One of the most important things I do every single year — without fail — is put on a particular Christmas album.  I’ve been doing this every year since 1997 and I’ve been known to do it at any given time between the months of January and December.  There’s no time frame limit when it comes to this album.

Yes, it’s true. The thing Ryan Gosling’s mother and I have in common is — it’s just not Christmas without “Snowed In” by Hanson (@HansonMusic).

You can usually tell how filled with the holiday spirit a performer is by their Christmas record. Sometimes an album just sounds like every other song by the artist but with Christmas-related lyrics.

This is not the case with the Hanson brothers.

Even at the young ages they were at the time of the recording of this album (17, 14 & 12), their holiday joy was apparent in every track.  From the jingling opening keyboard taps by Taylor in the cover of Lou Baxter and Johnny Moore’s classic “Merry Christmas Baby” to the joyous “What Christmas Means to Me” and “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)“.  Let’s not forget the slow or upbeat melodies in their original songs “At Christmas“, “Christmas Time“, and “Everybody Knows the Claus” right down to the closing spiritual tracks like a brilliant melody of “O Holy Night/Silent Night/O Come All Ye Faithful” and “White Christmas“.