Atwood Magazine Presents Mistletones: 2024’s Best New Holiday Songs, Pt. 1!

To celebrate “the most wonderful time of the year,” Atwood Magazine’s Mistletones features fresh holiday/wintertime tracks and exciting covers of beloved classics. December has a knack for bringing out some of the most poignant, tender, and celebratory music, and we want to highlight that excitement by showcasing new and alternative holiday greats! Spice up your holiday season with songs you can listen to now and cherish in the years to come.

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* * *

All the lights are glowin’
And it’s been another year
There’s magic in the air
You can feel it everywhere
Holidays are coming
I’m just wishin’ you were here
I’ve hung the mistletoe
For when you make it home
I’ve been countin’ down the days
Without you here, it’s not the same

So, Santa, baby
I know you’re busy
But my one wish is
That you work your Christmas magic

– “Christmas Magic,” Perrie

* * *

The most wonderful time of year has come around once again, and we’re ready to ring in the festivities with a fresh batch of holiday songs and winter wonders!

This year’s holiday season is marked by a resounding sense of appreciation, hope, excitement, and longing: Many of our 2024 Mistletones picks capture what we might deem that “classic” holiday cheer – evoking feelings of togetherness, connection, and love – whilst just as many take on a more nostalgic or wistful tone, aching with those pangs of sorrow, grief, and loneliness that often accompany the holidays.

“All the lights are glowin’ and it’s been another year. There’s magic in the air, you can feel it everywhere,” Perrie sings in her new song, channeling the spirit of Christmas and all the excitement that comes with the holiday season. “So, Santa, baby, I know you’re busy, but my one wish is that you work your Christmas magic.”

Whether we’re basking in the nostalgic glow of Calum Scott and Christina Perri’s “Kid At Christmas,” taking a holiday ride with Stevie Bill’s “Winter is the best season for biking,” soaking up the sun with Fantastic Cat’s spirited covers of “Holiday Road” and “Feliz Navidad,” vibing out to the soul-stirring songs on Lyn Lapid’s winter wishes EP, or dreaming away the day with TA Thomas’ smoldering seduction “Under the Tree,” all of this year’s Mistletones manage to embrace the spirit of this special season – lighting a fire deep inside us with captivating soundtracks and heartwarming reflections on life, happiness, and the people who matter most to us.

Snowflakes are fallin’, street lights are glowin’
Another year older, another year gone
Still get a stocking, still hang mistletoe
We’re all getting older
Oh, where does time go?

I still get that same old feeling
Waking on Christmas morning
And I won’t let the magic go

I still feel like a kid at Christmas
Still got wishes on my wishlist
With friends old and new
If I believe, then it’s still true
I still feel like a kid at Christmas with you

– “Kid at Christmas,” Calum Scott & Christina Perri

We hope these songs help inspire a sense of community and connection, love and togetherness for all who listen. This year’s Mistletones submissions are so great in number, and these songs are so special, that we’ve chosen to split them up into multiple features. See below as artists from around the world share what the holiday season (and holiday music) means to them, and listen to our Mistletones Holiday Songs playlist on Spotify.

From our family to yours, happy holidays and happy new year!

With Love,

Mitch Mosk, Editor-in-Chief

* * *

I won’t ask for much this year
Just someone who won’t say
I love you just to disappear
I can’t deal with all the games
Just give me someone with a pulse
who texts back in day

I’m sick of situation-ships
who never say goodbye
So Santa won’t you
take me back in time?

– “old fashioned christmas,” Lyn Lapid

Featured here are Perrie, Lyn Lapid, Calum Scott & Christina Perri, Stevie Bill, Fantastic Cat, Daffo, Sheléa, TA Thomas, sullvn, Annika Kilkenny, Oscar Blue, ROE, Yächtley Crëw, NiNi Bong, Don Amero, & Andrea von Kampen!

Dive into these songs and our holiday interviews!

:: Perrie ::

“Christmas Magic” 

Perrie: Christmas is my favorite time of the year. I absolutely love it. The atmosphere, the lights, the music. My fave songs are “All I Want for Christmas,” “Rocking around the Christmas Tree,” and “Christmas Magic”! Teehee.

Perrie: Music is what makes the world go around, it’s what helps you remember certain moments of your life!

