Sandy Bainum

"Sunny spirits can indeed cut through winter's chill and warm up stale staples. The very sunny Sandy Bainum still believes in Christmas and makes it work. Musical director Lanny Meyers (who also wrote the CD's closer, the blissful "Blessings of the Season") inspires with sparkle and shine in arrangements and orchestrations that are punchy and full of musical theatre splash rather than the heavy sugar coating that ossify some traditional holiday albums. Production values are as strong as the family values embraced in the sincerely rendered hearth-and-home-sweet-home moments. Well-sung, confidently cozy, it's an album that does not overplay the nostalgia or pep of the season."