December 30, 2025

I was born in 1960 into a rather conservative family.  Of course, in the 1960s and 70s, conservative values were present in family life and society more than it seems like they are today.  Perhaps not, but at the very least more people pretended they were more than they do today.  I did not grow up in a wealthy environment, but Mom and Dad always made Christmas magical.  Ever since I was a little child, Christmas has always been a wonderful time of year for me.  Even though I felt like I wasn’t often a very ‘good’ boy, Santa always seemed to bless us with wonderful gifts of toys and clothes.  And there were 9 of us, counting Mom and Dad.

I’ve always enjoyed listening to music while growing up.  I remember getting my first AM radio around the age of 13.  I was exposed to Billboards Top 40 on the radio, and around the house, Dad liked Easy Listening music and Mom liked Jerry Vale, Johnny Mathis and The Tijuana Brass.  They also had many records from Percy Faith and Ray Conniff.

Around Christmas time, there was no escaping the traditional Christmas songs.  Whether it be on the radio or in the mall, Christmas music was everywhere.  It was an integral part of the month-long celebration.

Because I was born in 1960, I was a part of the generation that got to see all the classic Christmas specials as they were premiered.  A Charlie Brown Christmas, The Grinch That Stole Christmas, Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus Is Coming To Town, The Year Without A Santa Claus and Frosty The Snowman all premiered during my childhood.

By the time I got to be a young adult, more contemporary rock music became the norm for me, as with all my friends.  Then came the 1980s and MTV.  Contemporary rock music was what we listened to.

I’ve always considered myself to be a true romantic.  Life as it was portrayed in the 1940s and 50s always appealed to me.  It was portrayed as a simpler time when love and romance was everywhere; on TV, on the radio and all through Pop culture.  When I was in my late 20s and early 30s, I started listening to that kind of music.  There was a radio station in my local town that played it.  And I enjoyed it very much.  It made me yearn for simpler times that I never got to experience because it all occurred before I was born.  I also grew up with Bing Crosby, Andy Williams, Doris Day, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Perry Como and many other singers that were very popular during the 1950s and 60s.  They would appear on many variety shows of the 1970s and most had their own Christmas Specials every year on TV.

Well, it was in my late 20s and early 30s that I decided that I liked this kind of music.  I started buying CDs of it.  At that time, it was before Amazon and eBay and most of that kind of music had to be bought out of catalogs.  I would get 4 or 5 catalogs every month or two and I would go through them picking out the best CDs that were available.  My CD collection has grown rapidly.

Around October and November, these catalogs started featuring Christmas CDs by these same artists that I had been collecting.  I couldn’t believe how many Christmas CDs there were.  Almost every artist released one.  I gobbled them up ravenously.  Then I would be out in stores and see their seasonal displays of Christmas music.  Kroger’s always had a big display of Christmas music CDs for $5.00 each.  My Christmas music collection grew quickly.  I mean, very quickly.  I was buying a hundred or so every year.  It combined my love of Christmas, music of the 50s and 60s, and the fun of collecting.  I guess I am a collector.  If you are a collector, you know what I mean.  It doesn’t matter what you collect, if you are a collector, you enjoy searching out the rare and unusual and striving for completeness in your collection, whether it be music, toys, action figures, Lego or old beer cans.  Collecting is fun and a great hobby.  It doesn’t matter what you collect.  If you are a collector, you know what I mean.

When I first started collecting Christmas music, I couldn’t wait until October and November when all the Christmas music selections would appear in the catalogs.  I couldn’t wait to see what new gems would be available.  I couldn’t wait to start listening to Christmas music at home and on the radio.  I know it bothers most people that radio stations that feature all Christmas music all day during the Christmas season start playing Christmas music the day after Halloween, but I usually start listening to it on the radio at that time.  Yes, I’m one of those.

Well, fast forward about 30 years, and now my Christmas music collection is enormous; currently, over 1700 titles.  I had to take about 12 years off from buying Christmas music due to personal financial reasons, but I’ve been back collecting for the last five years, and with vengeance.  I’m not really trying to make up for the years I wasn’t able to purchase Christmas music, it’s just that I love it so much and I want it all.  It’s not unusual for me to buy 300 or 400 Christmas CDs a year.  I bought so many over the last three years, that I need to take a little break and deal with what I have on the shelf.  I have about 500 Christmas CDs and 300 Christmas LPs that I haven’t even recorded yet.  But even though I’m taking a little time off, I still got a little over 100 this year.  But that was because I saw things that I had to have before they were no longer available.

Now with this blog, I listen to Christmas music all year round.  😊