Standard mp3 disclaimer: These songs are provided for your sampling entertainment only; please delete after twenty-four hours if you do not intend to buy the respective albums. We'll take down the links after the month of December is over. And please-- enjoy!

* An Old Irish Tune. [from Suikoden I Original Soundtrack.] One of the very first songs we thought of, in coming up with this "pseudo-holiday" list; it's the theme for the Dragon Knights from the first Suikoden game. Even as we were playing the game the first time, we said to each other, "dang this sounds like Christmas music!" Something about the trumpets, and the flute? Well, insofar as retro music technology can re-create a trumpet and a flute.

* Garnet's Theme. [from Final Fantasy IX Original Soundtrack.] I'll readily admit that I adore the FFIX soundtrack; I think it may be the finest of Nobuo Uematsu's work to date. There's something about the bells in this piece that make me think of icy winter days, clear and crystalline cold.

* Water. [from FF7: Advent Children Original Soundtrack.] We watched Advent Children in December 2005, so I'm sure that has something to do with us thinking holiday thoughts at the time. All the same, I love the way that Aeris' theme is worked into this piece of music: forgiveness and redemption and second chances.

* Skycity of Bhujerba. [from Final Fantasy XII Original Soundtrack.] FFIX was a Christmas present to us in 2006, so it's true that the whole thing makes me think of the holidays. This one especially, though, makes me think of cold, and brittle blue skies, and the way sunlight can be bright without being warm... but for all that, welcoming and familiar. Could be that constant altitude of living in a skycity, I suppose.

* Traverse Town. [from Kingdom Hearts Original Soundtrack.] Something about Kingdom Hearts is indefinably holiday-ish: hopeful and dreamy and candy-colored and magic. (Maybe it's those shoes Sora is wearing.) There's a reason we used a shot of Traverse Town for our 2004 advent calendar, after all.

* Welcome to the Magic Workshop. [from Mana Khemia Original Soundtrack.] It could be that our impressions of this game's soundtrack are biased, in that we played this game pretty much nonstop all Christmas day 2008. But I think it qualifies-- charming and bright, something about the instruments that suggests celebration. If you haven't played this game, you should. SO CUTE.

* Bonds of Sea and Fire. [from Xenogears Original Soundtrack.] This is the quiet version of the Yggdrasil music, suitable for sharing a hot cup of tea (from Maison's formidable supply of the stuff) and chatting quietly with dear friends you never thought you'd get to see again. Life is funny that way.

* Burning - Yoroi's Power. [from Yoroiden Samurai Trooper album I Jin Hen.] These next two tracks go back to back, so I've listed them as such. Anybody who knows us knows that we're enormously weak for the Samurai Troopers (Ronin Warriors): our first mutual fandom, and the spark of new love over Christmas 1998. So what if it's dated 80s anime, with silly haircuts (and a terrible dub). It's the story of five best friends working together... and mystic armor, c'mon. Five-colored ornaments to hang on the tree!

* Bonded - Concluding Premonition. [from Yoroiden Samurai Trooper album I Jin Hen.] See above. Also, inexplicably, it's always been Sai playing piano here. He's just multi-talented that way.