Fangirl Collab: "My True Love Gave To Me: Twelve Holiday Stories" Holiday Playlist

After a busy week at work, I'm back on holiday mode. :)

Laila, who you probably remember from my countless mentions and our Isla and the Happily Ever After playlist, is back to help me bring holiday cheer to your playlists. So, without further ado, here's our playlist for the awesome YA holiday anthology, My True Love Gave To Me: Twelve Holiday Stories. Enjoy!



1. Midnights by Rainbow Rowell
All I Want For Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey
I just want you for my own
More than you could ever know
Make my wish come true
All I want for Christmas is you...
I swear I was playing this song on repeat the entire time I was reading this book. I think this song is very upbeat and catchy and the lyrics really speaks about a person’s longing for someone on a holiday, someone your heart desires. And truly these short stories tell about a heart’s desire -  whether it's having your best friend return your feelings at last or finding a place you can call home, or being able to spend Christmas with your family… there is always this hopefulness during this special time of the year. But I picked this one for Rainbow Rowell’s Midnights because we know that deep down, Mags and Noel just want each other for Christmas and New Year's. - Laila

2. The Lady & The Fox by Kelly Link
Every Year, Every Christmas by Luther Vangross
I return every year, every Christmas
I come here every year, every Christmas...
Though this chapter did not really click with me and Laila, it's easy to think of a fitting song for it. Miranda and Fenny only see each other during Christmas... and only when it snows. How cruel is that? After listening to Luther Vangross' Every Year, Every Christmas, I did feel a little more tolerance towards this story. Maybe it wasn't as bad as I thought it was. - Joy

3. Angels in the Snow by Matt Dela Pena
Let It Snow by Lady Antebellum
It doesn't show signs of stopping
And I've bought some corn for popping
The lights are turned way down low
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
Shy and Haley’s accidental meeting was actually because of a snowstorm. They couldn’t go outside because of it and had to spend Christmas “alone together”. It seemed tragic in the beginning but it turned out to be a good thing because it gave Shy and Haley a chance to get to know each other. I loved how the romance in this story was not hurried and forced but you can tell that eventually, Shy and Haley will be good friends and maybe more. So yeah, let it snow some more! - Joy

4. Polaris is Where You'll Find Me by Jenny Han
Cold December Night by Michael Buble
So please just fall in love with me this Christmas
There's nothing else that I will need this Christmas
Won't be wrapped under a tree
I want something that lasts forever
So kiss me on this cold December night…
Jenny Han’s chapter has sad undertones despite the fact that it’s set in Santa’s home. The ending will either make you hopeful or brokenhearted. Cold December Night by Michael Buble is perfect for Natty. After years of living with Santa and his elves, Natty has only one wish. I don’t wanna spoil you though, so you’ll just have to read it to find out what that wish is and whether she’ll get it. ;) - Joy

5. It's a Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown by Stephanie Perkins
Underneath the Tree by Kelly Clarkson
And this year I will fall
With no worries at all
'Cause you are near and everything's clear
You're all I need
Underneath the tree...
This song has a very catchy melody that I really like and I think it also captures the funny romantic moments that were developing between Marigold and North in Stephanie Perkins’ It’s a Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown. As they spent time together rearranging  Marigold’s place to find space for her Christmas tree at the end of the day something has changed between them and found that they are falling for each other. :D They are both such great and engaging characters. Marigold sought out North for a different reason in the beginning, only to gain something more wonderful  in the end. - Laila

6. Your Temporary Santa by David Levithan
Santa Tell Me by Ariana Grande
Santa, tell me if you're really there
Don't make me fall in love again if he won't be here
Next year…
Your Temporary Santa is a bittersweet story that starts off in a happy note and ends with a not-so-happy one. Like Polaris is Where You’ll Find Me, it’s one that makes you feel hopeful but also scared of the future. I wanted a song that will capture that, while also making me feel the holiday spirit and Ariana Grande’s new song is a good one I hope. - Joy

7. Krampuslauf by Holly Black
What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve by Katharine McPhee
Wonder whose arms will hold you good and tight
When its exactly twelve oclock that night
Welcoming in the New Year
New Years Eve...
Oh, Krampus! I loved this chapter so much because despite the myth behind Krampus (how he’s the evil counterpart of Santa Claus who punishes naughty kids), it still captures the holiday spirit. When Hanna invited this man dressed as Krampus to a New Year’s party, she didn’t exactly foresee how her long-forgotten wish will suddenly come true. I generally have a better time during Christmas than New Year’s but I like the idea of a trailer New Year party, just like the one Hanna organized. - Joy

