Sending You a Little Christmas: Choral Octavo SoundTrax CD

Jay Althouse's arrangement captures the intimate warmth of Brickman's original without overwhelming a choir. The piece works equally well for groups with limited rehearsal time and those preparing for a full holiday concert, making it genuinely useful across program types. Holiday repertoire at this level rarely achieves both accessibility and genuine emotional depth; this one does.

The song radiates quiet reassurance, built on the idea that connection transcends distance. Harmonically warm and grounded in pop sensibilities, it invites singers and listeners alike into a moment of genuine tenderness rather than holiday spectacle.

Choirs looking for a secular holiday selection that avoids both sentimentality and bombast will find this piece immediately singable yet emotionally honest. Works well for community groups, church choirs, and high school ensembles seeking repertoire that audiences recognize and singers genuinely want to perform.

• Allow the recorded accompaniment to establish the song's gentle tempo before voices enter; resist the urge to rush the opening.
• Shape the phrase "wrapped up with love" with particular care, letting the text inform your dynamic contour rather than singing through it evenly.
• Keep ensemble blend focused on blend first, power second; this ballad lives in its intimacy.
• Balance harmony voices so the melody soars without instrumentalizing the supporting parts.

Pair this with one uptempo holiday selection for balance, or use it as the emotional anchor of a mixed-season concert where it bridges holiday programming into a broader theme of human connection. Its moderate length makes it ideal as a closer or as an intermission transition piece.

• Singing consonant-clarity in contemporary ballad style
• Sustaining legit melodic lines without oversinging
• Balancing vocal blend when supporting a featured melody
• Responding to and singing against a recorded accompaniment
• Shaping a phrase using lyrical text as the primary expressive guide