When the leaves go from green to red, it seems fitting that my Spotify playlists should match. I added the first few Christmas songs to my most recent playlist in mid-October, because there’s no such thing as a time too early to listen to Christmas music. 

Streaming Christmas music should depend on when you’re thinking about the holiday, whether in July or after Thanksgiving. Some people keep a strict rule regarding when they begin listening and won’t go anywhere near that corner of Spotify before they’ve eaten turkey and had awkward conversations with relatives. But what’s a better way to survive Thanksgiving, or at best enhance your experience, than with the musical musings of Nat King Cole and Mariah Carey? 

Now post-fall break, we’re more than halfway through the semester. Two full weeks of school, Thanksgiving break, and final exams stand between us and an extended escape from reading, assignments, papers, tests, and on-campus jobs. There’s plenty to love about life in Hillsdale, but the continuous swamps of piling to-do lists leave little time for leisure, whether the Aristotelian or Gen Z kind. Goodbye to the mid-semester slump: hello, final stretch before Thanksgiving. Clinging to memories of Christmas is simply the best way to get through it, and nothing evokes happy, reminiscent affection for Christmas more powerfully than a favorite childhood tune. 

I started small: adding a few staples to a playlist I was already listening to. For me, that meant “White Christmas” and “Mele Kalikimaka” fit right in with the vibe of the rest of my current favorites. Find a few songs that match what you’re already listening to. Notice how quickly your mood lifts when amid the Spotify shuffle, the dulcet tones of Michael Bublé’s “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” bring an extra pep to your lagging step. 

Yet, for every Cindy Lou Who, there will be a Grinch. Friends might react in horror at your joy, but be patient with them. They’ve merely bought into the ever-present, ever-false myth that Christmas music can get old and tired. Fortunately, you know better. Christmas music is cool, every month of the year, every time of day, and on every holiday. If you’re thinking about Christmas, it’s a perfect time for Christmas music. 

So, just in case you’re still not thinking about it, picture this. In early December days, snow falls softly outside the Heritage Room’s warm light. You sit in a red leather armchair, fire crackling in the hearth in front of you. Tomorrow’s your last final and you couldn’t be more prepared. Every paper has been turned in, and your most difficult exams are behind you. Mom has promised a warm plate of cookies will be waiting for you when you get home in a couple of days, and your younger sibling recently begrudgingly admitted he’s excited to see you. The union sparkles with Christmas lights and tiny, fake evergreen trees, and a full-sized, beautifully decorated tree sits at home, all the ornaments of your childhood dangling from it. It is a lovely, silent night, and Frank Sinatra plays through your fully-charged AirPods.