This is fun. It’s fun to write lyrics describing a holiday. The only problem is many have been written – for a lot of different holidays - and it can be hard to think of new material. IF – that’s if… you go by the old standard way of thinking about the holidays and what to write about.

There are a lot of holidays. There are a lot of cultures. There are a lot of different celebrations from all different races, ethnicities, and religions. But one thing holds true when writing holiday lyrics for them all. Feelings. That’s right. Think of your favorite holiday. Now think of why it’s your favorite. Perhaps it’s the smells, the sounds, the fun, the family craziness, the loving calmness… it’s remembering the favorite feelings and putting them on paper or your device.

If you can write about your own experience when writing holiday lyrics, they may be somewhat similar to someone else’s (of their holiday) but it won’t be exact. In fact, I find the traditions of holidays vary greatly from family to family. Therefore, yours in unique. Write about that. The uniqueness of your own experience. Those make the best stories. When you write about your own personal experience, it gives the reader (the listener – once it becomes a song) a peek into how you do things. How your family celebrates each time is often a slightly different experience – within the same holiday. Some are good and some are not so good. But that’s where the beauty comes in from a lyric writing standpoint. You get to tell the story your way. It’s a very cool thing because it’s can be, and probably is, very different than someone else’s. Anyone can write about his or her experience. It’s what you do with it at the end that makes it into great lyrics or not.

So, write your holiday experience with fond memories (or not fond) and it will be unique. Dark or light, good or bad, it will be your own to create. Most holiday songs I know of - through life - are happy and uplifting. But there are excellent ones that are sad and poignant. There is no right or wrong. But being honest about your experience and the feelings that go along with it are important. Because we all have a holiday story to share. Whatever holiday it may be… we all have a story that could be turned into song lyrics, and made in to a song. And to me, that’s pretty awesome!

Check out some of our holiday songs on our Featured Song page!