Perrie: I love Christmas music, so it was only right to write my own song for Christmas, I wrote it about my partner being in Turkey and wanting him home for Christmas!

Perrie: ⁠I think it sounds like a timeless, classic, feel good, happy, wishful Christmas song and that’s what I wanted the most when I wrote it!

Perrie: ⁠I think it slots into those nice, wholesome feels you want at Christmas.

:: Lyn Lapid ::

winter wishes EP

lyn lapid: I love the holiday season. Growing up Filipino, it’s the most exciting time of the year. I would always listen to “The Christmas Song” by Nat King Cole or any slow Christmas jazz song.

lyn lapid: I feel like it sets apart this time of year from the rest of the year. My mom and I would always put on a holiday song playlist or CD every year while we put up the decorations.

lyn lapid: I knew I wanted to put out holiday music that alluded to the new sonic direction I’m taking my own music, since I had put out holiday music so long ago when I was such a different artist. I also wanted to make sure that writing didn’t feel like too typical of holiday songs and slap every holiday word you can think of in the lyrics. I wanted each song on winter wishes to mean something to me.

lyn lapid: I wrote “old fashioned christmas” about being sick of the modern day ways of love, and how it’s especially frustrating during the holiday season. Sometimes I want more than just a lousy “warm wishes” sent from someone I care about. I want the big gestures, the effort, the stuff you see in the Hallmark movies, even if they may be considered cheesy.

lyn lapid: I feel like the songs on winter wishes go deeper than the traditional mentions of snowmen and presents and Santa Claus. It’s also not just an EP about heartache. For some people, the holiday season isn’t very holly jolly and seeing all the happiness around you when you’re going through something, whether it be loss or heartbreak or anything else challenging, can feel isolating. I feel like winter wishes will make people who are struggling with heartbreak during the holiday season feel seen.

:: Calum Scott & Christina Perri ::

“Kid At Christmas”

Calum Scott: This time of the year to me means I get time off which is rare these days! It means I get to spend a ton of time with my family and friends, I get to eat and drink until l need to nap (yep, I am getting to that age) and just really enjoy making memories! That has to be soundtracked with all my favourite Christmas music; The Pogues’ ‘Fairytales of New York’, Wham’s ‘Last Christmas’ and who can deny Justin Bieber’s ‘Mistletoe’.. am I right?!

Calum Scott: I think with any occasion, music is the underpinning to help amplify the emotions and the energy and with Christmas the music is tailored to that which means the songs lock in memories every year. The first thing we do on Christmas morning is put on a Christmas playlist, we also have music playing during Christmas dinner and again when we are playing games and having drinks into the evening. For me, it’s so special to soundtrack really important memories being made and I am now honoured to be adding to that soundtrack with my own holiday song!

Calum Scott: I have always wanted to have my own original Christmas song, but I never really got it right and was never happy with the ones I had written. Whilst I was on tour with Ed Sheeran this year my label sent me a song called ‘Kid At Christmas’ and as soon as I heard it I could hear myself singing it. Something that sounded classic and timeless and so I got in the studio (in Malta of all places where I was sunburnt singing songs about the snow falling!) and I recorded my parts and fell in love with it. After that I needed to find someone who I could duet this with and I hit up Christina Perri who I had met earlier in the year and as a lover of Christmas herself, she was so up for it and she in my opinion has made this song just magical.

Calum Scott: We all know what it felt like on Christmas morning coming downstairs and having that magic of Santa still around, the gifts that came out of nowhere and magically was everything we ever wanted, the half eaten cookie or carrots from Santa and his reindeer.. it was all just amazing and I think that magic never really goes away, it just exists in different ways. Christmas time gives us all permission to be big kids again so I take that and run with it!

Calum Scott: I think my song adds to what is already an incredible playlist of music that ranges from beautiful carols, through to the absolute classics, through to brand new Christmas songs or new takes on old ones and I am just proud to be added into that! I think our song feels timeless, it’s no surprise that Christina and I bring a soulfulness and a reflectiveness to the song but albeit a little somber it has all the magic of Christmas to help amplify everyone’s memories that they’ll be making this year!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone reading this and thank you – thanks for the support and making my wishes comes true each and every year! X

:: Stevie Bill ::

“Winter is the best season for biking”

Stevie Bill: I love Christmas because everything shuts down. I feel like the whole year I’m working on music and travelling, but in December I’m kind of out and it feels incredible. I treat it as a recharging and time to be inspired.

