Last weekend, as is our tradition on the first Sunday of December, we got all the Christmas decorations out of the garage and spent some fun family time setting up the tree and hanging tinsel on all the picture frames. I tend to let the kids get on with it, just helping out with untangling strings of fairy lights and locating drawing pins, but I do have one very important Christmas job : keeping the festive music coming ! This year, I had absolutely oodles of fab music to choose from, as I've just received these lovely new CD boxsets to review.
Absolutely utterly perfect for this time of year is the Now 100 Hits Christmas CD collection, which contains a whopping 5 CDs full of festive classics. I have to say, this is the ultimate in Christmas compilations because ... well, whatever you want, you're guaranteed it's on there ! All the classic festive pop hits are featured : Happy Xmas (War Is Over) by John Lennon, Merry Christmas Everyone by Shakin' Stevens, Step Into Christmas by Elton John, Do They Know It's Christmas? by Band Aid, Wonderful Christmastime by Paul McCartney, Santa Claus Is Coming To Town by The Jackson 5 ... If you're shaking your head saying I'm too old and there's nothing modern on there, you can choose some more recent Christmas hits by the likes of Leona Lewis, Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Kelly Clarkson, Girls Aloud, Robbie Williams ... There are loads of golden oldies too, and can you believe it, that is all on CD number 1 ! CD 2 is full of golden oldies from the likes of Bing Crosby, Eartha Kitt and Elvis Presley, CD 3 brings us up to the era of Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson, CD 4 hits the classics, with songs from The Beach Boys, Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole, while the final CD number 5 gets back to modern artists, featuring (amongst others) Whitney Houston, Backstreet Boys, Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears. It's a great CD collection because there is something for everyone, so it's perfect if you're hosting parents and grandparents over Christmas. In total, there are 100 songs and it has a bargaintastic RRP of £10.99, making it great value.
As an extra treat for Christmas, the musical magicians at NOW are also re-releasing NOW That’s What I Call Disney, which is full of your fondest childhood memories. Alongside three discs of Disney joy, it features a bonus Christmas disc which includes Frozen and the Nightmare before Christmas. Once you’ve got it, you’ll never want to Let it Go! The festive disc is the one that we're playing most at the moment and it features 21 songs by Mickey and the Gang and The Disney Holiday Chorus - perfect for some festive fun with the kids !
The final offering is another 5 CD boxset, Now 100 Hits Sing-A-Long, which is guaranteed to get you joining in even if you think you don't like karaoke ! From Dolly Parton (9 To 5) and Cyndi Lauper (Girls Just Wanna Have Fun) to Avril Lavigne (Complicated) and John Legend (All Of Me), there are songs to appeal to all tastes and styles. It's a great mixture of hits, perfect for a long drive or a mammoth cleaning session ... or even just dancing off a few festive calories !
These CDs would all be great as a stocking filler or Secret Santa gift, but if you want to get all hi-tech, you have another option. Listening is made even easier with the NOW Music app, where subscribers can access all the NOW compilations plus even more playlists and music, for only £4.99 a month with no contract or adverts. It's the easiest and most enjoyable way to access music on your devices .
Disclosure : I received the products in order to write an honest review.
