December has arrived! Can you believe how fast this year is flying by? I’m mentally in Christmas Spirit mode, I’ve been working with Hallmark Christmas movies on in the background. I do need to take a beat and tackle the wall of Christmas decor boxes towering between the dining room and living room, purge what I no longer need, and deck the halls with the rest. Hopefully I’ll make time to do that today!

Meanwhile, it’s Monday, and Monday means music! For the month of December, the running theme for the entire month is Christmas Song/Music/Tunes! Let’s get into the spirit, and let’s get this party started!

Let’s start with the title track of this artist’s yuletide album. This happy festive love song features her boyfriend, and the duet finds the two lovebirds trading lines during the verses, then harmonizing on the chorus and bridge.

After penning her intensely personal 2016 album, the artist decided to record a Christmas record. She was quoted as saying:

“It was really a whim. The way it works is you have to get it done really early, and I had no idea that I would be able to write so quickly, because I’m such a slow writer. It just came right out. I did six songs in three sessions.”

This song was originally written by her boyfriend. The artist said:

“[He] was sitting on his bus, I guess, and he began writing [the song], which he sends to me in a voice text. ‘I had no idea that he was going to be working on anything. It was a shock and when I listened to the song, it was incredible. I was like, ‘You just wrote a hit, like this song, what do you do, you just sit around on your bus, writing hits? What a jerk!’ I was jealous, you know what I mean? I want to do that.”

Her boyfriend insisted his lyrical contribution was minimal. He was quoted as saying:

“I sent [her] a couple of lines of the song. She took it and made the song what it is. I just sent her an idea. She tries to say that I co-wrote it, but I just sang on it.”

Here’s Gwen Stefani featuring Blake Shelton with “You Make It Feel Like Christmas”:

Next up, one of my favorite artists unwrapped her own claymation Christmas special last year in her new video for this song, a track off her all-original Christmas LP.

Modeled after the holiday staple Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, this video is the first of three festive music videos that will be dispersed over the three Fridays before Christmas, forming a video trilogy.

The red-and-green-haired girl seen on the LP cover plays the central role in the first installment, with the girl and her dog discovering a meddlesome, rooftop-dwelling snow monster instead of cheerful ol’ Frosty the Snowman.

After the snow monster tries to ruin Christmas by dumping mounds of snow down revelers’ chimneys, the girl lures the ice creature into a trap using plastic candy canes and a net of Christmas lights. However, the snow monster manages to melt and escape with the Sia avatar in pursuit.

The video ends with the girl following the snow monster deep into the woods alone, where she stumbles on a mysterious ice-covered house.

Give a listen to the inimitable Sia with “Candy Cane Lane”:

Her claymation ‘story’ has three parts – so the next couple of weeks you’ll get to enjoy the others, too!

Next up is a duo that teamed up for a song from the new The Grinch movie. I keep hearing great things about it, so I might have to talk Princess Nagger into going to see it with me.

In the visual of this video, the singer plays a lounge singer, while the amazing violinist, as a bartender, plays the infamous tune from the bar.

Get ready to be entertained, here’s Lindsey Stirling featuring Sabrina Carpenter with “You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch”:

Last, but certainly not least, is a brand new release from this group who started back in 1996. Their rendition of this song has been featured in Jeep commercials, so you’ll no doubt recognize this version. There isn’t much info on this release yet since it’s so new, but I know you’ll enjoy it as much as I did.

Here’s OneRepublic with “White Christmas”:

That’s a wrap for this week – have a great Monday! I’ll see you on the dance floor!

Now on to the particulars of Monday’s Music Move’s Me:   I have the supreme honor and privilege of being a co-host with the inimitable Xmas Dolly and our musical cohort, the awesome Cathy from Curious as a CAThy, and while our beloved Callie of JAmerican Spice is taking a break, our friend Michelle from Musings and Merriments with Michelle is helping out with hostess duties! And, for the month of November, our Honorary Conductor and Spotlight Dancer is me!

Want to join in the fun? It’s easy – just find a tune that rocks your boat, post it and link up – don’t forget to grab Xmas Dolly…er, um, I mean her button…over at her place here. Check out Xmas Dolly’s sidebar for the random themes we sport each week – and you can always ask for a specific theme of music you like, too. Check out the other music lovahs and let’s jam!