When I was in college, I would break out my cassette (YES. CASSETTE. AMEN.) of Amy Grant’s A Christmas Album just as soon as Halloween was over. It was my Official Soundtrack during November and December road trips, and “Heirlooms” was always a sure-fire recipe for Tender Introspection since I was a terribly sophisticated nineteen year-old and all.
A nineteen year-old driving a Buick Regal that would sputter to a dead stop if the accelerator wasn’t pressed at all times, and yes, that includes at red lights and stop signs.
Anyway, my point is that Amy Grant’s first Christmas CD is the gold standard of Christmas albums for me. Other Christmas albums have joined her in my Christmas music hall-o-fame over the years – like Harry Connick Jr.’s and James Taylor’s, for instance – but I’m a pretty discriminating Christmas music listener. I want worship and reverence and fun wrapped up in one musical package, and I don’t want want a hint of corny in the mix. But other than that I’m not picky at ALL.
Ahem.
Last year, not too long after Melanie and I dragged Travis Cottrell into the vortex of our lives by obsessing over his wife’s jeans, he mentioned that he was about to start working on a Christmas album. He also mentioned that his producer was going to be Brown Bannister, a name I immediately knew because I’d seen it printed on the top, right-hand corner of every piece of Amy Grant sheet music I tried to play on the piano when I was a teenager. Since I knew that Brown Bannister produced Amy Grant’s Christmas albums, I figured that Travis’ Christmas CD was bound to turn out pretty well.
However, I had no idea that when I heard Travis’ Christmas CD for the first time, I would get all teary-eyed and fan my face and feel so unbelievably proud of our friend. The CD is absolutely, positively, completely, stunningly beautiful. Christmas music perfection. We’ve been listening to it in our house since Labor Day (YES. LABOR DAY.), and on at least four different occasions David and I have had in-depth conversations about how great it is. Every single day the five year-old gets in the car when I pick him up from kindergarten and asks if he can hear “Frosty.” Every single morning I have some church with my iPod when I listen to “In The First Light.” It is, plain and simple, a wonderful CD.
Ring the Bells will be released next Tuesday, October 7, and there’s no question that you’re going to want to add it to your Christmas music collection. But if you’d like to try to win one of ten autographed copies of the CD before it’s released, then here’s what you need to do:
1. Leave a comment telling me your favorite Christmas song.
2. Pause and think for a moment about how this is pretty much the EASIEST GIVEAWAY EVER.
I’ll close this giveaway next Monday and announce the winners next Tuesday.
And just FYI: Travis is so stinkin’ humble and self-deprecating about this whole Christmas CD thing that it’s sort of unbelievable. In fact, we have debated for weeks about how many comments this giveaway will generate, and I have contended that we’re gonna hit the hundreds. Travis’ official prediction is 46.
I have a feeling y’all are going to prove him oh-so-wrong.
Make it a merry one, internets.
This giveaway is now closed.
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A Christmas to Remember-Amy Grant, I can listen to this song over and over again, blaring in my car radio.
I love them all, except for Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer (shudder). But I’d say my favorite grownup Christmas song is O Holy Night, and my favorite kid song is The Little Drummer Boy. Always makes me cry.
Oh, it is so hard to pick just one! I don’t think I can…Well, if I HAVE to it would be “I Wonder as I Wander”. (Love those minor keys.) But “Joy the World” is right up there, too.
O Holy Night and Mary, Did you know? are two of my favorites. I also like Winter Wonderland.
Classic favorite: O Holy Night
Artist fave: Amy Grant “O little town of bethelem” took me years to figure out the words to that one. love to sing the wrong lyrics at the top of my voice now.
Hmmm….favorite Christmas song, I think, is “The First Noel,” but there’s also Glad’s “Glory to God in the Highest,” which I absolutely love and Rich Mullins’ “You Gotta Get Up.” Well, that’s a start, anyway – I have more Christmas music than my husband even realized existed before we were married. :-)
Hands down,
Mark Lowry’s “Mary Did You Know?”
I never hear it that I don’t have tears…just typing it NOW I do. Whew!
maybe since you mentioned amy grant so many times in this post this giveaway should be limited to amys only. okay? okay. :) just kidding (unless you think that’s a fabulous idea.)
ANYway. my favorite christmas song is…a tie! “breath of heaven” and “come and worship” from bebo’s christmas cd. if you don’t have that one you need to get it, too!
merry… september!
“When My Heart Finds Christmas” song by Harry Connick, Jr. I LOVE IT! Whenever I hear that song I sing it. If I am along or at least semi-alone I sing it at the top of my lungs. If I am in public, I still sing in a normal voice. The only embarrassing thing is that I don’t really have the talent to sing. But, I love the song and it makes me want to hug my family and hug the world everytime I hear it!
Too hard to pick just one. I really love almost every Christmas song there is, both secular and non-secular. I prefer the hymns like O Holy Night, Silent Night and O Come All Ye Faithful most of all :)
Silent Night
My favorite is O Holy Night. The music goes so well with the words, and it “plays” with your emotions…bringing you up one minute, down the next. I love it!! And I KNOW I’d love this cd. =D
O Holy Night is my favorite.
Travis will definitely get more comments than Cheeze-Its vs. Cheese Nips!
1.”Breath of Heaven” by Amy Grant, who is my all time favorite artist hands down. It evokes the heaviness that she must have felt being as young as she was and carrying the Christ child, heavily pregnant, and making that journey with her new husband. It’s a beautiful song and I look forward to listening to it every year.
2. Easy – kind of. “Breath of Heaven” is my all time fave Christmas song, but I love all Christmas music (except Grandma got Run Over by a Reindeer – I can’t stand it), especially when I can’t be home for the holidays, it helps me feel close to everyone I am missing.
My all time favorite is Little Drummer Boy followed by Do You Hear What I Hear. Love those! This sounds like an awesome CD.
I love Mary Did you Know. I guess my favorite traditional one is Silent Night because it reminds me of my mom ~ it was her favorite! Thanks for the giveaway, hope I win. And Travis definitely underestimated the number of comments!!!
Bitsy
Right now…Virgin’s Lullaby. Heard it last year and have sung it to myself countless times since last December. By the way, I really love your blog. I’m not a blogger (yet!), but have found a new hobby in reading other’s blogs.
This isn’t an easy choice! I have favorites to sing, to listen to, to try to play on the piano, etc.
Will have to go with Carol of the Bells.
high-five, boo mama; I have the same cassette!
My favorite Christmas song is Joy to the World.
1. White Christmas – Bing Crosby
2. Little Drummer Boy – Harry Connick Jr.
3. Breath of Heaven – Amy Grant
Mmmm, you have put me in the MOOD!
My favorite is Oh Holy Night, but I have so many favorites. I LOVE Christmas music!!!
Travis has already been proven wrong, we are already in the 50s!!! LOL
Happy to contribute my comment to the competition! And I will definitely be contributed this cd to my collection whether I win or not! So excited! Thanks Sophie!
“O Holy Night” all the way! Hmmm…also, although it’s not a Christmas song per se, I also love “Jesu, Joy Of Man’s Desiring” on Amy’s “Home for Christmas” CD. Oh, and let’s not forget Heather Payne rocking out on “All is Well” on the POG “Winter Wonderland” CD….sigh. I love Christmas music!
My favorite Christmas song by far is “O Holy Night”
And yeah – I am THAT girl, I play Christmas music year round. I always play it when I clean, there’s something about Christmas music that I just love year round. In fact, when the little man is napping today, I already have my mixed Christmas CD ready to pop in and jam to while I have some house cleaning to do!
Thanks so much for this giveaway!
I love No Eye Has Seen from Michael W. Smith’s first Christmas album, but my favorite traditional Christmas song would be the instrumental version of Sleigh Ride.
Song of choice?
Angels We Have Heard On High…specifically the chorus because I rock out on the bass line Glo-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-ria!
