With less than a week remaining until Christmas, I’m squeezing in every last holiday song I can around here! This one comes to you by request, though the coordinating outfit was completely my idea :) I mean, how often do I have the opportunity to wear a ridiculous hat in my videos?
“Red & Green” has been around for the last couple of years, and lends itself very well to all sorts of color-centric activities. Here is the original post I wrote about this song.
And now I’m off to perform an entirely different genre of holiday music: Handel’s Messiah. My church choir is joining forces with another church’s choir to sing the Christmas portion of this masterpiece, and wow, is it glorious. Hallelujah, indeed!
I absolutely love giving gifts. In fact, I have a special savings account for Christmas money to which I contribute all year round, just so that I’m sure I can give everyone the “perfect” present come December.
However, I am not opposed to DIY gifts — I actually prefer making things myself rather than buying them. I flex my crafty muscles each year when it comes to gifts for my 30+ students. This year’s gifts are pictured above; I’m giving them music note or treble clef ornaments (gold for the boys, silver with sparkles for the girls) with handmade initial tags tied with ribbon.
Last year, I had special postcards made and wrote an individual note to each student. Then I laminated it and wrapped it up with candy and a cute little reindeer. Unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures to illustrate :(
Two years ago, I made ornament magnets for each student with his or her initial. This was quite a labor-intensive process, which involved gluing the magnet to the back of the ornament, tying and curling the ribbon, and placing the initial on the front. Of course, I had to make some for my husband and I, too:
My husband and I also do DIY gifts for family members and friends. Zach is the photo book expert of our family; he uses Apple’s iPhoto to create beautiful photo books of various events, which he gives frequently as gifts for birthdays, anniversaries, and Christmas.
We’re trying something new this year for my Grandma’s gift: she lives in Florida, so we are going to make a DVD wishing her a Merry Christmas and also surprising her with the news that we are coming down to visit her next month (she has no idea!). I know she’ll love it more than anything we could possibly buy her.
Throughout the holiday season, I encourage my students to talk about giving more than receiving. I use the song If You Could Give a Gift to get them talking, and they always have extremely interesting and sweet gift-giving ideas.
What about you? Do you DIY your gifts (I’d especially love to hear about creative student gifts) or stick to store-bought goodies? Please share!
I’m headed out the door in a few minutes to go caroling at a local nursing home with a group of my students from the Hope Institute. But before I do that, I thought I’d share a few tried and true tips for successful experiences when caroling with children.
Know your audience (and the students who will be doing the caroling). This will help you decide whether or not it is appropriate to include sacred songs, or if it’s best to stick with secular.
Choose songs (just about) everyone knows. Save “The Holly & the Ivy”, “In the Bleak Midwinter”, and the like for more grown-up singalongs.
Have lyrics to pass out. Just because you’re singing familiar songs doesn’t mean that everyone (carolers included) knows the words.
One verse is plenty, especially if the children are younger and singing from memory.
Keep the tempo bright. You’ll hold the attention of both your singers and listeners better that way.
Use props. Santa Claus hats, jingle bells, and other instruments are both visually and aurally stimulating.
But don’t go overboard. If you’re caroling in a nursing home as I will be today, don’t bring in cymbals and other over-the-top noisemakers. Be mindful of the environment.
Make it clear that you want audience participation (if that’s the case, which is usually true!).
Don’t wear out your welcome. Know in advance how long your group is expected to sing, or if it’s a surprise visit, keep it at 5-10 minutes (if that). Again, knowing your audience and surroundings is key.
HAVE FUN! Your singing will be appreciated even if there are forgotten lyrics, out-of-tune moments, etc.
Are you doing any caroling this holiday season? And do you have tips to add to this list? If so, don’t keep them to yourself! Please share them in the comments. In the meantime, I need to dash through the snow over to the nursing home for my own caroling fun!
It’s been a few weeks, but “Sunday Singalong” lives on! I’ve been waiting and waiting for this cold to go away (or at least, give me most of my voice back) so that I could make a new video, and today’s the day.
“The Other Eight Reindeer” (here’s the new recording) is a play on the old “Rudolph” song we all know and love, as you will hear in the first few bars. In fact, when people hear it for the first time, they are thrown for a loop when they realize it’s actually not the familiar song. Below the video, I’ll explain a bit more about how I use this song with my students.
