A really great genre-hopping Christmas collection – one that features jazzy tunes, vocal numbers, and a few rock and country tracks as well – all of which really live up to the vintage spirit of the image on the cover! The set follows nicely in the style of the similarly-titled predecessor – and features an array of 29 postwar tracks that come from that moment when the marketing of Holiday spirit was a very big part of the music business! There's plenty of familiar tunes here, done in unusual versions – and some more obscure Christmas cuts that definitely make the set worthwhile – on titles that include "Mrs Santa Claus" by Nat King Cole, "Peace On Earth" by Peggy Lee, "Hello Mr New Year" by The Coolbreezers, "Merry Christmas To You All" by Elton Britt, "Christmas Candy" by Margaret Whiting & Jimmy Wakely, "It's A Marshmallow World" by Vic Damone, "Snowbound For Christmas" by The DeCastro Sisters, "Be A Santa" by McGuire Sisters, "When Santa Claus Gets Your Letter" by Gene Autry, "Sleigh Ride" by Johnny Desmond, "Here Comes Santa Claus" by Sammy Kaye with Don Cornell, "Christmas Is A Feeling In Your Heart" by Andy Williams, "Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer" by 101 Strings, "Jingle Bell Rock" by Eddy Arnold, and "Snowy White Snow & Jingle Bells" by Vaughn Monroe. CD

Maybe one of the coolest country Christmas collections we've ever heard – but then again, we'd expect no less from the folks at Bear Family! There's a lot of great original tunes here – which are mixed with country-fied takes on more popular Holiday songs from the midcentury years – often served up here by singers that were the bigger names of their generation, caught in a very special setting for the month of December! As usual with Bear Family, the presentation is great – vivid images inside and out – and notes on every single track – supporting a selection of 27 titles that include "I'll Be Walking The Floor This Christmas" by Ernest Tubb, "Senor Santa Claus" by Jim Reeves, "Christmas Dinner" by Tennessee Ernie Ford, "Snowdeer" by Carl Smith, "They Shined Up Rudolph's Nose" by Johnny Horton, "Santa Claus Jr" by Eddi Cletro, "It's Christmas Every Day In Alaska" by Hank Thompson, "It Was Jesus (undubbed)" by Johnny Cash, "Reindeer Boogie" by Hank Snow, "The Christmas Boogie" by Davis Sisters, "I'm Your Private Santa Claus" by Eddie Arnold, "I'm Gonna Tell Santa Claus On You" by Faron Young, "Captain Santa Claus" by Bobby Helms, "Santa's Big Parade" by The Louvin Brothers, and "Christmas In My Hometown" by Sonny James. CD