My family is fortunate enough to live just minutes from an incredible Christmas tree farm. Every year, we drive to the quaint, family-owned agro-tourism destination to pick out, and chop down, our favorite bushy evergreen. Afterwards, we love grabbing some hot cocoa and popcorn in the festive-themed barn before taking our tree home to decorate.
In the evening, memories of Christmases past flood my brain as we hang each special ornament.
My daughter, a 9-year-old musician, loves to serenade us with the strains of Christmas music emanating from her piano.
Most of you know that I come from a long line of musical predecessors. My mother is a violinist/vocalist, her mother was a pianist/organist, and even my great-great grandfather Panter McIlvain was a fiddle player. A couple of years ago when my grandmother passed away, I inherited my ancestor’s turn-of-the century French violin (pictured here).
However, what you may not realize is that my children get their musical genes from both sides of the family, mine and my husband’s.
Although he himself is not a musician, his mother, Shirley Rescot, is a talented pianist and former church organist. I have been thrilled to collaborate with her over the years, and you can enjoy her festive accompaniments on a couple of the jazzy songs, including “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” and “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.”
“O Christmas Tree,” although short, is particularly special because it features the 3-generation Rescot family, with an introduction by my daughter on piano and singing “O Tannenbaum” in German, followed by a duet by Shirley and me.
I’d be thrilled if you listened to these songs as you decorate your own Christmas tree this season!
Song details and history: