I have always loved Christmas music.  In fact, it was my very favorite type of music when I was a kid, and I still have “Houston’s official Christmas music” radio station set to play in my car from right before Thanksgiving when the caroling begins.  I know a lot of people find a 24/7 Christmas music station irritating and go on about this at great length every year, but holiday songs generally just put me in a good mood.  It’s my favorite time of year.

That said, not all Christmas songs are created equal.  One of the reasons the radio onslaught annoys so many people is because, frankly, our local station neglects a lot of the best carols out there and chooses instead to play the same godawful renditions of the same tired songs every few hours.

They can do better.  But I’m pretty sure they won’t.

So as an antidote to Christmas Music That Sucks, I’m offering you my own playlist:  12 Days of Christmas Music That Isn’t Awful.  This is not nearly an exhaustive list, but these are just a few of my favorites that can be found playing from my iPod in my car more frequently than the commercial radio fare.  The songs I’ll be featuring are apparently just too wonderful to be played on the radio — or played there anymore, it seems.  My first pick falls into this latter category, since I was introduced to this song on the radio years ago, when a local rock/pop station played it in with their regular mainstream rock/pop rotation.

Remember The Waitresses?  Remember “Christmas Wrapping”?  It’s a great song, though I couldn’t find an “official” video for it on YouTube that seemed like the real deal.  If you find one, I’d love to know!  This one is cute, though.

Who can resist a far-too-busy woman who gets her Christmas miracle?  I can relate, especially now, when I’m neck-deep in grading finals.

Enjoy.