Posts
December Mash-up ‘26
In winter
It’s the most wonderful time of the year
With the kids jingle belling
And everyone telling you be of good cheer
It's the most wonderful time of the year
all the singing is in
It's the hap-happiest season of all
With those holiday greetings and gay happy meetings
When friends come to call
It's the hap-happiest season of all
the tops of the trees
There'll be parties for hosting
Marshmallows for toasting
And caroling out in the snow
where the wind-bird
There'll be scary ghost stories
And tales of the glories of
Christmases long, long ago
with it’s white eyes
It's the most wonderful time of the year
shoves and pushes
There'll be much mistl-toeing
And hearts will be glowing
When loved ones are near
among the branches
It's the most wonderful time of the year
Like any of us
It's the most wonderful time of the year
He wants to go to sleep
There'll be much mistltoeing
And hearts will be glowing
When loved ones are near
But he’s restless
It's the most wonderful time of the year
He has an idea
There'll be parties for hosting
Marshmallows for toasting
And caroling out in the snow
And it slowly unfolds
There'll be scary ghost stories
And tales of the glories of
Christmases long, long ago
from under his beating wings
It's the most wonderful time of the year
as long as he stays awake.
There'll be much mistltoeing
And hearts will be glowing
When loved ones are near
But his big, round music, after all,
It's the most wonderful time
Yes the most wonderful time
is too breathy to last.
Oh the most wonderful time
Of the year
Arranged by Linda Mitchell 12/12/26
- Susan Thomsen at Chicken Spaghetti
- Jama at Jama's Alphabet Soup
- Jan Godwin Annino at Bookseed Studio
- Alan at Poetry Pizzazz
- Karen Edmisten
- Michelle at More Art 4 All
- Jone Rush MacCullough
- Tabatha at The Opposite of Indifference
- Laura Purdie Salas
- Catherine at Reading to the Core
- Linda at Teacher Dance
- Amy at Living Workshop
- Rose at Imagine the Possibilities
- Amy LV at The Poem Farm
- Irene at Live Your Poem
- Mona Voelkel
- Mary Lee at Another Year of Reading
- Patricia at Reverie
- Margaret at Reflections on the Teche
- Carol at The Apples in My Orchard
- Cathy at A Little Bit of This and That
- Molly at Nix the Comfort Zone
Linda, thank you so much for rounding us up! I'm in with a post about a "Best of the Year" anthology and some similar lists. I look forward to reading your mashup, too!
ReplyDeleteSusan Thomsen, https://chickenspaghetti.com/2025/12/11/best-of-the-year/
What a cool mash-up. Really puts me in the holiday spirit! At Alphabet Soup, I'm all about noses with a Jack Prelutsky poem, a few remarks and some fun images:
ReplyDeletehttps://jamarattigan.com/2025/12/12/nosing-around/
Thanks so much for hosting this week!
Wow, Linda! Appreciations for a sprightly Memory Lane walk with Andy W. I feel that in my child days our family had the entire album for the Hi-Fi ina big wood base! And the Mary Oliver poem, new to me, helps me wrap up endings. Your intro is full of great surprises such as "zipper together." BRAVA!
ReplyDeleteI'm in with "December blooms" at Bookseedstudio on Wordpress - https://bookseedstudio.wordpress.com
I'm echoing Jan's swoon at "zipper together...." ;0) Thanks for hosting, Linda. (I've just left a signpost this week, as I'm still happily working my way through holiday Etsy orders.) Appreciate your sharing so much holiday cheer - we all need it!
ReplyDeleteHi Linda. Such an interesting mash combo. Love it. Your weaving skills are apparent here. It has given me added festive inspiration. I've been hovering around haiku of late as a kind of stress release mechanism. It works! Have quite a harvest...Here's the link.
ReplyDeletehttps://alanjwrightpoetrypizzazz.blogspot.com/2025/12/harvesting-haiku.html
Hi, Linda! I love this mash-up and it's such a fun idea to play around with. Yes to bouncing back and forth between high and low energy. You inspired me! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting this week. My link is here.
Wow what a poem Linda, I've been reading some Mary Oliver this week, and may share one of her poems next week. Thanks for hosting! I have a mix, a visit with a Polar Bear, a Time poem, and a bit of music: https://moreart4all.wordpress.com/2025/12/11/poetry-friday-polar-bears-fleeting-time/
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun mash-up. I may have to try this. I'm sorry that Mr. Linky is being naughty. I have student work and a call for New Year Postcards.
ReplyDeleteTabatha is sharing some poetry goodness in the form of some good poems and a mystery. Can you guess her new OLW? https://theoppositeofindifferencecom.wordpress.com/2025/12/11/fireflies-lighting-candles/
ReplyDeleteHi Linda, I'll be back to read your full post tomorrow--sorry for the Mr. Linky hassle. Coal in his stocking! I'm in with a quick post about poetry proposals for NCTE 2026! Thanks for hosting. xo
ReplyDeletePairing song lyrics with a poem is such a cool idea, Linda. I love the Mary Oliver poem, and I can hear Andy Williams in my head as I read these lyrics. Today I'm sharing a poem that distills a recent conversation between Krista Tippett, Joy Harjo, and Tracy K. Smith. Thank you for hosting this week!
