Fun on Friday #11: It's the most wonderful time of the year (allegedly)

I make it a rule (well, more of a guideline really) not to play any Christmas music until the 1st of December at the earliest. However, the other night Mark Pendleton boasted on Twitter that, "I actually have 2.5 days' worth of Christmas music! [on my iPod]". This sounded impressive but I knew I had a few Christmas CDs and was quietly confident I could match or beat him. But, as they say, pride comes before a fall. With only a few more tracks to add, it looks like I'll barely make 24 hours. :-( ...And this includes some tracks that appear on multiple albums but I ask you, is it possible to have too many copies of Slade's Merry Xmas Everybody - I think not!

332/365: Has anyone seen Santa?
Originally uploaded by DavidDMuir

However, a desire to get over the 24 hour mark led me to the topic for today's Fun on Friday. I wondered if there was any legal, free source of Christmas music on the Internet. The answer is, of course, yes!

The first free music I found was O Holiday Hits from (of all people) Oprah Winfrey. However these tracks are only available for 48 hours - so you'll have to be quick.

Next, I found a blog dedicated to free Christmas music called (surprisingly enough) Free Christmas Music. So far, there is only one entry for this year (the Oprah downloads) but most/all of last year's downloads are still available. For example, I liked the look of Beautiful and Unique Snowflakes and Tidings from Allison Crowe sounded interesting. (If you like Allison Crowe's music she has loads of free downlods on her website.)

The Free Christmas Music blog directed me to the Free Christmas Music customised Google search where, if you really want to, you can search for free cover versions of Last Christmas or anything else for that matter.

The Feels Like Christmas site also has some interesting Christmas songs. For example, from the current post, I have already downloaded:

• Jars of Clay: God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
• Sixpence None The Richer: Angels We Have Heard On High
• Straight No Chaser: Hark The Herald Angels/Angels We Have Heard On High

Finally, I discovered that some tracks are available as free downloads from Last.fm. So far, the only Christmas song I've downloaded is Christmastime by Noah and the Whale.

I think I've made a good start. If the chap behind the Free Christmas Music blog comes up with as many good links as he did last year, I should make it over the 24 hour mark in time for Christmas. :-)