Ten carols you must play this Christmas

Christmas is nostalgia.

Or at least that's what it becomes. Like all traditions, it helps people maintain a sense of who they are. Tinsel isn't so much about tinsel but a repetition - in untiring circles around the tree - that offers a grounding, a continuity with our past selves, our childhood, our loved ones. In our house (and I've noticed this elsewhere too, at my in-laws, friends, aunts and uncles), every Christmas decoration has its designated place. The tree in one particular corner, the wreath at the front door, the holly wreathing the fireplace, the crib on a side table scattered with straw, the fat Santas hung from the same nail on the wall, year after year. The act of putting up decorations is a ritual as precise as mass in church. And drifting from the stereo, the same Christmas carols that have been playing as long as I can remember. Sometimes, there is such joy in predictability. Within the house we may change and age, but the seasonal trappings and the songs remain timeless, removed from the wreck of years, magical in their ability to evoke, all at once, a glimpse into the past and hope for the future. This year too, my playlist is the same. These are the carols I've grown up with, old songs, (mostly) bereft of the pop-candy sweetness of Michael Bublé and Taylor Swift. They quietly say "we never change". And in that, whimsical as it may seem, there is infinite comfort and joy.

1.) Bing Crosby and the Andrew Sisters: "Santa Claus is Coming to Town"

Here's a happy one to start you off. Bing's wonderful bass-baritone voice cheerfully telling you to be good because "the big fat man with the long beard is comin' to town." 

2.) Connie Boswell: "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!"

This is the song that inspired my sister and I to seriously deplete the cotton wool supply in the house. Hard to recreate a winter wonderland in the depths of Assam, but you can't say we didn't try.

3.) Nat King Cole: "The Christmas Song"

It's not Christmas if you don't play this at least 1,67,437 times. On loop. But with that voice, like honey melting, like chestnuts roasting on an open fire, like Jack Frost nipping at your nose, who's complaining.

4.) Eartha Kitt: "Santa Baby"

Not technically a "Christmas" song, if you count only the ones about Baby Jesus and angels and mangers, but so delightfully delicious that I had to sneak it in. Eartha's voice is sweetly, naughtily impassive - "Santa cutie, fill my stocking with a duplex,And checks." Stay clear of the Kylie Minogue cover.

5.) Fats Waller: "(Swingin' Them) Jingle Bells"

The most widely listened to Christmas carol as you've never heard it before. Fats Waller, was a pianist genius, whose unmistakable Harlem stride style will knock your stockings off. Jingle Bells will never be the same again.

6.) Perry Como: "Winter Wonderland"

A great favourite with my parents, and perhaps the reason why I've grown quite fond of him too. He's suave and stylish, and sings with effortless, seamless flair. The song also happens to carry one of my favourite Christmas images: "Later on, we'll conspire, while we dream by the fire."

7.) Frank Sinatra: "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas"

This is one of those carols that everyone knows and loves, but not many seem to be aware that it's from a movie - MGM musical Meet Me in St. Louis. Jud Garland, the original singer, is often considered to have done the most tuneful rendition, though many others have covered it. Ella Fitzgerald's version is a little too cheerful for me, and Bing Crosby's too serious, but good ole Blue Eyes hits the perfect note.

8.) Conway Twitty with Twitty Bird and their little friends

Admittedly, this is a slightly bizarre addition, but I loved Conway Twitty and Twitty Bird when I was a child. They journey through Toyland (I don't know why), meeting Santa and Rudolph and Frosty the Snowman, all the while chatting in Tennessee-twang voices and bursting into song. If you'd like to listen to the entire album (go on, please), you can here: 

If you've turned into the Grinch and Scrooge all rolled into one, here's a single sample:

9.) Harry Simeone chorale: "The Little Drummer Boy"

If Christmas brings to mind glorious choirs, this one's for you. A gorgeously gentle carol that tells the story of a poor young boy who has no gifts to bring Baby Jesus, and instead plays a tune for him on his drum. Listen to the onomatopoeic quality of the lyrics. Lovely. 

10.) Jim Reeves: "Silver Bells"

I've only linked a single song but this album, Twelve Songs of Christmas (complete with the same cover art on the cassette), has been a family staple forever. We all love his voice, the clean simplicity of the arrangements, and the lovely vintage sweater Jim Reeves is wearing. This carol is a particular favourite; I'm singing along now, belching out "Sooooon it will beeeee Christmas daaaay."