When the Weather Won’t Cooperate with Your Holiday Spirit
Some Christmases don’t sparkle right away. “Doesn’t Feel Like Christmas” came from one of those years—when the lights were up, but the joy took its time to arrive. It’s about finding the holiday spirit in unexpected ways and remembering that sometimes, the heart catches up after the tinsel’s already hung.
Have you ever tried to get into the Christmas mood when it’s 84 degrees outside? That’s the reality for many of us in Southern California, and honestly? There’s no Christmas song out there that captures this experience. Every classic Christmas song talks about snow, winter wonderlands, and Jack Frost nipping at your nose. But what about those of us sweating through our Santa hats?
“Doesn’t Feel Like Christmas” is my love letter to the confusion and eventual acceptance of celebrating the season in flip-flops. This is a Christmas song that needed to exist. While every Christmas movie shows snow-covered landscapes and families bundled in cozy sweaters, we’re here watching kids ride their new bikes in shorts on Christmas morning. The disconnect is real—how do you feel festive when you’re sweating through your ugly Christmas sweater?
I started writing this song back in 2018, but I could never find the right melody or structure to make it work. It sat in my files for years, this half-finished rant about warm weather ruining my holiday vibe. But here’s the thing I realized while finally finishing it: just because our Christmas looks different doesn’t make it less magical. We might have lights on cactus plants instead of snow-covered pine trees, but the joy is just as genuine.
This song started as a complaint but ended as a celebration of doing Christmas our own way. It’s defiant and proud: “Southern California winters, guess we’re keeping different scores.” And you know what? We are keeping different scores, and that’s perfectly okay.
So if you’re spending December in warm weather, this one’s for you. Blue skies and palm trees can be just as Christmassy as winter wonderlands. This is the Christmas song for everyone tired of pretending they’re in a Bing Crosby movie when they’re actually at the beach.
🎁 Tomorrow: we’ll chase a little “Christmas Magic” and rediscover how wonder always finds its way back.
For years, I’ve been hearing the same Christmas songs on repeat. Don’t get me wrong—I respect the classics—but how many times can we listen to “Jingle Bells” before we lose our minds? How many more years of Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas” dominating every playlist? When does “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” finally get to rest?
I love Christmas music, but I was desperate for something new. Something that reflected MY Christmas experiences. Something that captured the way WE celebrate—not the way people did 70 years ago. That’s why creating this album has become my favorite thing I’ve ever done. These aren’t just songs; they’re my Christmas stories, finally set to music after years of dreaming about it.
The world needs new Christmas music. Fresh perspectives. Modern traditions. Real stories from real families living real Christmases in 2025. That’s what “My Kind of Christmas” is all about.
Why This Album Matters to Me
Creating My Kind of Christmas has been the most fulfilling artistic project of my life. For years—literally since 2018—I had these ideas, these half-written songs, these Christmas stories that deserved to be told. But I couldn’t figure out how to finish them. The melodies wouldn’t come. The structure wouldn’t click. They sat in my files, gathering digital dust, probably never to be heard.
Then in 2025, I leaned into AI technology. I used Claude to help me finesse and finish the lyrics, and Suno to produce the music. I told Suno the type of voice I wanted, the genre, the instruments, the builds—and boom, it created exactly what I’d been dreaming of for years. Suddenly, these songs that had been trapped in my head were REAL. They were music. They were shareable.
I’m sick of the same Christmas songs every year. I love Mariah, I respect the classics, but we need NEW voices. New stories. New perspectives on what Christmas means in 2025. Not everyone’s Christmas looks like a Norman Rockwell painting or sounds like a 1940s radio broadcast. Some of us have tacos on Christmas Eve. Some of us celebrate in 84-degree weather. Some of us have partners who don’t get our nostalgia. And ALL of these experiences deserve to be songs.
This album is my favorite thing I’ve ever done because it’s authentically MINE. Every song reflects my family, my traditions, my frustrations, my joys. And in sharing these songs, I hope others feel seen too. Maybe your Christmas doesn’t look traditional either. Maybe you’ve been waiting for songs that reflect YOUR life.
That’s why new Christmas music matters. That’s why I’m so proud of this album. The world doesn’t need another cover of “Jingle Bells.” It needs fresh stories, honest perspectives, and music that reflects how we actually celebrate today.
My Kind of Christmas releases November 24, 2025. Thank you for listening to my kind of Christmas—may it inspire you to celebrate yours, whatever it looks like. And may it remind you that Christmas music doesn’t have to sound the same every year. We can create something new. We can tell our own stories. And that’s a beautiful thing.
What to Expect
Over the next 12 days, I’ll be taking you behind the scenes of my Christmas album, My Kind of Christmas! Each day, I’ll share the story, inspiration, and creative journey behind one of the 12 songs that make up this collection.
Some tracks are deeply personal, others are joyful reimaginings of holiday classics — and together they capture what Christmas truly means to me. From cozy studio moments to unexpected bursts of inspiration, you’ll get a glimpse into how each song came to life.
So grab a cup of cocoa, turn up the twinkle lights, and join me for the next 12 days as we unwrap My Kind of Christmas, one song at a time.
Here’s something that’s always bothered me: We go straight from Halloween to Christmas.
One day we’re carving pumpkins, and the next, “All I Want for Christmas Is You” is blasting in every store. Don’t get me wrong—I love Christmas music (I literally just made two albums of it). But what about Thanksgiving?
