Holiday Wishes from Idina Menzel (review)

This Thanksgiving, we had a very special treat in our house. One of the girls in my youth group, who is a foster child, came and spent Thanksgiving with us. She loooooves Christmas and Christmas songs, so we decided to pull out our Christmas decorations a few days early so that she could help us decorate the house.

I was lucky enough to receive a copy of Idina Menzel‘s new Christmas album, Holiday Wishes, to blast through our house while the Christmas decorations went up.

It was a cozy morning, the house smelled of banana bread, candles were lit, and the house got sparklier by the minute. Hearing Idina Menzel’s big voice fill up the empty spaces of our house got us all in the Christmas spirit.

First – let me say that I love Michael Buble. A lot. And Idina Menzel does a duet with him. and there’s a music video for it that is FABULOUS. If you haven’t seen it, you’re missing out. And Idina Menzel and Michael Buble singing a duet? Stop the world now. It is perfect.

One of my favorite tracks on the album is The Christmas Song. The arrangement of it captures the feeling of Christmas beautifully in a way I don’t normally think of when I hear the song. I think it’s the jingle bells. 🙂

The whole album is fabulous, except for one thing.

The one downfall of the whole album.

“All I Want For Christmas Is You.”

I love the song, but I will skip it 100% of the time in order to listen to another version. It’s a little too scream-y for me. I actually felt like she was screaming in my face, and it made me scared. Can someone else please back me up on this, or am I just ultra-sensitive to her voice?

Anyway.

I love that the track listing doesn’t just consist of the typical Christmas carols, but it also included some overlooked, beautiful winter songs: What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?, December Prayer, and River (which Lea Michele once did and it sounds the exact same to me).

 

and you want to know what was some unexpected holiday magic?

When You Wish Upon A Star. WHAT A GEM! Who knew that worked as a Christmas song? Apparently Idina Menzel. You can pick up the album on Amazon or iTunes and hear it for yourself.

So now our house is all decorated for Christmas. It’s sparkly, green and red, and cozy. I’ve been spending my evenings sitting next to the fireplace and drinking cups (multiple cups) of coffee.

 

 

I participated in the Idina Menzel Holiday Wishes album review program as a member of One2One Network. I was provided an album to review but all opinions are my own.