Stevie Bill: It’s obviously a huge part of it, listening to your favourite songs that make you feel nostalgic and being at home somewhere (I don’t always spend Christmas at home since I travel so much) at someone’s piano and singing.

Stevie Bill: A year ago me and my friends decided to make a Christmas album where everyone submits their own song. One night I stayed up until 6am writing and perfecting this song about wanting to do some unhinged stuff on christmas.a For example: wanting a red hot bicycle for Christmas and taking it down to Paris (from Amsterdam). Wanting someone hot to spend Christmas with you and watch movies and smoke weed. I’m picturing an untraditional Christmas where you don’t spend it with family but with someone you don’t usually see. I brought it to my roommate Jacob the next day who produced it out with some warm christmassy drums. It was a quick process.

Stevie Bill: Christmas is about biking. Christmas has always been about biking… to your crushes house. Cause isn’t that what we all want to do at Christmas?

Stevie Bill: It’s for the cheeky people who don’t have traditional Christmasses. I think Christmas can feel like pressure sometimes. But you can spend Christmas however you want. On a bike, in bed, or eating cake!

:: Fantastic Cat ::

“Holiday Road” & “Feliz Navidad”

Fantastic Cat: As a touring band that’s spent pretty much this entire year on the road, the holidays are a special time when we get to go home and see if our wives still remember us. Fingers crossed!

Everybody’s got their own personal favorite holiday tunes, but as a band we have soft spots for Springsteen doing “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town,” Tom Petty’s “Christmas All Over Again,” and of course Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”

Fantastic Cat: It’s hard to imagine the holidays without music. Some songs just define the season. Put on those Vince Guaraldi tunes from Charlie Brown and it’s instantly Christmas.

Fantastic Cat: We owe a lot of people a lot of money, and based on how rich Mariah Carey is, it seemed like a no brainer.

In terms of making these songs our own, the good thing about Fantastic Cat is that just tends to happen pretty naturally. Everybody lands on a different instrument–usually not their primary one–and whatever instinct and approach they bring to the table informs what everyone else does. The band is a true democracy, and when you’ve got four different bandleaders all kicking ideas back and forth, you eventually land someplace unique that none of us would have made it to on our own.

Fantastic Cat: “Holiday Road” isn’t really a holiday song in the traditional sense, but it’s also so abstract that it’s kind of a blank slate. Play it while Chevy Chase is driving down the highway and it’s a summer road trip anthem; throw some sleigh bells on there, add in some Christmas counter melodies, and suddenly it feels like December. We started performing it last year at our annual holiday show and we thought it’d be fun to put it on tape this year.

As for “Feliz Navidad,” we just wanted to let loose and have a little fun in the studio. We were thrilled that the guys from Mariachi Corazon De Mexico were down to record it with us.

Fantastic Cat: It’s the last Friday before Christmas. You’re at the office holiday party. It’s been a long year and everyone’s had a few too many. Bosses are being told off. Interns are making out in the closet. Butts are being photocopied. You think Bing Crosby’s gonna cut it? No, your playlist needs four adult men in cat masks absolutely butchering the classics.

:: Daffo ::

“Winter Hat”

Daffo: I have a bit of a mixed relationship with the holiday season. I’ve always had a weird obsession with morality, and the concept of Santa knowing everything I did made me anxious as a child. And then having older siblings made the magic of it go away for me earlier than most kids. As well I have struggled with seasonal depression for most of my life, so winter in general just comes with a sense of dread. However I would be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy the decorations, gift giving, and even the occasional Christmas song. My favorite Christmas song is “the little drummer boy” because my sisters and I always change the lyrics to “i have a gift for you it’s up in my bum,” which never fails to amuse me. As well, the Charlie Brown Christmas album is one of my favorite sounding albums of all time.

Daffo: There was always music playing in my house around the holidays. I love listening to music with my family, we all sing really loud throughout the house. It made everything more joyful. As well music has always just made me feel better in general. So listening to music on my own during the holidays helps combat the seasonal depression a little bit.

