Beauty on the Backroads

Stories of grace for life's unexpected turns

Christmas music

First Friday Five {January edition}

It’s a new year, so I have some new favorites, and most of them are Christmas-related because for all of December, I was immersed in Christmas!

  1. Christmas movies. In addition to the once-a-year tradition of watching White Christmas, this year I also watched a ton of sappy Hallmark/Lifetime Christmas movies on Netflix and Amazon. Some were good, others were okay, and others were a waste of time. But I needed a little (or a lot) of Christmas in December and movies were one way to do that.
  2. Christmas music. Especially new and different Christmas music. We finally bought the Christmas album of our favorite artist, Jason Gray, and we listened to that in the car on repeat. I also heard for the first time a carol called Bring A Torch, Jeanette, Isabella and I loved it instantly. Other non-traditional favorites included Sufjan Stevens, JJ Heller, Josh Garrels and the tiny bit of the Behold the Lamb of God tour by Andrew Peterson that we got to watch online.
  3. Smoothies. We had some fresh spinach left over from a recipe, so I began experimenting with smoothie recipes. Then I bought some almond milk. I’ve tried half a dozen different combinations, probably, and there are a few I’ve really liked. Others I’ve tolerated. (If you’ve got a surefire smoothie recipe, send it along! Also, how do you get kale and spinach to blend smoothly?)
  4. Go Noodle. I don’t know how I ever lived without this app/video series before. Think inside exercise/recess activities. The songs aren’t overly annoying and the kids love them. When I need to get them moving this winter, this is my first stop.
  5. Family time. With Christmas and New Year’s Day falling on Sundays this year, our foursome got a lot of special together time in recent weeks. We played board games, cooked together, did craft projects. On Fridays between Thanksgiving and Christmas, my husband worked late so the kids and I watched movies and ate popcorn (on the weeks when we didn’t have family in town, which was two in a row). I’m not always eager for the togetherness because it can quickly turn to fighting and impatience and exasperation, but sometimes that’s just my attitude. I love the time our family has gotten to spend together.

What have you loved about life in the past month?

 

 

10 songs you shouldn’t hear at a Christmas party

My husband and I attended his work Christmas party on Friday night. Free food + great entertainment + a night away from the kids + a chance to win door prizes = SOLD!

It’s sometimes awkward for me to attend work functions for my husband. This is a part-time, temporary job, not what his career will be, and many of his co-workers are high school and college age, significantly younger than us and in a 100 percent different season of life.

Still, I looked forward to the party. The entertainment was the same as last year — a singing duo with great vocal range, everything from Motown to country to pop. The guy also plays the flute and the sax, and the lady wears great shoes that have been the talk of the party. They’re a lot of fun and extremely talented.

While the dinner music played this year, I noticed a theme I couldn’t ignore.

So, here’s a list of 10 songs  that shouldn’t be on the playlist for a Christmas party, in this case a work Christmas party.

1. “Bye, Bye Love.” Goodbye, happiness. Hello, loneliness. I feel like I could die. Correct me if I’m wrong, but don’t people struggle with depression around the holidays? Is Christmas the right time to be singing about a break-up?

2. “Margaritaville.” It was a non-alcoholic party. ‘Nuff said, right? Although maybe the idea was to create an urge to take a vacation from the cold winter weather of central Pennsylvania.

3. “Tears on My Pillow.” See #1. Break-up songs + Christmas = awkward at best.

4. “Forget You.” Though the guy did a decent Cee Lo cover, it’s yet another break-up song. And the original version contains the big “F-bomb,” though I wouldn’t have known that if my husband hadn’t told me.

5. “Runaround Sue.” All I want for Christmas is a girl who won’t cheat on me.

6. “Man! I Feel Like a Woman.” The words “gonna let it all hang out” make me cringe in mixed company, especially when that company includes female co-workers your husband sees daily.

7. “Rolling in the Deep.” Great song, and if you can’t tell what it’s about, then maybe it doesn’t matter. More relationship angst.

8. “Build Me Up Buttercup.” More unfaithfulness, more unrequited love. Did I miss something about what Christmas is all about?

9. “She’s a Brick House.” Refer to #6 on the “hanging out” lyrics. Also, because the male entertainer of the duo demonstrated a suggestive move for the ladies on the dance floor to imitate. It was like prom meets bad wedding reception.

10. Anything by Lady Gaga, especially when it’s the last song of the evening and it’s “Bad Romance.” Catchy if you don’t listen to the words. But the main reason it makes the list is my husband’s reaction as he turned away from the dance floor: “I’m not going to look. I don’t want to know which of my coworkers wants a bad romance.”

The singers did their fair share of appropriate Christmas and dance music, too, so maybe creating this list means I’m getting old. I should add that we had a great time and came home with a Ruby Tuesday gift card. Date night bonus!

What do you think about these songs as Christmas party entertainment? Do you have any to add? Should I have left any of these off the list?