Make your own holiday CD
Compile favourite seasonal songs for this year’s celebrations
By Heather Camlot
Let’s face it — when the weather outside is frightful, there’s nothing like snuggling under a cosy blanket, sipping a mug of cocoa and listening to some hot tracks to warm the mood of those chilly evenings.
While a number of popular artists have holiday albums that will no doubt be heating up the radio waves this season, they likely won’t do much for livening up a get-together. Why not create your own soundtrack with the help of your computer and CD burner?
Choose cool-weather tunes
For a swinging, festive mix, opt out of the traditional Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole fare and go for songs that will get guests in the partying mood. That means turning to jazz greats such as Harry Connick, Jr., or Michael Bublé, swing masters such as Brian Setzer, rockers such as No Doubt or the Barenaked Ladies, reggae popstars such as Shaggy and even comedians such as Adam Sandler, all of whom have holiday-themed singles or albums on the market.
Go through your CD collection or download tracks from sites such as Puretracks.com and Napster. Don’t forget to visit the sites of your favourite recording artists, as well. Compile songs appropriate for your audience or affair: laidback grooves for an evening get-together or dinner party, upbeat tunes for an afternoon or lunch, or singalong songs for the kids. (Yes, you can get away with selections from A Charlie Brown Christmas for the adult set, as well.)
Create your playlist
To load your songs onto your computer, pop a CD into your burner, click on Rip in Windows Media Player, uncheck the songs you don’t want and then click Start Rip. To record a compilation CD, create a new playlist by selecting Library and Create Playlist, and move the songs into your playlist by dragging them into the pane on the right-hand side.
When you are finished creating the playlist, click on the X to close the editing window. Click on Burn along the top of the screen, drag your playlist into the Burn List on the right-hand side, and hit Start Burn.
Jazz up your seasonal CD with funky labels and wrapping
To give your CD a professional look, especially if you plan on handing out copies at your bash, you can create a customized CD label using templates for Microsoft Word and Publisher. (Click here to download one.) Printable CD labels and cover inserts are available at your local office supply store.
Create your own CD box to give your holiday mix to friends and family. Click here to download the red-striped CD gift-box template.
Turn your computer into a jukebox
If you’ve compiled more songs than can fit onto a single CD, but you want to play the entire playlist while you entertain this winter, try opening your music in Windows Media Center (which comes with Vista Ultimate and Vista Home Premium). Select Media Only mode from the Tasks menu to display your music library full-screen while hiding access to your desktop. You or your guests can also delete or rearrange songs as desired by clicking View Queue > Edit Queue and clicking on the up and down arrows to the right of the songs in the list.
So what if it’s cold outside? Turn up the heat and get the party started with your sizzling soundtrack to winter.