Daffo: Last year I was feeling especially cynical about the holidays. I was sick of hearing the same Hallmark Christmas songs over and over again. I felt like they were lying to me and trying to trick me into spending exorbitant amounts of money. As well they’re pretty much all pop songs. I felt like it would be cool to hear a holiday song that was sonically more up my alley and also reflected my feelings about the holidays a little more truthfully. So I just made my own. I didn’t go about it in any special way, I just wrote what I was feeling.

Daffo: Hmm I’m not sure I would call it THE holiday spirit. Maybe it just captures my spirit around the holidays. Lyrically, I twisted some classic holiday tropes into more cynical images. like a lonely child’s melting snowman, failing to take care of a Christmas tree, and a winter hat as more of a uniform for going into battle.

Daffo: It’s a Christmas song for people who don’t really want to listen to Christmas music. I think it’s also a song you can listen to year-round, it’s a subtle Christmas song. It might not be at the adult table though. It’s definitely at the kids table where you’re technically too old to sit, but it would feel weirder if you sat at the other table.

:: Sheléa ::

“First Christmas Without You”

Sheléa: Christmas has always been my favorite holiday; and it doesn’t feel like Christmas until I’ve heard Nat King Cole sing The Christmas Song.

Sheléa: Music impacts every experience, especially during the holidays. There’s certain songs that immediately make you happy. For me, it’s Andy Williams, Most Wonderful Time of the Year.

Sheléa: I was inspired to write my own Christmas song, “First Christmas Without You,” from experiencing great loss this past year. I knew that so many, like me were experiencing the holidays for the first time without a loved one there. I think so many people can relate to it and I hope it brings comfort.

Sheléa: “First Christmas Without You” isn’t the typical cheery song. But sometimes you need a good cry and know that you’re not the only one experiencing loneliness and loss. This song is for those who may often feel overlooked. I wanted them to feel seen and understood. Sometimes that’s all you really need.

Sheléa: I think my Christmas song speaks to a real human being experience that will never end — grief. It allows and gives space for all of us to feel all the emotions of losing someone. Not many Christmas songs do that. But mine surely does.

:: TA Thomas ::

“Under the Tree”

TA Thomas: The Holiday season for me is time I get to spend with my family. It’s my favorite time of the year for that reason. I stay out on the west coast so I don’t get to spend much time with my family until the Holidays. But even as a kid I would look forward to seeing family I hadn’t seen throughout the year on Thanksgiving or Christmas. Some of my favorite song would be, The Christmas Song By Nate King Cole, Silent By The Temptations & This Christmas By Donny Hathaway!

TA Thomas: It’s truly the essence of Christmas music that usher in the season for me. I’m a fan of Love songs & Christmas music is lyrically centered around love story whether it be family or someone special.

TA Thomas: I’ve always wanted to release a Christmas Song. I’ve recorded several but this one for hit the spot. One of my good friends and favorite writers Tiyon Christian “TC” wrote it. I told him I wanted a song that had harmonies from the beginning to end and one that told a beautiful Christmas Love Story.

TA Thomas: Christmas is all about the Love for me. “Under The Tree” is a story of a couple leaving all the stress behind and toasting it up for Christmas. Imagine you and the special someone in a cabin with snow outside on Christmas Day.

TA Thomas: This isn’t your typical Christmas song – it’s an R&B ballad. The melodies and the harmonies remind you of records from the early 90s/2000’s. Or even the Motown Christmas songs.

:: sullvn ::

“Seasons”

sullvn: I have great memories of the holidays with my family. Favorite songs: Please Come Home for Christmas by the Eagles or The Most Wonderful Time of the Year by Andy Williams because it reminds me of my childhood.

sullvn: It’s an integral part of the Christmas magic, as long as it doesn’t start until AFTER the day after Thanksgiving.

sullvn: I got an opportunity to write several songs with Rome Ramirez (Sublime with Rome). He talked about his busy family life and how crazy it is during the holidays, and I realized as life goes on the holidays can look a little different based on where you are in life.

sullvn: This is a romantic time of year and I wanted to capture that.

sullvn: I don’t think there is a Christmas song about empty nesters. Whether you’re an empty nester or in the honeymoon phase of a relationship, this song is for you.