This song works best in a group setting, especially if there are at least 8 or 9 children to “act out” each reindeer. I wrote a post last December describing in detail how I use props and movement to turn the song into an interactive experience; rather than repeat myself here, I’ll point you to that post (complete with pictures).
Any holiday-related song suggestions for next week’s “Sunday Singalong” video? Remember, if I choose yours, you get a free Listen & Learn album download. Just leave a comment here or share on Facebook or Twitter.
There are few things I enjoy more than a good Christmas album during the holidays. I’m one of those people that feels it is completely appropriate to break them out at the beginning of November, and I’m always reluctant to remove my Christmas playlist from my iPod come January.
When it comes to holiday music, I don’t discriminate: I’m happy just to listen to the Christmas radio station. But of course I do have my favorites, which I’m so excited to share with you today.
So on this December 8th, here are my 8 favorite Christmas albums…which I hope you’ll like just as much as I do. I’ve ordered them according to how long I’ve been listening to them (starting just as recently as last month) and linked each to the Amazon mp3 album download.
Glee: The Christmas Album I’m a total Gleek, so when I got wind of this album in November, I immediately pre-ordered it. The songs are super-fun, especially since all of these familiar tunes have been given the unique Glee treatment. My favorite is “Deck the Rooftop” — a mash-up of “Deck the Halls” and “Up on a Housetop”.
Wilson Phillips: Christmas in Harmony If you grew up listening to this female trio back in the early 90s like I did, you should immediately download this album. Their sound is still gorgeous 20 years later, especially on Christmas songs like “Little Drummer Boy”.
Martina McBride: White Christmas Even if you aren’t a fan of country music, it’s hard not to be enamored with Martina’s voice. Out of the 16 traditional tunes on this albums, I could listen to her versions of “White Christmas” and “O Holy Night” all day long.
James Taylor: At Christmas There’s not a James Taylor song I don’t love. But this is by far my favorite album of his, and it still would be even if his poignant rendition of “In the Bleak Midwinter” was the only song on it.
Kristen Chenoweth: A Lovely Way to Spend Christmas Kristen’s voice definitely ranks up their amongst my favorite ever — it’s incredibly versatile. A couple of the songs are originals, while others (like “Sing”) are familiar and happy surprises.
Bette Midler: Cool Yule For me, this is the quintessential “fun” Christmas album. I started to list a few of my favorite tracks just now, but then I realized I would be listing nearly all of them. So just take my word for it and check this one out, starting with the title song.
Christmas With the Rat Pack I grew up listening to the Rat Pack, thanks to my dad. Does it get any better than Frank, Dean and Sammy singing holiday songs like “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” and “Marshmallow World” in their usual charming ways? The best part about this album is that there are 21 tracks (and not a bad one in the bunch).
The Carpenters: Christmas Portrait It’s not Christmas for me until I’ve heard Karen Carpenter sing “The Christmas Waltz” and “Merry Christmas, Darling”. This has been a staple in my CD player (and iPod now, of course) since I was a child, and is still the most-played Christmas album I own.
There are many more Christmas albums in my rotation, but if I was stranded on the North Pole (or maybe just at the airport) and could only take 8 with me, these would be it. I hope I’ve introduced you to some potential new favorites! Oh, and let’s keep this list going…which Christmas albums do YOU dig?
Welcome! I’m Rachel Rambach, board-certified music therapist and creator of Listen & Learn Music — educational songs and musical materials for children. I love sharing my work with you, along with my behind-the-scenes creative process, adventures in business ownership, and life as a mom of two.
My Book + Course
This is the book + course that will help you shape your music therapy career in order to make more money and live your ideal lifestyle. Details here.
I absolutely love giving gifts. In fact, I have a special savings account for Christmas money to which I contribute all year round, just so that I’m sure I can give everyone the “perfect” present come December.
There are few things I enjoy more than a good Christmas album during the holidays. I’m one of those people that feels it is completely appropriate to break them out at the beginning of November, and I’m always reluctant to remove my Christmas playlist from my iPod come January.
