1. Bob Dylan – Christmas in the Heart (2009)
Go on, give it a go. Surprisingly, it’s a lot of fun. My daughter, and amazingly, partner, love it.

2. Various Artists – A Christmas Gift for you from Phil Spector (1963)
Often called the best Christmas album ever. Released on the day JFK was assassinated, it contains mostly non-religious songs using Spector’s customary ‘wall of sound’ by acts including The Ronettes and The Crystals.

3. Various Artists – A Very Special Christmas (1987)
The one with the Keith Haring cover. Features a fine selection of 1980s recording artists from Run-DMC – their song Christmas in Hollis is the best thing on the album – to Whitney Houston and Bruce Springsteen.

4. Low – Christmas (1999)
Lo-fi, experimental indie band Low do Christmas, though the catchy opener Just Like Christmas isn’t necessarily about Christmas (but it is like it). The EP was originally given away free to fans but has become a bit of a classic with a mix of covers and originals.

5. Vince Guaraldi Trio – A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
This cool, catchy, relaxing jazz classic is a staple in the States but not so much in the UK where Charlie Brown isn’t as popular. The album was released the same time in December 1965 that the Charlie Brown Christmas TV Special was aired.

Have a great Christmas and New Year, and I'll see y’all in 2010: the follow-up to 2001: A Space Odyssey that no one went to see.