It's Christmastime now, but we have no lights. We have no tree. I still have little pumpkins and fall leaves and other autumnal things decorating my house.

It's not that I don't love Christmas--I do. Usually I'm all for pulling out the decorations the very day after Thanksgiving--I never have been a Black Friday shopper, and I'd much rather have fun making my house look festive then go out and fight off crowds of people. But this year, between a husband who has been away and a kid who has been sick, I just haven't been motivated to go up to the attic and drag all the Christmas boxes down by myself. I've had great plans of getting it out, of doing some kind of advent observance with my girls, of doing all kinds of fabulous things. But I just haven't gotten to them.

But, there is one thing I've been doing--just one--to make my house seem merry and bright: Christmas music!



I have my Christmas playlist all ready to go on iTunes, and so all I have to do is point and click, and my house is filled with the sounds of the season. It's a mix of old and new, classical and pop, and it fills my heart with joy. I have the same two Amy Grant holiday albums that my mom used to play every year when I was growing up. Nothing makes me feel like it's really Christmas more than belting along with Amy, "And you don't have to be an an-gel, to sing harmony...you don't have to be a child, to love the mystery!" It takes me back to every childhood Christmas season I ever had, instantly.

The last few years I've also been taking advantage of free holiday downloads from Amazon and iTunes. My new favorites are "O Come all Ye Faithful" from Pomplamoose, and "Christmastime All Year" from Rosie Thomas. Anyone else have some spectacular Christmas tunes I should know about?

I know that soon--this weekend, I have promised the girls--we will decorate our house to the nines, and I'll get in my Christmas groove. But in the meantime, I can at least close my eyes, listen to the songs I love, sing my way into some Christmas spirit.