For all the unpleasant stuff that’s happened this year—the deaths of David Bowie and Leonard Cohen, the election of Donald Trump, and the continued existence of Ted Nugent, among them—it’s been a pretty great December so far.

The local food co-op hasn’t run out of Avalon Dairy eggnog, Sufjan Stevens’s “Idumea (Sacred Harp)” is getting at least six plays per day on the iPod Classic, and we actually managed to get through A Charlie Brown Christmas without doubling up on the Paxil.

Part of the reason we’re in a great mood is that the holiday season has seemed extra festive in Vancouver this year, which has everything to do with the snow that’s blanketed the ground since the beginning of December.

Because Christmas is all about sharing, we asked some of our favourite local artists to share their warm and fuzzy memories from the most wonderful time of year.

Merry Christmas. And if there’s only one bottle of Avalon left on the shelf at the co-op, please leave it for us.

Nolen Scott of Within Rust

Within Rust hasn’t said outright that it’s on a quest to make emo cool again—and the band classifies itself in the broader “alternative rock” genre—but you can hear that unspoken mission in every earnestly wrought note frontman Nolen Scott sings. Catch Within Rust at LanaLou’s (362 Powell Street) on January 14.

Favourite Christmas song: “My all-time favourite Christmas song is ‘Fairytale of New York’ because I consciously heard it for the first time when I saw that Bill Murray Christmas special, and it really goes well with how I associate this time of year with drinking, broken dreams, and the approaching death of the elderly.”

Best gift ever: “This one Christmas when I was eight, I think, my parents got my sister and I a CD each. For her, it was an Alice in Chains album and for me it was Rush Chronicles. My parents decided right then and there that she would be groomed to grow up to be a sociable person who appreciated current pop culture and I would become a pedantic nerd. Our guitarist Matt actually recently stole it from my room to put in his car and I’m pretty choked.”

Jovana Golubovic 

Whether she’s blasting out peppy garage pop with Les Chaussettes or easing into smoother retro R&B sounds as a solo artist, Jovana Golubovic has a knack for crafting timeless hooks.

Favourite Christmas song: “I sing in a classical church choir on Sunday mornings. All of the music is technically Christmas songs! We forget that at one point in time almost all music was about baby Jesus, except for folk music, which was still about girls and poor life decisions. This opens up so many songs that perhaps one hadn’t even considered as Christmas songs!

“So it’s fair to say that I like the old stuff for its heightened sense of drama, since people feared God more or whatever. You know, ‘Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the Earth—have mercy on us!’ is so much more fun than ‘Walking in a winter wonderland’, especially when sung in Latin.”

Best gift ever: “A couple years ago, my twin gave me a little black heart-shaped stone that belonged to her and to our aunt before her. We had had matching ones, but I lost mine in a river. (How romantic!) But that was not the best gift. The best gift was what my father thought it was, considering my reaction of bawling my eyes out: a box of freshly cut onions!”

Jason Corbett of ACTORS

ACTORS frontman Jason Corbett transports listeners back to the synth-fuelled days of the ’80s, sporting a sound that is, in the multi-instrumentalist’s words, both “aggressive and creamy”.

Favourite Christmas song: “I’m more of a Halloween kinda guy, so it took me a minute to figure this one out. The one song that really stands out to me is the version of ‘Blue Christmas’ that Elvis performs during his 1968 comeback special. It just comes across so cool and easy. I went through a huge Elvis phase in my 20s. I think people forget how good he really was.”

Best gift ever: “My dad bought me a Mickey Mouse drum kit when I was about six. I woke up before everyone on Christmas Day and started smashing away at it, waking up the whole household. I wanted to start a band right there. After that morning, I was encouraged to play guitar instead.”

Pierce Kingan of the Prettys

Layering guitar riffs, augmenting rhythms, and sporting uplifting saxophone lines, crunchy glam-punk band the Prettys have mastered the art of keeping rock ’n’ roll fresh. Pierce Kingan is on singing and bass-playing duties.

Favourite Christmas song: “ ‘Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer’ was recorded in 1978 by Elmo & Patsy. I first heard it in ’98 or ’99 at my friend’s house. Our dads were drinking buddies, and they’re probably both drinking together in heaven right now. Anyhow, the song was fucking magical, and it blew my little mind. It’s cheeky and cheery, and best of all it’s a positive song about death.”

Best gift ever: “Gooey Louie has to be my favourite present, because it was one of those Christmases where I got exactly what I wanted. I think I was about eight or nine. It’s the best version of Russian roulette out there for kids.”

Iain Howie

Electronic-music upstart Iain Howie has not only become a regular behind the decks at premier local events, the youngster’s Radiohead-meets-house-music production is also turning heads at various record labels.

Favourite Christmas song: “I tend to cringe at the thought of Christmas music—it’s all just a bit strange to me. That being said, digging back to find the likes of Nat King Cole and Sinatra is the way to go. Cole’s version of ‘The Christmas Song’ has that wonderful jazzy warmth that’s exactly what you need at this time of year. Apart from that, my family always liked to put on a CD from their sizable classical collection. Waking up and hearing the faint hum of strings from the living room signified that family time had begun.”

Best gift ever: “I have a very fond memory of coming downstairs on Christmas Day and being sent to the basement to find a drum set in the corner of the room. Sure, it was a rental, and it was lying in a heap on the floor, but it was totally unexpected and something that I’d wanted for a very long time—I was thrilled. Oh yes, and socks. You can never go wrong with socks.”

Debra-Jean Creelman

Debra-Jean Creelman covers a lot of emotional ground on her dramatic new EP Railtown Sessions Volume 4, the former Mother Mother member sounding dangerously close to the edge on the distortion-frazzled “Maybe They Were Right” and joyfully in love with first-wave Motown on “Midnight Sun”.

Favourite Christmas song: “I have left behind many of the traditions and trappings of Christmas that as a child I took as an absolute. But the songs that were playing during what was a consistently harmonious and magical time in my young life will probably stay with me forever. Mahalia Jackson singing ‘O Holy Night’ is the embodiment of that feeling of nostalgia and comfort for me.”

Best gift ever: “On my seventh Christmas, my sister and I were given a red and black ghetto blaster that came with a microphone that recorded to tape. I spent hours recording myself singing along to various records from my parents’ collection, which probably would have included some Kenny Rogers, Nana Mouskouri, and Neil Diamond, among others. This early delve into recording came to an untimely end a few months later, when the microphone was destroyed during a sibling-rivalry-fuelled tug of war.”

Nardwuar the Human Serviette

Last holiday season, Nardwuar the Human Serviette was recovering from a stroke. Perhaps proving that there is a God, one of North America’s most legendary interviewers was back on his feet and going strong in 2016, even finding time to release a ripping new full-length, Ogopogo Punk, with his long-running garage band the Evaporators.

Favourite Christmas song: “ ‘Power Pop Santa’ by the Pointed Sticks from Vancouver, B.C., Canada! Released in 2012 on La-Ti-Da Records. The Pointed Sticks formed in 1978 and along the way produced the catchiest tunes ever to come out of the Pacific Northwest. They even appeared in the movie Out of the Blue from 1980, with Dennis Hopper. ‘Power Pop Xmas Santa’ is no exception! It even shouts out Nikki Corvette and a Farfisa organ!”

Best gift ever: “It will be a gift to myself this year! A book: I Survived D.O.A. by Randy Rampage, released in 2016 on GFY Press. I love anything punk-history-related and am really curious about Randy’s D.O.A. tales! Plus, Bev Davies does all the photos! Doot doo!”