Christmas Music & Books
A few of our Family Favorites
First, a quick disclaimer: This piece, like all of my writing, was created without the help of AI in any way. All research and writing was done by myself. (And if there was any doubt, what list of Christmas music would include Handel’s Messiah next to the Muppets’ Christmas album?)
Christmas Music
There is a lot of Christmas music out there, and I am rather picky about what we listen to in our home. (Let’s just say Michael Bublé and Mariah Carey don’t make the cut). With so much great Christmas music, why waste time on anything but the best? I realize that our family’s tastes may not align with everyone’s, and I’m perfectly okay with that. Here is a short list of some of our very favorite albums:
All the best-loved Christmas carols are here, played by a fantastic symphony with great brass, and a heavenly choir for a few of the songs. This to me is a quintessential Christmas-morning album.
I absolutely love choral music, and The Choir of King’s College, Cambridge is simply one of the best. From the haunting a capella (those first notes of Once In Royal David’s City are transcendent) to the grander verses with rich organ accompaniment, I love it all. This album is a worshipful set of Christmas hymns, and several of them are lesser-known, which I love. It’s perfect music for Christmas morning or an Advent evening reading scriptures that prophecy of Christ with candles lit.
If I had to just pick one Christmas album to listen to each December it would be Handel’s Messiah. Messiah has been recorded many times, with large choirs & orchestras to smaller ensembles, so there are ample recordings to choose from: some conductors take a more lively pace, others choose a slower, more thoughtful tempo. This particular recording is one that we absolutely love (it’s on the faster side). I turned on a slower recording last night and my children immediately revolted; “too slow!” they said. (This book is a wonderful resource on listening to the Messiah if you’re unfamiliar with it.)
A nostalgic throwback to my own childhood, this is the Muppets at their best. If you have children, they will love this album (mine are ages 3-13, and they all enjoy these songs). It is a great mix of sacred songs and just plain fun Christmas favorites, too. A Baby Just Like You is a tender song about the Christ child, while The Twelve Days of Christmas with Miss Piggy stealing the show is my kids’ perennial favorite.
Christmas Books
It seems like everyone has a list of “must-read” Christmas books. This is not an exhaustive list, rather a short and sweet list of a few of our very favorites. I hope you find something you love here! Please share your family’s favorites, too; I am always looking for wonderful Christmas books to add to our collection.
A very short, sweet, Victorian Christmas story that is sentimental (in the best of ways!), heart-warming, funny, and a perfect read-aloud for Christmastime. I feel esepcially warm towards this story because it begins with a baby’s birth on Christmas Day, and my own birthday is December 24th (and my daughter was born in the wee hours of the morning of December 26th). This year was my first time to read it, but I think it may end up on our annual Hood Family Christmas Read-Aloud list.
A lengthy collection of poems, stories, songs, recipes, & traditions, all interspersed with Tasha Tudor’s charming watercolor illustrations. This book is a perfect companion for your Advent and Christmas season festivities, and a few of the songs are lesser-known, which our family has enjoyed. I never tire of looking at Tudor’s illustrations, and this is a book that will definitely be on our family’s short list of books we read from every Christmas.
This is a cozy collection of short stories including folktales as well as Bible-inspired stories, and not all of them are specifically “Christmassy,” but all are beautifully illustrated, which is one of the best parts of this beautiful book. Best for reading aloud to younger children, this includes the poingnant folk tale The Shoemaker Martin as well as the Nativity story. A beautiful book for a thoughtful Christmas/winter collection.
Starting with the text from Luke and Matthew describing the Nativity, this collection of stories is a treasure. It includes a fascinating essay on gold, frankincense and myrrh that is perfect to read with children who will soak up every detail. Another favorite is the description of how our most beautiful precipitaion—snowflakes— form.
It was in this book that I learned that Dr. Clement C. Moore was both a professor of religion as well as a preacher—Moore, of course, being the author of the now-classic 1822 poem A Visit from St Nicholas. Authors like Washington Irving, Charles Dickens, Laura Ingalls Wilder and Betty Smith all make an appearance in this jolly, joyful collection of Christmas stories and reminiscences.
What are your favorite Christmas albums and books to enjoy with your family?
Shannon! What a lovely post. Although I'm a little sad you're not dancing to Mariah Carey with your girls in the kitchen while baking lol. So much new Christmas music is a big bummer but the newer song Merry Christmas by Ed Sheehan and Elton John is darling. There is space for modern Christmas music at our house, but we are much less cultured. Haha. Some of our favorite Christmas books are Christmas Oranges and Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree, and The Biggest Christmas Tree on Earth. Merry Christmas, Shannon!
She sings “Holy, Holy, Holy!” here.