Happy December 11! Christmas is two weeks from today, which means some of you are nearly done wrapping, baking, and cleaning and the rest of us are really just getting started. Whichever way you fall, you’re doing great! You’ll be ready before you know it!

However way you cut it, though, folks are starting to get a little tired. So I thought maybe you might need to wake up your brains and see if you can put these 15 songs in order of when they were written. If there’s some question, go with the date at which the lyrics and melody were paired. (For instance, if you were picking a date for “Turn! Turn! Turn!” you’d place its publication in the 20th century for Pete Seeger’s composition, rather than in a date BCE, when Ecclesiastes was written down.) Get your holiday thinking caps on (I assume they’re red with white fur trim) and see how well you do.

Oh, and some folks work better when they’ve got music to listen to. Here’s Sharon Jones’ “Big Bulbs.” Think of it as my version of the “Final Jeopardy” jingle.

1. “All I Want for Christmas Is You”
2. “Hallelujah”
3. “Silent Night”
4. “Jingle Bells”
5. “Joy to the World”
6. “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”
7. “O Holy Night”
8. “White Christmas”
9. “Jingle Bell Rock”
10. “Silver Bells”
11. “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town”
12. “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”
13. “A Holly, Jolly Christmas”
14. “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”
15. “Mary’s Boy Child”

I’ll post the answer tomorrow, when you’ll be delighted to know we once again have a host who’s not me! Join us then!