#2 - Top 25 Christmas Songs (According To Me!)

It's Christmas Eve!  It's also Day #24 of the POP CULTURE ADDICT'S ADVENT CALENDAR where this year I've been counting down my favourite Christmas tunes.

I've already counted down twenty-three songs, and just to recap, here is the list so far...

25.  Here We Come A-Wassailing Medley
24.  Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree
23.  Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
22.  Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)

21.  Merry Christmas Everyone
20.  Step Into Christmas
19.  Same Old Lang Syne
18.  O Christmas Tree

17.  The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)
16.  Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy
15.  Frosty the Snowman
14.  Merry Christmas Darling

13.  Santa Claus is Coming To Town
12.  Silver and Gold
11.  Sleigh Ride
10.  It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
09.  Christmas Wrapping
08.  Snoopy vs. The Red Baron
07.  Carol of the Bells
06.  White Christmas
05.  O Holy Night
04.  Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy

03.  Linus and Lucy

And for today's Christmas Eve entry, we have a song that was featured on the soundtrack of the sequel to the 1990 film, "Home Alone".

Now, can we just state that for Kevin McCallister, Christmas Eve is probably one of the most unluckiest days of the whole calendar year?  I mean, on Christmas Eve, he's forced to confront the Wet Bandits (or Sticky Bandits in the sequel) on Christmas Eve after his family somehow ends up leaving him behind. 

I mean, sure, it was fun for us to watch Kevin clobber the bad guys with blowtorches, Christmas ornaments, Micro Machines, and cans of paint.  But I could probably think of a million other things I would rather be doing on Christmas Eve than defend my home against burglars.

At least in the first film, Kevin was in the comfort of his own home and knew exactly where everything was and what to do.  He didn't have that luxury in the second film.  After all, a mix-up at the airport saw Kevin spending the holidays in New York City while the rest of his family went to Florida.  And in the second film, he only had his uncle's dilapidated townhouse as shelter.  That, plus the fact that he was alone in the largest city in the world which could be extremely scary to walk in at night.  Of course, this begs the question...why would Kevin tangle with his enemies this time around in the first place?

The answer lies in my second favourite Christmas song of all time.

I won't lie...I absolutely love the song "Christmas Star".  Funnily enough, you never hear the full version of this beautiful tune in the movie.  It plays exactly twice - once when Kevin is starting to miss his family after seeing a star in the sky, and another when he discovers the source of the star is a children's hospital.

The same children's hospital that a toy store called "Duncan's Toy Chest" plans to donate all of its money to - the same toy store that the Sticky Bandits plan to rob on Christmas Eve. 

This is the moment in which Kevin declares that "you can mess with a lot of things, but you can't mess with kids on Christmas", and leads brilliantly into the booby trapping of the townhouse scene.

But back to "Christmas Star".  The melody is so beautiful, yet sad at the same time.  It's a song that fits the movie theme well - missing someone at Christmas.  And yes, I know that for many of us, Christmas won't be the same because there's going to be people who won't be there to celebrate it with us.  So, I suppose this song brings some comfort in having us believe that our lost loved ones are there with us - even if it is in the form of a star in the sky.

To be honest, I have no idea why this song seems to be overlooked on the playlists of many radio stations.  I mean, yes, the song is only twenty-five years old, but it's still worth playing.  It's a modern Christmas tune that sounds traditional, and that's not something a lot of people can pull off.  But then again, John Williams did the score for this and hundreds of other movies.  If anyone could make a song this wonderful, it's him.  Here, have a listen for yourselves.

Tomorrow is Christmas Day, and the final song on my list.  While it's a most unusual choice for my favourite Christmas song, I couldn't think of a better tune to end this off.  After all, Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year where I would hope that EVERYONE feels welcome.