:: Annika Kilkenny ::

“Snowflakes in Town”

Annika Kilkenny: I love the holidays. I’m very fortunate to say that this time of year is so rich in warmth and nostalgia for me. My family love any excuse to bring all the sweets they can into the house, and the holidays make for a great opportunity to do just that. A few holiday tunes that I love to pair our chocolates with would be ‘Have yourself a merry little Christmas’ by Michael Buble and ‘Santa’s coming for us’ by Sia. *

Annika Kilkenny: Music impacts my holiday experience in quite a significant way, I would say. I feel like I’m always either playing something myself or listening to something being played. The holidays would feel a bit empty without it. It’s definitely the glue that holds everything in place for me, regardless of the time of year.

Annika Kilkenny: I wrote “Snowflakes” with Emily Phillips and Ant Whiting in the middle of the June heatwave in London. It was funny, really – the air conditioning was on, we were all in t-shirts and rocking out to some staple holiday tracks. I loved the spontaneity/randomness of it. I feel the most connected to the piano so I think having it as the highlighted instrument made it very ‘annika-core’ from the get-go. That, paired with the pizzicato strings and the acoustic feel, makes the track very me.

Annika Kilkenny: It’s quite a chilled out track, pun intended. The story, told by the drawn out lyrics and the almost stripped back instrumentation, allows you to just take a breather. Although the holidays can be such a chaotic time, I feel like the relaxed vibe and slowness of the tune mirror the calm of Christmas Eve before the Christmas Day excitement storm.

Annika Kilkenny: When writing the song we wanted to encapsulate the feeling of the holidays as a kid, and we turned to the piano to do so. The piano part is reminiscent of a child’s jewelry box in its melodic composition. Paired with lyrics centered around a persons current feelings, we’ve fused nostalgia with the present. The song is like a little bundle of all the lovely feelings the holiday can bring tied together by a ribbon. So I guess it gives the listener a blast from the past whilst not taking anything from the ‘now.’

:: Oscar Blue ::

“Lovely Day for a Christmas”

Oscar Blue: I’ve always been a Christmas over summer kinda guy… I love the community spirit that comes with Christmas and the unspoken ethos of making some of the darkest days of the year the ones in which we feel most connected to one another. As an Irishman, I’ve got to tip my cap to ‘Fairytale of New York’ as being my favourite Christmas song. Its got everything, a healthy dose of reality, romance, gritty storytelling and a really festive essence. Its one of the all time great songs in my opinion. Other favourites include ‘Driving Home for Christmas’ and Sinatra’s ‘Let it Snow.’

Oscar Blue: I think we all have that moment somewhere around the first week of December when a mundane moment like sitting in a cab, or deciding which toothpaste to buy in the supermarket is interrupted by the brazen charm of Christmas music. Its as if we almost concede to ourselves that we’ve waited long enough to be excited… Its officially Christmas! I think music and the holiday season go hand in hand for me.

Oscar Blue: I never planned on writing a Christmas song, but as I sat down one post-solstice evening with my guitar, staring out over the rooftops of north Dublin, the first lines “chimney pots and yellow glow” were born. I guess the song started with a wintery tone and within 30 minutes “Lovely Day For A Christmas” was born. The song is 90% autobiographical and I always think steering close to the truth is the best compass to have in songwriting.

Oscar Blue: In Ireland we spend a lot of time singing in the pubs at Christmas. We also spend a lot of time spinning yarns and telling tales. I’d like to think this song embodies that atmosphere you can find in watering holes not only all over Ireland but around the world at Christmas time.

Oscar Blue: It’s difficult to claim I’ve written an entirely original or fresh Christmas song. I think by nature of the holiday, history and tropes repeat themselves every year. I’ve been quite self aware about that with the chorus of my song acknowledging The Pogues’ great masterpiece. I do hope however, that my song falls into that smaller subset of Christmas songs which are grounded in a sense of realism and humility. More specifically, I hope its an apt depiction of the annual pilgrimage back to small town’s everywhere.

:: ROE ::

“Christmas Once Again”

ROE: I’m a huge fan of the lead up to Christmas, I love when the city gets lit up and it becomes acceptable to drink hot chocolate every day. It’s always been a family affair. Up until the last couple of years we would’ve had my grandparents come up to spend the big day in our living room. Ever since they passed away, our house has been a little quieter. I think it’s hard to ignore how this time of year brings up a lot of feelings and sometimes it’s overwhelming to reminisce. Overall, I guess you could say it’s a complicated relationship.

