MIX Blog

You’ve got the tree. The decorations are carefully laid out around the home. The stockings are hung (with carefully, hopefully) and you’re ready for Christmas. What better way to get into the spirit than by listening to some Christmas music, as performed by your favorite stars? These are a few of our favorites:

“Underneath the Tree” by Kelly Clarkson

Kelly Clarkson may be the new queen of great Christmas songs. If you’re looking for the perfect album to be the soundtrack to your party, just buy her “Wrapped in Red” and you’ll be all set.

“Baby It’s Cold Outside” by Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson

Shed a few tears about the demise of this beautiful couple as you listen to their sweet cover of this classic Christmas song.

“My Christmas List” by Simple Plan

If you’re feeling a little more rock ‘n roll this Christmas, this song from pop-punk band Simple Plan is perfect for you.

“Do They Know It’s Christmas?” by Ellie Goulding, U2, Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith, and Chris Martin

Not only is this a great song, but it also raises money to help stop the spread of the Ebola virus.

“All I Want For Christmas Is You” by Mariah Carey

This may be the ultimate Christmas song, sung by a legendary diva. Even if you’ve listened to it thousands of times already, it never gets old.

What’s your favorite Christmas song? Share it with us in the comments!

Thanksgiving is the perfect time to relax and hang out with family and friends. But if you’re looking for a little something more besides just the traditional face stuffing and football watching this year, then you’ll want to give one of these unique new Thanksgiving traditions a try.

Make a game out of finding a seat at the table: Forget boring nametags and make a little game as everyone finds their seat at the table. Instead of simply writing the person’s name on a nametag, try using three adjectives that describe them and then have the group guess who should be taking that seat.

Create a piece of art to remember this particular Thanksgiving: Get a piece of white posterboard and several Sharpies and invite all of your guests to write what they’re thankful for and then sign their name. Do this each year and you’ll enjoy being able to look back and remember the various guests you’ve had at your Thanksgiving table over the years.

Get active before the meal: Thanksgiving is all about feasting, which can leave you feeling a little sluggish when the whole thing is done. Counteract this by getting active ahead of time. Many cities and towns have “Turkey Trots” or other easy races that take place on Thanksgiving. Do one of these with your family in the morning and then you won’t feel as guilty about enjoying that second piece of pie later in the day.

Volunteer in your community: You’re fortunate enough to enjoy a big meal with the people you love, but not everyone in your area is as lucky. Take some time on Thanksgiving to give back by volunteering in your community. Grab a few family members or friends and do some volunteer work earlier in the day. It’s much more productive than just sitting around watching the parade.

What are some of your favorite Thanksgiving traditions? Share them with us in the comments! 

Of course Mariah Carey’s version of “All I Want for Christmas” is a staple on radios during the holiday season, and with good reason. But we think this new Christmas song by a cappella group Straight No Chaser and Kristen Bell will be right up there among your favorites this year, especially if you spend some time texting and using social media. It’s called “Text Me Merry Christmas.” Let’s just say it’s VERY relatable.

Check it out below:

Everyone loves Fall. How can you not? It’s all about pumpkins and Halloween and cozy sweaters and such. But with these fun things
comes the winter dread. You know what I’m talking about. It’s the knowledge that winter is coming and it’s going to be COLD. Here are some perfectly reasonable thoughts that may go through your head as temperatures start to drop and winter gets closer:

• Why can’t humans hibernate like bears? It’s just cruel to force people to venture outside every day when your nose hairs are freezing and your car is a block of ice.
• Remote car starters are probably one of the most important and amazing inventions of all time.
• It’s time to start gathering menus from every place that delivers within a 30-mile radius because you are NOT going outside to get lunch, and you can’t honestly be expected to pack your own when you venture through snow and ice to get to the office each day.
• It doesn’t matter how the coat looks, as long as it’s warm and comfortable. The more like a sleeping bag it is, the better.
• If the snow boots don’t actually prevent you from falling, they’re useless. Again, it’s not about the fashion statement when the weather situation gets drastic.
• Note to self: investigate a way to open a branch of your company’s office in a warmer locale. Say, Florida or the Bahamas, perhaps.

What do you think to yourself as winter weather gets closer? Let us know in the comments!

Kelly Clarkson is known for doing killer covers of popular songs (see exhibit a and exhibit b if you don’t believe us) and now she’s taking on Taylor Swift, who is clearly on a quest for world domination these days. At a concert in Buffalo recently, Kelly covered Taylor’s song “Shake it Off.” She started off making it a little bluesy and jazzy, and then went into full on pop mode and it was FUN. Check out the video below:

Sidenote: doesn’t Kelly Clarkson seem like a genuinely great person? She’s someone you could hang out with, tell your secrets to, and get brunch with without worrying about anything.