Christmas Tree, What Will You Be...

When I was growing up in a small town in Wisconsin, one of my favorite times of the year was Christmas. (Still is!) And one of the best parts for me was when it was time to get a Christmas tree. It was such an adventure, and it was also always a bit of a mystery. Where would we get it? What would it look like? Tall? Skinny? Short? Stout? How would we decorate it? Tinsel? Garland? Big lights? Twinkle lights? Every year was unique. But it always looked great to me! Even the several years we had an artificial tree, each one was different from the previous year. It's the same way today with my own family – each tree is different from the last. And each year I wonder, "Christmas tree, what will you be this year?"

As an homage to this wonderful tradition, I wrote the song "Christmas Tree, What Will You Be..." It's a light, happy tune that's unison and easy to learn. The lyrics ponder all of the different possibilities for this year's Christmas tree. You could make up some of your own lyrics, if you want.

The recorded accompaniment is very upbeat featuring piano, guitars, synths, strings, drums, and of course, jingle bells. Let your kids move freely when they sing this bouncy tune. The lyrics lend themselves to some fun pantomime. It might be neat to wear Santa hats and lots of red and green. If you're really ambitious, have a tree in front of your singers and have a small group putting various decorations on it as the song is being sung. However you choose to use it, just have fun. Gee, I wonder what next year's tree will look like... – KH