Which Christmas songs should get the ‘Heave-Ho-Ho-Ho’?

WASHINGTON — It’s Christmas Eve in Washington.

Actually, it’s not.

But chances are, if you head into a department store or, dare we say, scan down your radio dial, you may hear that song, along with a whole host of treacly, schmaltzy Christmas songs pouring out of loudspeakers all across the area.

It’s bad enough that many stores start selling holiday decorations before Labor Day. Is it too much to ask for the Christmas tunes to wait till after Thanksgiving?

Now, granted, some holiday tunes are classics for a reason. Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas.” Frank Sinatra’s “Christmas Waltz.” Nat King Cole’s “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire.” It’s safe to say they’ll never really go out of style.

So why, then, does it seem like every single pop star alive today has the nerve to put their own, sub-par spin on an otherwise festive genre?

I asked some of my colleagues here at WTOP to share the yuletide carols they’d like to give the HEAVE-Ho-Ho-Ho:

Adam Tuss, WTOP Sprawl and Crawl reporter: The Waitresses, “Christmas Wrapping.” “I used to like it maybe the first two times I heard it, but every Christmas now it’s just drilled into your head.”

Kate Ryan, WTOP Maryland reporter: Elton John, “Step into Christmas.” “There’s nothing Christmas-y about it, and it’s just a cheesy, cheap sentiment. There’s nothing behind it.”

Mark Lewis, WTOP anchor: Elmo & Patsy, “Grandma Got Run over By a Reindeer.” “Bad song, overplayed, terrible. Kitschy for one year. It doesn’t bear returning.”

Michelle Basch, WTOP reporter: NewSong, “The Christmas Shoes.” “Even if I want to hear some Christmas tunes, I mean, that starts to come on and it’s like, forget it. No way am I gonna listen to that song.”

What did we miss? Add to our list of Christmas music Re-gifts in the Comment section of this story.

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(Copyright 2011 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)

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