestra's "Frosty the Bluesman." All I have to say about this one is you have to hear it for yourself. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8G35f9gJShU

There is one song that likely started me getting hooked on "unique" Christmas songs like this. It's called "Home for the Holidays", but it isn't what you think. It's sung by "the Sparrow Artists themselves" (a quote from an e-mail I held on to for years). This song encapsulates what Christmas is to me. It's not what you get. It's not what you do. It's the fact that family gathers for the holiday even though you may be scattered across the world.

Home for the holidays
It wouldn't be Christmas if I was away
Home for the holidays
It's so good to be here
With those that I hold dear
I'm home for the holidays.

Caution: Reading the following post may cause you to have this reaction due to its length: Also, you may want to randomly burst into song, roast chestnuts over an open fire, and/or write Christmas cards while dreaming of white Christmas.

The season of Advent/Christmas is my favourite. Music is a huge part of that. I can remember many hours listening to carols on the radio, practising Away in a Manger for the ten billionth time for the children's Christmas service, and yes, carolling to our neighbors (we always had fun, I'm not sure what the neighbors thought of our racket ). I don't listen to Christmas music all the time, but I think it's safe to say that at least one song gets played at some point during the week while I'm studying.

My absolute favourite Advent hymn is The King Shall Come When Morning Dawns. I have yet to find a really good version of it on Youtube so I'll just post the lyrics in case no one has ever heard of it. I know I had never heard it until our choir director introduced it to us when I was about 13.

The King shall come when morning dawns
And light triumphant breaks
When beauty gilds the eastern hills
And life to joy awakes.

Not as of old a little child,
To bear and fight and die
But crowned with glory like the sun
That lights the morning sky.

Oh, brighter than the rising morn
When Christ, victorious, rose
And left the lonesome place of death
Despite the rage of foes.

Oh, brighter than that glorious morn
Shall dawn upon our race
The day when Christ in splendor comes
And we shall see His face.

The King shall come when morning dawns
And light and beauty brings.
Hail, Christ the Lord! Your people pray:
Come quickly, King of Kings!

Most modern singers don't seem to write Advent hymns, but this group is an exception: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E00zl9To8fI&list=PL690109C140829326&feature=mh_lolz
The entire first half of that album is more Adventy than Christmasy. All of the songs are amazing though.

Some of my favourite traditional Christmas songs are Carol of the Bells Do You Hear What I Hear and Silent Night

One of my favourite non-traditional Christmas songs is Welcome to Our World It's so beautiful. I did a dance to it once. I think I like Michael W. Smith's Christmas albums better than most of his other ones. I really like this medley probably because I have fond memories of curling up in front of the tree with all its lights on and listening to it on the radio while smelling Mom's holiday baking in the kitchen.

And all of that doesn't even cover soundtracks! I have seen several versions of A Christmas Carol (and was in a play version once), and it would be hard for me to choose a definite favourite. However, I love this particular rendition of God Bless Us Everyone

One more for the road: When Christmas Comes to Town

Starkat, that Houston song is amazing. I think it describes the rest of Texas pretty well too.

I've been collecting Christmas albums from my favorite artists and listening to them this year

here's my current favorites:

Tobymac - "Christmas In DiverseCity"

listen to "Christmas This Year"

Hawk Nelson - "Christmas"

listen to "I Saw Three Ships"

Maeve "The Soul Felt It's Worth"

watch and listen to "Go Tell It On The Mountain"

I'm a fan of a lot of non-traditional Christmas music. That and traditional songs done in non-traditional ways:

-a rock version of Carol of the Bells by August Burns Red (complete with drums, electric guitar, bass, etc.)
-Aleutian Noel by Lynda Lybeck-Robinson (a song written by my piano teacher for her Aleutian Noel CD)
-In Like a Lion (Always Winter) by Relient K
-Hallelujah (Light Has Come) by BarlowGirl
-Nebo i Zemlya by Lynda Lybeck-Robinson(a Russian Christmas song)
-Mnogaya Lyeta by Lynda Lybeck-Robinson (another Russian Christmas song)
-A Strange Way to Save the World by Jump5

One of my favorite Christmas songs is Carol of the Bells. I have three different versions of it. I think my favorite though is the pure piano version by Lynda Lybeck-Robinson (it's also on the Aleutian Noel CD).

I do like a few more traditional songs. I like a few Christmas hymns. My all-time favorite is What Child Is This? I also like O Come, O Come Emmanuel.

I don't like cute Christmas carols like Rocking around the Christmas Tree (hate that song!) and Santa Clause is Coming to Town and songs like that. For me, Christmas is about Jesus' birth and so I don't like cutesy songs about Santa Clause and presents and decorations and stuff like that. It just cheapens Christmas in my opinion so I don't like those songs.

I love Christmas music! My favorite Christmas CDs are Christmas Offerings by Third Day, Joy by Avalon, Christmas With You by Clint Black, A Christmas Story by Point Of Grace, and Christmas Songs by Fernando Ortega.

My favorite songs are Born In Bethelhem by Third Day, Manger Throne by Third Day, Emmanuel by Laura Story, This Is Christmas by Kutless, We Are The Reason by Avalon, When Love Comes Down by Point Of Grace, The Birth Of The King by Clint Black, and the list goes on. I love What Child Is This?. I think it's my absolute favorite Christmas song, Third Day's version is the best.

My younger sister found Tenth Avenue North's Deck The Halls official video the day after it came out. We've all enjoyed watching it. The younger kids keep asking to watch the video with the cardboard cutouts. This is my newest favorite.

SnowAngel

Wow so much great music! What I love about Christmas music is that people do the same songs over and over again in creative ways and everybody mostly knows what everyone's talking about. Though there are some great new songs too!!

Tobymac's "Christmas In DiverseCity" Is awesome Libby! My faves from that CD are Christmas This Year and of course, The First Noel Featuring OWL CITY!

Oh I hadn't seen that one by Tenth Avenue North SnowAngel! Thanks for posting! Interesting video... Mike Donehey rocks

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Some of my favorites are:

Peppermint Winter -Owl City

... plpp_video

Carol of the Bells -The Von Trapp Children

Tender Tennessee Christmas -Amy Grant

Sweet Little Jesus Boy -Rebeca St James

Ahh. Christmas music. I dearly love it - it's one of the best parts of the holiday!

I tend to lean toward the traditional carols, not the newer modernized versions of them. O Come O Come Emmanuel, What Child is This?, Carol of the Bells, I Wonder as I Wander, O Holy Night, Do You Hear What I Hear, Chestnuts Roasting Over an Open Fire, and Silent Night are some of my favorites. As a child, I enjoyed Rudolph the Rednose Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman. Those two still bring back warm memories.

Julie Andrew's "The Sounds of Christmas From Around the World" CD is the popular one in our household. We listen to it every year as we put up and trim the tree; Christmas just isn't the same without it.

Once every few years, our church goes caroling and we tag along. It isn't very often, though. I wish we received more carolers at our house, but we live on the outskirts of town and few people go out there.

Liberty Hoffman and StarAsterisk: Tobymac's Christmas in Diverse city is one of my Favorites too

Peppermint Winter by: Owl City! is also a Favorite

SnowAngel: That's a great song i'l bookmark that!

I also like all of Mannheim Steamroller's Christmas songs.

Here's "Joy to the world" by Mannheim Steamroller:

@narnialuver Ooooh YES! Mannheim Steamroller's Christmas songs ROCK. Perfect for everything.... Oh yes all of their songs are my favorites! <3

@Miss Rosario Oh Julie Andrews! Any particular song I should listen to?

Yeah I love them
I also like the white Christmas soundtrack

Wow!
I love Christmas soo much! I can't say I have a favourite song but since last year my favourite album has been 'Glee: The music, A very Glee christmas!' and recently, the second christmas album too! I know it sounds fangirly but some of my favourite songs are covered on there such as 'baby its cold outside' and 'last christmas'

I go caroling sometimes and love singing ... A LOT!

My family isn't really that interested in chrismas so our house on a whole is pretty quiet, but personally I love it!

CharlotteRose xx

Christmas brings some of my favorite music. So many of the 'old classics' - and some new ones - seem to capture at least a hint of the mystery and wonder of the Incarnation.

Listing my favorite songs would make this post entirely too long.

I was thinking about this topic while on the road earlier today, and realized my thoughts about Christmas music have some inconsistencies.

For example, I was listening to Celtic Woman's A Christmas Celebration -one of my favorite collections - in the car, but found it a little annoying to hear Christmas music in a fast-food restaurant when I stopped for lunch.

And, like some others, I tend to like the songs that focus on the real meaning of the holiday the most, but there are exceptions (for example, Celtic Woman's Christmas Pipes) that I quite enjoy but don't focus much on the spiritual aspects of the day.

One more-modern song that is among my favorites is "Mary, Did You Know?" - and my favorite version is this one from Kathy Mattea's Good News - another of my favorite collections of Christmas music. (Unlike many others, this one doesn't include much in the way of covers of the usual songs, but has some excellent lesser-known songs).

Another inconsistency in my approach is that (in contrast to 'religious' songs or hymns) I like some parody music (think 'Weird Al' Yankovic) or silly songs - but only of those secular songs like "Jingle Bells." Among these are "Rusty Chevrolet" by Da Yoopers or "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas." And (disregarding the discussion as to whether it's a 'religious song in code' or purely a secular one), "The Twelve Days of Christmas" has been fodder for dozens of parodies.

*realizes he's used the word 'favorite' entirely too much in this post*

This year so far, all the Christmas music we've listened too has been accepella groups, like Straight No Chaster, Tonic Sol Fa, Acoustix, and others like that. My brother has an obsession.
And Michael Buble and Josh Groban, and Casting Crowns and other CCMish bands. Pretty much anything pretty and Christmasy.

It's a great idea to start a thread with this theme! I like a lot of Christmas music. I like Mary Did You Know and Joy to the World by Go Fish. I also like Christmas in Diversity by Tobymac.