I Make Toys, But I've Got Aspirations.

So, one of the few benefits to having W gone for the holidays is that I can Grizwold up the place as early as I want. Being a Holiday Traditionalist by religion, though, I have put off the decorating until as close to Thanksgiving as I can without needing to go to a Christmas Confessional. The music, on the other hand? Since September.

Here are my favorite holiday albums:

Barenaked for the Holidays--Barenaked Ladies. This is truly my current favorite. Probably because I have been on a BNL kick lately (don't blame it on Yokie.) and have been filling the ipod with all of the albums. But this one has just the right amount of pathos mixed with whimsy mixed with Judaica.

Sufjan Stevens: Songs for Christmas. I like this one because it makes me want to slit my wrists a little bit, and then drink some cocoa. Which is really appropriate for the holiday season, if you are being truly honest with yourself and your experience. Also because the whole album flows together from front to start, like those old Beach Boys studio albums. But without the wierd animal sounds.

Gifts--Cherie Call. Part of my new lease on life involves no longer trying to be cool. So I admit I like me some sappy Mo Music. But Cherie Call is a gifted folk-singer in her own right, which makes this less guilty than, say,

Home For Christmas--Amy Grant. Yes, I know she thinks I am going to Hell. Even though SHE is an adulteress and I am just someone who believes that you need faith AND works. But that Breath of Heaven gets me every time. And the heavily abridged Handel's Messiah? Great to sing along with in the car.

Mary's Lullaby: Christmas Songs for Bedtime. We have actually not stopped listening to this since ~J gave it to us two Christmases (or one?) ago. I really want Scott Wiley to put out a lullaby album in the Espanish. Someone put a bug in his ear. Tell him it would make dinero.

December--George Winston. This one just reminds me of growing up Johnson in the YL before the fires. I love it. As does...

The Christmas Song: Nat King Cole.

What's on your holiday play list? Anything good?