After over a decade of releasing Christmas covers, from “This Christmas” when I was a teenager to my 2020 COVID cover series to my version of “This Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” I released last year, I finally released my first original holiday song, “Blue on Christmas”, on November 30.

The way this song came to be was not from one of the many studio sessions I had where the goal was to write a Christmas carol. It was actually written as a respite for me during the 2024 U.S. presidential election. My favorite time of year is from when the leaves start falling in the northeast through New Years Day, and I felt like a lot of my autumn joy had been stifled by the divisive election and the empty rhetoric we see year after year from certain politicians; not to be cliche but the “vibes” were off. I was letting myself wallow in self-pity and I was truly feeling like a Grinch. As I saw my baby niece and nephew getting into the spirit I had to remind myself, “Do not let this ruin your joy for the holiday season. You can be sad right now but do not let this make me blue on Christmas.”

As we get older there are less and less special moments where everyone you love is all together. When you are a kid the most exciting thing about Christmas is no longer the magic of Santa Claus and the Christmas miracles but as an adult the thing that really makes the holiday season special is who you spend it with and the memories you make together.

This actually isn’t the first original holiday song I’ve written. For the past few years I have been trying to write one I loved, but have been hyper critical of my attempts because I typically listen to the same songs every year and the Billboard Charts often have the same Christmas songs every year. I knew I had to get other people to break out of their routine and put a new song in the rotation. It had to be special. Musically, my biggest inspiration for writing a Christmas carol has to be the queen of Christmas herself, Mariah Carey, but I also took inspiration from Norah Jones and Michael Buble - artists whose voices are timeless, warm and inviting. I wanted this song to be an instant Christmas classic. I wanted it to fit on a playlist with my favorites: “All I Want For Christmas Is You”, “Mistletoe” and “Santa Baby”.

I wrote what would become the first verse and chorus of “Blue on Christmas” alone at home in early November snuggled up with my dogs in bed, thinking about how much happier I would be if my husband was home (he was at work) and then recorded a voice memo of the melody and sent it to my friend and producer, Taylor Sparks. He told me to come over as soon as it was done to get it recorded and out before Christmas!

This song was inspired by gingerbread, the fresh smell of pine, watching leaves fall off trees in the northeast, wrapping presents and hoping to get under the mistletoe and spend time with the ones you love most. The perfect time to listen to “Blue on Christmas” is right now - December! It lends itself to being listened to while decorating the Christmas tree, baking cookies or doing anything else holiday-related! I really think it can hang on your playlist with all the classics, and I hope you include it in some part of your holiday season this year. I hope it helps you remember not to let anything or anyone make you blue on Christmas.

This year marks the first time I have taken a Christmas song and released a cover on any streaming service.

When the idea came to release a cover, I knew I wanted to sing one of my favourite holiday songs, "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” by Darlene Love. I have always loved how she sounds on it. Her vocals are so powerful and raw.

I was nervous at first about covering the song because it's a hard one to tackle, but I wanted the challenge to put myself into the song. The Vancouver-based producers The Renaissance produced this track. We used the original as a guide and added a modern spin to the beautiful classic.

I loved the recording process of bringing it to life again. One of my favourite parts was doing the layered harmonies with Dan Botch (one-half of The Renaissance). It was so fun getting to sing a Christmas song and get into the holiday spirit in the studio. If you listen to the steel guitar, you'll hear a sick steel guitar solo by the one and only Travis Toy, another of my favourite parts of the song.

I hope you enjoy my version of “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” and have a wonderful holiday season!

Learn more about Annika Catharina and listen to her song "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" on our Chimneyside Chats playlist! 

She was born and raised in Alabama so she has some great generational recipes. Every year she makes my great-grandmother Willowdeen’s sour cream cake with her chocolate fudge icing. If we’re lucky she’ll all whip up some of her Aunt Francis' hot fudge too. Unfortunately, I can’t share the recipes themselves but that's how you know they're good. There is something extremely welcoming and nostalgic about visiting home for Christmas and being greeted by the smell of recipes I grew up around.

I think something all three of us look forward to every year is Dan’s annual Christmas party. His fiancée and he will usually stir up a batch of mulled wine and invite the usual suspects over for a game of White Elephant… sounds completely mature and innocent, right? 

WRONG. 

Every year without fail Dan’s Christmas party goes off the rails. The type of ‘off the rails’ party that shouldn't leave the house but always finds itself at the local dive until the lights come on. It is like we are all 17 again and our parents just left town for the weekend. It’s the perfect way to end the year with all of our favorite people. It’s truly the event of the season.

One of the main staples of Christmas was my grandmother's Icebox Cake. She passed over a decade ago, but my aunt still makes it every year, and it just wouldn't feel like Christmas without it. It's also a great reminder of my grandmother. Anytime I have a piece of the cake, I think of my grandparents and all the holidays spent with them and how much they loved when the whole family was together. It's like they're with us in spirit and spending time with us, weirdly enough, through a cake.

It's an easy recipe, and I hope you all enjoy it! And who knows, you may make some memories with the cake just like it has done for my family!