I love this contest!
My absolute favorite is All is Well by Wayne Kirkpatrick and Michael W. Smith from MWS’s Christmas CD–from back in 1989 or 1990.
I have sung that to my daughter since I first held her 4 years ago [she is adopted from China] and it is the one song that would calm her immediately and still does to this day.
I’ll play along so that we can boost Travis’s confidence. I love O’ Holy Night.
Sophie~
I, too, am a picky, no, not picky, shall we say discerning Christmas music listener, and I have to agree that Amy, Harry, and James are among the best. So, seeing as how you agree with my tastes and all, I KNOW that I’ll LOVE this one, too. Therefore, I MUST win this!
And, I don’t know if this “qualifies” as a Christmas song or not, but I love Mary did you know. (Not sure if that’s the actual title or not ;) ). Anyway, that song always requires a few Kleenex.
Thanks, Sophie, for getting Travis into your little world and for blessing us in the process!
So hard to choose, but I would have to say “Angels We Have Heard on High”
I love O Holy Night. I love the classics by Amy Grant and Sandy Patti (you know her, right??) too.
I love Christmas music! I Call Him Lord is one that comes to mind, and I love the Christmas Song sung by Michael Tait. The list could go on and on.
“The Night Before Christmas” by Amy Grant. Oh that song does put me in a Christmas mood!!!
Little Drummer Boy makes me cry every time.
“Labor of Love” by Andrew Peterson
Oh my! I feel like I should call you friend even though I’ve only posted here a couple of times and you have no idea who I am. It’s the Amy Grant Christmas album talk that make me feel like we’re kindred spirits. I feel exactly the same way! Thank you God for friends I don’t know! :) I’ve been have 80′s flashback lately and this just fits right into the mood!
My favorite Christmas song is O Come All Ye Faithful. When I was a little girl, my dad got me a music box that plays this. I still love it!
“Joy to the World” says it all for me.
Thinking…thinking…Yes, in fact, this IS the easiest give-away ever.
Thank you for sharing the joy.
That’s hard to pick one. But I have to say Oh Holy Night.
46?? Honestly? Does he not read your blog and see the comment number spin out of control? :)
“O Holy Night” without a doubt!
Silent Night is probably my favorite Christmas song. Just love Christmas music! It’s soooo refreshing and easy to get into the spirit of Christmas with it.
Well we have well surpassed Travis’ expection and the morning is still young!
I love O Holy Night, too.
Oh, and I’m guessing 300+ comments!
There is nothing else I want more than this for my birthday in Nov., so it would be absolutely fabulous to get it early as a giveaway. I love, love, love Christmas music just about any time of the year and play it constantly.
I’ve been going to Travis’ site just to listen to the one song he’s got on there over and over again.
My favorite Christmas song is hard to narrow down, but I do love Silent Night pretty much above all others . . . though Travis singing O Holy Night is a close second!!!
Thanks SO much for hosting this, dear Sophie!!
Amy Grant’s Christmas album is also my mainstay, so if Travis compares to that then I’ll just get myself one if I don’t win here….favorite Christmas song…Tennessee Christmas…by the Christmas music queen herself
I never win these things. But it’s worth a shot :)
And my favorite Christmas song is Labor of Love, by Andrew Peterson. Makes me cry EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.
Ave Maria by Charlotte Church!
I love Silver Bells!
I don’t know if it is possible to pick just one Christmas song that I love above the others. I think I would have to go with O Holy Night or Silent Night, those two are classic’s and are for sure tops in my book. Thanks for hosting this awesome give a way
Ok… so I had the Amy Grant record. Do I win? :-)
My favorite Christmas song changes every year, depending on life. Last year I really liked Jewel’s Ave Maria… come to think of it, her Christmas album is pretty good too.
Thanks for sharing more fab music with us!
~:-)
silent night. thanks, boomama!!
It Came Upon the Midnight Clear is my favorite Christmas song.
Leslie
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