“River” by Joni Mitchell will always be my number one. I know it’s not really a Christmas song but it’s beautiful and heartwrenching. I was only introduced to Sufjan Stevens ‘That Was the Worst Christmas Ever!’ last year and it’s already been on repeat. We used to have a dog that sat by the fireplace singing ‘Lonely This Christmas,’ so I think that’s a close second. And as far as classics, the season doesn’t begin until I hear ‘Fairytale of New York’ on the car radio.

ROE: Since December 1^st I’ve had festive music booming because it generally makes me feel a little better when the weather’s shifted and the sun disappears way too early.

It’s a constant in the background when my Mum is making dinner for the big day and we’re all hovering around the kitchen. Honestly it would feel like there was something missing without it soundtracking the holiday.

ROE: I’ve always wanted to record a Christmas song but never been the jolliest of writers.

I wanted to write something that would reflect how a lot of people feel this time of year but is the most difficult conversation to have. Grief at this time of year is weird because it’s supposed to be a time of celebration and warm, fuzzy feelings – so there’s a certain guilt to not feeling that way all the time.

I was listening to a lot of Joni and Big Thief when I wrote it and knew this song needed to convey a story. Because of the nature of the song it was never going to be all sleigh bells and whistles, but there was a lot of back and forth on whether is should be a piano ballad or lean into the ‘90s indie sound that it was it was itching toward.

After a recording a bunch of different versions and some much-needed space, we finally settled on the version you get to hear today.

ROE: For me, this song is about making history. It’s about cherishing the moments you get to spend with your family and the people you love while you have them, especially at a time of year when loneliness can be overwhelming.

It’s an ode to Christmas past and the grief that hangs around the holiday I don’t think anyone is immune to.

ROE: It’s not a usual take on Christmas, but it’s about something everyone has felt. I’ve never been able to get through the holidays without thinking about who’s missing from the house and this song pretty much sums up all those big feelings.

Sometimes you don’t feel the festive cheer, so this song is for those in-between moments.

:: Yächtley Crëw ::

“Home for Christmas”

Yächtley Crëw: We all absolutely love the holiday season! Pretty much Thanksgiving through New Years is a constant celebration for us. We play a ton of shows and because we have been doing this so long, we are all a big family together. We often see each other throughout the holidays and celebrate.

Some of our favorite Christmas songs are actually on our new Christmas mini-album. We love “It’s Christmas Time” “Please Come Home for Christmas” and “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” I’d also add that I personally love anything by Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole.

Yächtley Crëw: It literally wouldn’t be the holidays without a constant stream of holiday hits. It gets us in the mood and really creates that special holiday feeling!

Yächtley Crëw: Honestly, our love of the holidays and Christmas was the inspiration. That and we know how much people love holiday music, and we thought it would be fun to make some of our own in the Yachtley Crew, Yacht Rock style.  Our bass player came up with the idea for the chorus and the progression and sent it to us all, and we just loved it. So we worked at it and came up with the lyrics and verse melody. It was an easy song to write because it had such a great feel to it right off the bat.

Yächtley Crëw: Well, we tour a lot. It’s hard being away from our families and loved ones, so this song is really a love letter to them. They do so much to support us in our careers and we wanted to find a way to let them know how much we love and appreciate them. Plus, it’s such a great sentiment- Home for Christmas just brings back all the nostalgia and warmth that we all want to feel during the holidays.

Yächtley Crëw: We took great care in selecting the songs on our Christmas mini-album. We wanted to have a few that were familiar, a few that were new or perhaps a little less well known, and an original. We tend to be high energy on stage, and we definitely wanted a few songs in that vein, so that’s why we chose the Status Quo song “It’s Christmas Time” and the Wizard song “I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day.” And we obviously wanted to infuse the songs with our Yacht Rock vibe.

:: NiNi Bong ::

“Christmas Time (Here It Comes Again)”

NiNi Bong: The holidays are such a magical time, a wonderful time. I have vivid memories with my Brother, Family and friends laughing, having fun and spending quality time with them. The intriguing thing about Holiday songs is that it seems to be quite an exclusive club. Like Carols, they are intrinsically associated with a specific time of year, so we only really want to hear the ones we know and recognize. There isn’t always room for new songs to get in and when one track does make it in it has to be pretty special to compete with the rest. Some of my favourites are the classics from the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s. Especially British glam rock tracks like Merry Xmas Everybody by Slade and I Wish It Could Be Very Christmas Everyday by Wizzard

NiNi Bong: As mentioned above it is a huge part of the Holiday experience. Music in general will always evoke memories of a time and a place, but Holiday songs have even more association with the whole Holiday vibe. My Dad would put on his Christmas CD in the mornings and then we’d hear all sorts of great music all day. From music CDs, or vinyls, etc., that we’d receive as gifts or music bouncing around the house and streets in general. On movies and everything else.