ReplyDeletehttps://readingtothecore.com/2025/12/11/poetry-friday-what-is-poetry/
I'm so late, will now go to bed singing with Andy, though too "breathy to last", Linda. What fun for the holidays to combine these two! I'm dreaming this Friday with a poem from a newspaper clipping I found from years ago. You'll see what I'm dreaming of at https://www.teacherdance.org/2025/12/poetry-friday-dreaming.html. Thanks for hosting during this busy time!
ReplyDeleteJoining Poetry Friday for the first time... I love so much about this mash-up and all that it inspired! I found my inspiration from Padraig O Tuama's collection from Poetry Unbound... https://livingworkshopwithspitzer.wordpress.com/2025/12/12/let-there-be-quiet/
ReplyDeleteWow, Linda! Who would have thought Andy and Mary would pair together in such a delightful way. Thanks for the mashup and for hosting this week. I'm offering two small December companion poems from my monthly jots.
ReplyDeletehttps://imaginethepossibilities.blog/2025/12/12/poetry-friday-goodnight-and-good-morning/
This is so cool, Linda. I love thinking about these two together. You always make me think about something in a new way...thank you. And yes to the quiet and loud of this season. Inspired by you, I am going to listen to carols today...I love "Good King Wenceslas" and don't even know why...I think it is the "snow on snow on snow."
ReplyDeleteOver at The Poem Farm today I have a poem about knitting...and process...and also welcome a young writer who shares a poem written from her grief and love.
https://poemfarm.amylv.com/2025/12/write-about-process-peek.html
xo, Amy LV
Linda, I love how you braided lyrics + poem! I also like thinking about long ago Christmases with white eyes. Lovely! I've got a review of my 2025 OLW Sisu and an odd Picasso poem. (Just 2 more Picassos to go!) https://irenelatham.blogspot.com/2025/12/2025-one-little-word-sisu-review.html Thank you for hosting! xo
ReplyDeleteLinda, what a fantastic mash-up that perfectly captures the, as you so aptly say, the "swings" of the season!The "He wants to go to sleep" line cracked me up because it is such a perfect counterpoint to manic merrymaking! Thank you so much for the poem and for the inspiration of a mash-up poem and to play my favorite xmas music today! https://monavoelkel.com/2025/12/12/poetry-friday-wisconsin-ice-cave/
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun, interesting challenge - love what you did, Linda. Thanks for hosting, too! Today I'm sharing another NCTE award winner, Charles R. Smith, Jr.: https://wp.me/p2DEY3-4ge
ReplyDeleteSuch fun! This would make a fantastic poem for multiple voices and background music! I'm in today with the quintessential December bird https://ayearofreading.org/2025/12/12/poetry-friday-december/
ReplyDeleteAlso -- there are still 10 spots open in the Poetry Friday roundup schedule for Jan-June 2026! https://ayearofreading.org/2025/12/04/poetry-friday-roundup-call-4/
ReplyDeleteSuch a fun idea, Linda—a Zipper poem! And I actually love the contrasts as Oliver’s lines become an embodiment of a different kind of joy. Thank you! https://patriciajfranz.com/blog-re-visioning/
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting this “most wonderful time of the year” with the familiar song intertwined with master Mary Oliver. My poem this week was prompted by Georgia Heard’s December calendar: “Write about a moment that gave you hope.” http://reflectionsontheteche.com/2025/12/12/poetry-friday-winter-hope/
ReplyDeleteHi Linda! Thanks for hosting. I enjoyed your mash-up. It was very creative! I am sharing things I learned this week about author EB White. He wrote poetry along with some inspirational letters in addition to those wonderful children's books we all know. https://theapplesinmyorchard.com/2025/12/12/poetry-opens-new-worlds/ Thanks, again! Carol Labuzzetta - The Apples in My Orchard
ReplyDeleteCathy Stenquist: Love Letter
ReplyDeletehttps://www.cathystenquist.com/post/love-letter
Dear Linda,
I really loved your mash-up poem. What a clever idea. You can read each one separately, or enjoy them woven together. I really like seeing the text apart from the music. You can enjoy and appreciate the poetry of it.
My poem "Love Letter" was just published and this week, I thought I would share a reading of it. Love in this broken world has been on my mind a lot lately. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!
Oh, that mashup totally works, Linda. My favorite combo is "It's the most wonderful time of the year/as long as he stays awake." Thank you!
ReplyDeleteOops. I forgot to put my link in: https://www.jonerushmacculloch.com/blog/poetry-friday-week-50-student-elfchens-book-news-and-new-year-postcards
ReplyDeleteOh, this is the best post for this time of year! I love how you've created this mash-up. So clever!!! It really captures that back and forth between high energy/busy and quiet and contemplative. It also makes me want to go blast a few Christmas carols! I'm sharing a few Wordle poems today (and I'm late--sorry!). https://nixthecomfortzone.com/2025/12/13/wordle-poems-2/
ReplyDelete