Holiday Soundtrack: What's On Your Holiday Playlist?

The holidays are a hectic time, no doubt about it.

How do you find peace in a packed parking lot, long supermarket lines and holiday traffic?

I've discovered a hint of sanity in familiar sights, sounds and smells that only come once a year.

A panacea for my frazzled nerves, these memory-triggers take me back to a time when Santa was still real, my brother and I enjoyed a two-week vacation from school and “Nanny” visited with cookies and cake in tow.

Christmas music is an especially powerful catalyst: Bing Crosby, A Charlie Brown Christmas and Alvin and the Chipmunks were the holiday soundtrack of my youth. 

There are a few non-tradition tracks that make me think of the holidays, including “Mr. Sandman” and “Route 66” because my school chorus wasn’t allowed to sing holiday-specific music. Seriously. Somehow these songs fit the bill, and were performed year after year at the Holiday Tree Lighting.

I don't have much of a music collection, especially when it comes to Christmas tunes, but I found the “Bing Crosby Christmas” station on Pandora.com to hit the spot.

What seasonal sounds do you find soothing, or transport you back to holiday memories of yesteryear?