Okay. Last week I shared some of my least favorite Christmas songs.
Songs like, Simply having a Wonderful Christmastime, Do They Know It’s Christmas, The Christmas Shoes, and basically anything by Trans Siberian Orchestra.
To wrap up last week’s gem of creative writing, I invited readers to share some of their own personal holiday negativities — this in an attempt to purge the season of unpleasantness, leaving room for just beauteous wonderfulness.
This is my attempt at making the holidays better for us all. (I know, I could do things like work the soup kitchen, give to the poor, lash out at bigotry, war and intolerance, but where’s the fun in that?)
At any rate, the response has been interesting. Mostly, folks were shocked I don’t like Trans Siberian Orchestra stuff.
Some were pretty indignant. All I can say to youse guys is this: it takes all kinds to make this big, ol? world spin around and, there’s no accounting for your bad taste.
I also heard from somebody, that they made a movie of The Christmas Shoes.
I’ll make sure not to watch it. I took some heat for not mentioning, All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth. And, I got the following e-mail.

Hi Don
I agree with almost all of your dislikes. (Babs) Streisand’s Jingle Bells is the most over-the-top, irritating version of that song ever.
But, Trans Siberian’s Pachebel Christmas song with the kids choir is Bee-you-tee-full.
My most disliked, and fastest radio station changer is I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas. Yuck!
What bothers me the most, however, is the pressure put upon us all to be ‘politically correct? by avoiding ‘Merry Christmas? or using anything having a religious connotation.
To those few who are offended I say, ‘Get over it.?
Merry Christmas, Don
Andy S., Oxford, MI
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Andy, I hope you feel better, now that you have vented. I have one question, though. What is a pachebel?
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As not to be a total Donny Downer, here are some of my favorite Christmas jingles. (For the sake of having fun, I have chosen just the secular songs, not the traditional classics like Silent Night.)
From Dean Martin, I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm and Baby, It’s Cold Outside.
I also like, Burl Ives? Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer and Have A Holly Jolly Christmas!
My mostest favoritist Christmas songs come from Bing Crosby. And, while most of the stuff with the big band sound, fills me with warm memories of the days of yore, my most favorite Bing Christmas song is Do You Hear What I Hear? I crank up the volume at home when that baby comes on (much to the chagrin of anybody within two city blocks).
I also dig Lou Rawls? Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, Bob Seger’s Little Drummer Boy, Jimmy Durant’s Frosty The Snowman and the Drifter’s White Christmas.
Which leads me to more favorites, those from Elvis? 1957 Christmas Album. One side has secular songs (and the ones I like the best are, Santa Bring My Baby Back To Me and Santa Claus Is Back In Town) and on the other is a mix of gospel and traditional songs.
What I didn’t know, until I started fishing around the internet is this: When the writer of White Christmas (Irving Berlin) heard Elvis? version of the classic Bing Crosby hit, he blew a gasket. Berlin not only called for a banning of the entire album, but also called radio stations across the country to make sure they didn’t play it.
So much for the Christmas spirit of 1957.
Oh, and for you blues lovers, check out Alligator Record’s Christmas Collection.
I believe this CD has a cool dozen or so righteous yuletide songs you’ll like.
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There is still time for us to liberate you from your negative holiday thoughts, so send them in to yours truly at don@dontrushmedon.com And, if you do not sent them in, do not blame Don for a less than stellar holiday.