NiNi Bong: I’d always wanted to try and capture that euphoric and magical feeling of the Holidays. It is also slightly tinged with melancholy, sadness and nostalgia for times gone by and loved ones lost. Plus the realisation that it is only a short time each year and the sadness that it will be over again soon. You have to get the balance right.

I was playing around with some ideas and had actually written a song called ‘Here They Come Again (Happy Times) that I adapted into the perfect Christmas song. I think it has all the elements listed above. It was recorded in my studio over the winter months. The studio is based in an old Victorian stables in South West London, so there was something suitably seasonal about recording there. You could almost imagine being in A Christmas Carol.

NiNi Bong: I think it has all the elements required for a classic Christmas song. There’s lyrics about food and drink, singing and snow, intrinsically British things like Pantomime and the Radio Times, but there’s a little bit of melancholy with the minor chords and changes. Nostalgia, happiness and reflection.

NiNi Bong: I think there’s a little more simplicity and instant gratification with this song. It doesn’t overthink, but it doesn’t patronise or feel too much like a cliche. There’s a sort of indie rock/pop Christmas explosiveness to it. Joy and cool, but fun and thoughtful.

:: Don Amero ::

“All We Should Make at Christmas”

Don Amero: Christmas, for me, has always been a great time of family connection and peace. I grew up in a home that wasn’t always peaceful so the holidays always felt like a time when we could put our differences aside and let love be the language of the season.

In terms of music, I’ve always been a fan of Bing Crosby. There’s something about that classic sound that always feels right for this time of year.

Don Amero: Holiday music is an absolute must in our home. There’s nothing quite like having a fire going, either real or on the TV, lol, and some great music to bring festive energy into our home.

Don Amero: I’ve always loved the classic Christmas songs, but there’s something about bringing something new to the table that always excites me. Like I said earlier, Christmas is a time to set our differences aside and that was definitely what we did in our home. I guess the hope with this song is that we could remind people that this is the season to do so. If we can encourage that kind of thought all year around, that would really be the goal of this song.

Don Amero: There’s definitely a lot behind the lyrics, but most importantly, I think the music has to feel like a Christmas vibe. My producer, Chris Burke-Gaffney did a great job of making it fun and festive. Lyrically, it’s a great message for this time of year.

Don Amero: Anytime I put music out there, it’s always about wanting to bring some fresh perspective to the table. With an ocean of great Christmas music out there, it’s definitely hard to bring something completely new, but perhaps the idea here is to put a fresh feel and spin on the idea of letting love be the gift at Christmas.

:: Andrea von Kampen ::

“Peace on Earth (This Christmas)”

Andrea von Kampen: Early on I made a few Christmas covers because I was working on a holiday show and wanted recordings of my live arrangements. After that first year someone reached out on YouTube about using one of the songs in his Welsh hardware store’s advert for that year and for the next three years I made holiday songs for his adverts. This was always a special time as the adverts were beautiful and a lot of new fans were made.

Andrea von Kampen: Music plays such a huge role in setting the mood for my holiday season. I really don’t want to listen to these songs any other time of the year so I try to listen a lot in December. But music is also memories for me when December hits. Watching the nutcracker and listening to Tchaikovsky, hearing my Dad’s college choir sing carols, lighting candles and singing silent night. These are all songs that can transport me to my childhood.

Andrea von Kampen: I love the holiday hits, but I wanted to add to the noise ha!

Andrea von Kampen: I was reading a book called “A Gentlemen in Moscow” this summer and it felt so distinctly wintry to me, and I started writing about the main character and it became clear quite quickly that this should be a holiday song. The Count is such a classic character that embodies the message of being generous, sophisticated and willing to go the extra mile for his friends and family. That felt similar to any holiday message and it made sense in my mind.

Andrea von Kampen: It’s a holiday song for anyone.

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art © Markus Spiske [CC]

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