We’ve got one holiday entirely dedicated to gratitude, family, and reflection, and somehow it’s become the forgotten stepchild of the holiday season. No soundtrack. No anthem. Just the awkward silence between spooky season and jingle bells.
It’s time we changed that.
The Thanksgiving Music Void
Think about it. Halloween has “Monster Mash” and “Thriller.” Christmas has hundreds of classics. Even New Year’s Eve has “Auld Lang Syne.” But Thanksgiving? We’ve got… what? A handful of elementary school songs about turkeys? Adam Sandler’s comedy bit?
For a holiday that’s supposed to be about coming together and counting our blessings, we’ve left it musically empty. And in a world that feels increasingly divided and chaotic, isn’t that exactly when we need songs about gratitude the most?
Why Thanksgiving Deserves Its Own Soundtrack
Thanksgiving is rich with meaning. It’s about:
Connection – Gathering with people we love (or learning to love the people we’re stuck with at the table)
Reflection – Actually pausing to consider what we’re grateful for instead of rushing to the next thing
Imperfection – Burnt pies, awkward conversations, family dynamics in all their messy glory
Togetherness – Finding common ground, even when everything else feels polarized
Presence – Being in the moment before the chaos of the December rush
These are profound, beautiful, complicated themes. They deserve music that honors them. Music that makes us feel something. Music that gives voice to what we’re all experiencing around that table.
What Thanksgiving Music Could Be
Thanksgiving songs don’t have to be corny or cliché. They can be:
Honest about the complexity of family gatherings
Warm without being saccharine
Reflective without being preachy
Fun while still having depth
Relatable to how we actually celebrate today
Imagine songs that capture the chaos of cooking, the awkwardness of small talk with relatives, the quiet gratitude you feel when everyone’s finally gathered, the bittersweet nature of traditions as they change over time. That’s real. That’s Thanksgiving.
Filling the Gap
That’s exactly why I created My Thanksgiving—an entire album of original songs dedicated to this overlooked holiday.
With my indie singer-songwriter style and Broadway-inspired sound, I wanted to create music that feels both intimate and grand. Songs that you can play while you’re prepping the meal, gathering around the table, or reflecting on what matters. Music that gives Thanksgiving the soundtrack it deserves.
The album takes you on a complete journey through the Thanksgiving experience:
We start with “Family Thanksgiving” welcoming you in warmly, then build energy with anthems like “Sweater Weather” and the sweet nostalgia of “Apple Picking.” There’s “When I Sat at the Kids Table”—because we’ve all been there—and the relatable chaos of “Thanksgiving Traffic Memories.”
The energy peaks with Broadway-style moments in “Annual Family Photos” and the big band celebration of “Thanksgiving Charcuterie” (yes, really). Then we shift into deeper territory with “I’d Say Yes Again” and “You Chose Me”—songs about love and the choices that bring us together.
“Grateful” offers a reflective pause before “Where I’m From” and “Childhood Home” take us into bittersweet nostalgia. The emotional core hits with “Empty Chairs”—acknowledging the people who aren’t at the table anymore. And we close with “The Clean Up,” a gentle, hopeful resolution that reminds us the love remains even after the dishes are done.
It’s not just a collection of songs. It’s the full emotional arc of Thanksgiving—the joy, the chaos, the gratitude, the grief, and the hope.
Using AI technology to bring my vision to life, I was able to craft the rich, layered sound I heard in my head—the kind of production that captures both the theatrical and the personal. The stories, the heart, the gratitude? That’s all genuine. The technology just helped me build the world these songs needed to live in.
A Holiday Worth Celebrating
We live in an age where we’re constantly rushing to the next thing. Thanksgiving asks us to slow down. To sit. To appreciate. To connect.
But without music to mark the moment, it’s easy to let it pass by unnoticed—just a speed bump on the way to Christmas.
I believe Thanksgiving deserves better. It deserves songs that help us feel what this holiday is really about. Songs that become part of our traditions. Songs that remind us, year after year, to pause and be grateful.
So this November 21st, I’m releasing My Thanksgiving—my contribution to filling the void. An album full of original songs that celebrate gratitude, family, imperfection, and togetherness in all its beautiful, messy forms.
Because the world needs more Thanksgiving songs. And it’s about time someone wrote them.
My Thanksgiving releases November 21st, followed by My Kind of Christmas on November 24th. Let’s give Thanksgiving the soundtrack it deserves.
Follow Melanie Grace for updates and behind-the-scenes content about both albums.
I set out to write a song about Santa and his magic. My coworker, Krystal, at the time told me that if I wrote a song called Santa’s Magic it sounded dirty. I was shocked, and appalled and immediately agreed. So later that day I came home from work and sat on my couch with my guitar. Within 30 minutes I had the song called, Magic of Santa. What may surprise you, is I wrote this song in 2017!!!! Why did it take 4 years to release it? Great question. I wanted to give this song justice and I wanted to have a studio recording of it, not my home computer and closet “studio” of my <$100 microphone.
So in 2019 I set out to become debt free! As of October 2021 – my only debt is my mortgage!!!! WOOHOO. All that money that I was using to pay off my debt, I was able to afford a studio recording with a professional engineer.
I love Santa and, yes I still believe!
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