“Christmas Wrapping”

by The Waitresses

Listen to the Song:

[audio:08_ChristmasWrapping.mp3]

This is a song I had not heard until this year, so that speaks to how much I liked it to include it when this was the first Christmas season I had heard it. “Christmas Wrapping” is a really fun new-wave style song that musically does exactly what I like.

The song goes through quite a few little progressions – a little guitar rift and some jolly percussion instruments introduce the listener to the song’s primary beat of guitar and drums. The Waitresses lead singer Patty Donahue flirts with actually rapping through the song which comes out really cool despite my less than enthused relationship to that genre. The interlude of horns really makes this song fun as they bridge the gap between verses.

Lyrically the song follows the tale of a woman who has had such a busy year that she could not connect with a guy she met earlier in the song. Of course the song ends happily when they meet at a convenient store after both forgetting to buy cranberries. Who doesn’t love those canned cranberries!? Lines like, “Bah, humbug! / No, that’s too strong / ‘Cause it is my favorite holiday,” and “Hardly dashing through the snow / Cause I bundled up too tight” and my personal favorite, “When what to my wondering eyes should appear / In the line is that guy I’ve been chasing all year!” All of these lines take a timeless Christmas saying and infuse them with some new-wave charm. It makes for a great blend of timeless and today.

If I had known about this song prior to this year I dare say it would be higher on this list because it is really good. For now it remains in the respectable number eight spot.

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