Standard mp3 disclaimer: These songs are provided for your sampling entertainment only; please delete after twenty-four hours if you do not intend to buy the respective CDs or DVDs. We'll take down the links after the month of December is over. Also, for what it's worth, some of these are from 80s shows that never released official soundtracks, so the recording quality varies. Keep that in mind, but please, enjoy.

* Christmas Time is Here. [from A Charlie Brown Christmas, 1965.] Simply classic.

* Trim Up the Tree. [from How the Grinch Stole Christmas, 1965.] I was twenty-eight before I realized that there's a line in this song that says, "Hang dang-donglers on the bathtub / Trim the occupant the with floof." Even taking a bath does not exempt you from Holiday Decorating, dagnabbit.

* We Three Kings. [from Claymation Christmas Celebration, 1987.] ...Is it ridiculous of me to confess that this is still my favorite version of this carol? Yeah, it probably is. But it'd be the truth. Singing camels FTW.

* Carol of the Bells. [from Claymation Christmas Celebration, 1987.] Alorian and I joke to one another that writing is like this, sometimes, wrestling unwieldy characters into compliance when really all they want to do is play air-guitar with their bellhammers. Bunch of twits.

* Joy to the World. [from Claymation Christmas Celebration, 1987.] Remember how cool this was, in the days before computer animation? It's still pretty cool now, come to think of it. You might think that, having the particular fortune to be named Joy, I'd be sick of all the times people reference this song when they talk to me. I'm not, actually. Honest. It makes me smile every time.

* Angels We Have Heard on High. [from Claymation Christmas Celebration, 1987.] If you don't know this Christmas special, but would like to, this is the one clip you should absolutely watch first. Pretty sure that you can find bits of this online, these days. Whoever got the idea for ice-skating walruses (and hapless penguins) to this carol is a genius, in my book.

* Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. [from Claymation Christmas Celebration, 1987; featuring the California Raisins.] Because -- let's be honest -- what says "celebrate the birth of Christ" quite like... singing produce? Haha, not to mention this song itself was invented by a department store in the first place, just to drum up marketing. ...Yes, it's all pretty surreal, when you think about it too hard. But fun.

* Christmas Song. [from A Garfield Christmas, 1989.] Just plain cute! Though I have to add, just for your edification, that the fellow who provides the voice for Odie is the same voice actor who went on to voice Jecht, in Final Fantasy X. Arf arf.

* Pass It On. [from A Muppet Family Christmas, 1987.] Hands down, my very favorite Christmas special, ever. We can't even watch it anymore, because the DVD is weirdly truncated (copyright issues on several carols, I think), and our copied-from-TV version is so old and grainy and overplayed that it's barely legible. But thank goodness for YouTube; we can still get snippets here and there! This particular song is sung by the Fraggles, who I think have the right idea about things. May all of you and yours be safe inside the farmhouse, this winter. (And careful of the icy patch!) ♥

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Odessa Castle

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