8. What The Hell Have You Done, Sophie Roth? by Gayle Forman
Love is Christmas by Sara Bareilles
I don’t care if the gifts are wrapped,
Or there’s nothing here to open.
Love is not a toy, and no paper will conceal it.
Love is simply joy that I’m home…
Sophie and Russell are both outsiders -- big city people in a small town college. But who said home is a place? Gayle Forman’s story reminds us that you can be “at home” anywhere as long as you’re with the people who matter to you. And Christmas is not about the tree, the gifts, and the food… it’s about love and the people you share it with. Sara Bareilles’ Love is Christmas is perfect for this. :) - Joy

9. Beer Buckets & Baby Jesus by Myra McEntire
Winter Dreams by Kelly Clarkson
If this is love please let me be
Swept completely off my feet
This snow globe scene is turning me
This Christmas Eve, "I" became "we"
Don't wake me please from this winter dream...
I love stories about Christmas miracles and Myra McEntire’s chapter is a special one because the miracle is in the main protagonist. Vaughn is a mischievous kid who never runs out of pranks but when his latest practical joke turns into a disaster, he didn’t expect it to be his chance to finally show people who he really is. Winter Dreams is a good song that reminded me of how Vaughn found himself in an unexpected place, and ended up spending Christmas with the girl he likes. - Joy

10. Welcome to Christmas, CA by Kiersten White
Shake Up Christmas by Train
And let me meet a girl one day that
Wants to spread some love this way
We can let our souls run free and
She can open some happiness with me...
This song describes best the holiday attitude of Ben in Welcome to Christmas,CA by Kiersten White. This mysterious new chef has been cooking up a storm that is slowly affecting the diner where Maria works. His delicious menu is giving the residents of Christmas, CA exactly what they need to smile something about the holiday season and about life in general. Ben’s cheerful attitude spreads happiness, and he simply wants to make their customers happy because he has the instinct for it. - Laila

11. Star of Bethlehem by Ally Carter
Where Are You Christmas by The Piano Guys & Sarah Schmidt
My world is changing
I'm rearranging
Does that mean Christmas changes too
Where are you Christmas...
I love this song from the movie The Grinch. I feel that this song also fits Liddy Chambers situation in Ally Carter’s Star of Bethlehem. This young girl chose to run away on Christmas time, to escape her unhappy ,superficial life…and little did she know that her runaway tactic will led her to this little town called Bethlehem and rediscover the joy of celebrating Christmas with strangers who welcome her into their arms with no hesitation, despite hiding the truth about herself. Liddy used to know what Christmas was like but then tragedy strikes , the joy of Christmas was taken away from her too and along the way so is the meaning of Christmas for her. Then Ethan and his wonderful family came into her life and she found it again. - Laila
*Note: Laila originally wanted Elizabeth South’s version but I couldn’t find that one on Spotify so we’re using the one by The Piano Guys & Sarah Schmidt. Both versions are beautiful. :)

12. The Girl Who Woke the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
Winter Song by Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson
This is my winter song.
December never felt so wrong, cause you’re not where you belong;
Inside my arms.
This is my winter song to you.
The storm is coming soon, it rolls in from the sea.
My love a beacon in the night, my words will be your light
To carry you to me...
I absolutely love Sara Bareilles and this song in particular reminded me of Laini Taylor’s The Girl Who Woke the Dreamer. The lyrics of the song speaks of someone’s love and promises that will serve as the  light and hope to  guide his/her love into their arms during dark times. That there is no need to feel lonely and afraid for someone  is there for you to carry you through the hard times. And this is what the ancient god is promising to Neve as he courted her, and I want to share this particular quote from that story:
“I will free you, and I will lift you. I will learn a thousand ways to make you laugh. Your smile will be the honey in my mead, your enchantment my delight.”
A fantastic and magical way to end the anthology and Laini Taylor delivers ;) - Laila

https://play.spotify.com/user/12137182201/playlist/3HVXF6MRZA15hn94YxEVye

So that’s our playlist! Definitely a bit more challenging than our previous collab but this was fun! It’s hard not to be excited about Christmas when you’re listening to holiday tunes like this. Thanks again, Laila, for joining me! :)

Have you read My True Love Gave to Me? Do you think we made the right song choices? What would you add if you were to make your own Christmas playlist? Let me know in the Comments!