Originals Augment Colbie Caillat's Christmas in the Sand

My familiarity with pop songstress Colbie Caillat has mostly been limited to her effervescent hit single Bubbly, but that one song is fun enough that I was eager to see what her Christmas album would sound like. Entitled Christmas in the Sand, it’s upbeat and bouncy, and at least one of the four original songs seems like it has the potential to make a splash. If you’re looking for a sunny alternative to all of the wintry albums out this time of year, this isn’t a bad option.

Of course, that’s not to say that winter weather doesn’t come up in several of these songs. We’ve got the playful Baby, It’s Cold Outside, a duet with Gavin DeGraw; the leisurely The Christmas Song, which features Justin Young, a mandolin and sleigh bells; and the bouncy, choir-backed Winter Wonderland.

We’ve also got traditional Christmas elements like Santa Claus. Given the unfortunate fondness female pop singers seem to have for the avaricious Santa Baby, I’m not surprised to see that here, though I always consider that one skippable. More enjoyable is Santa Claus Is Coming to Town, which has an interesting rhythm, starting out slow and then becoming much more of a rock tune halfway through.

Other familiar tunes delve into the cozy elements of Christmas. I really like her take on Silver Bells, which features some nice music box-style accompaniment as well as harmonizing with herself, and the changing of the line “Christmastime in the city” to different locales such as “the country” and “Hawaii” adds to the sense that this is an album for those who don’t connect as much with the most prevalent Christmas images. Auld Lang Syne, with its acoustic guitar, fiddle and choral backing, makes for a nice end to the album, while the peppy, romantic Merry Christmas, Baby, a duet with Brad Paisley, is a fine beginning.

Most interesting, though, are the original songs, and I was impressed that Caillat included four, a full third of the tracks. The title track includes sleigh bells but discusses Christmas on the beach, proclaiming, “I saw Santa in his bathing suit!” The tone seems rather risque to me, and it’s probably my least favorite of the four because of all the innuendo, but it’s also fun to think of these figures commonly associated with snow hanging out on the beach. Also on the slightly naughtier end of things is Mistletoe, a plea for romantic reconciliation which isn’t strictly new but which Caillat co-wrote.

I prefer Every Day Is Christmas, a four-and-a-half-minute-long love song along the same lines as Neil Diamond’s You Make It Feel Like Christmas. “Every day is Christmas as long as every day you are mine,” she declares in this choral-backed pop-rock ballad. My favorite track, though, is Happy Christmas, which lists of all the stuff associated with Christmas before taking an opposite stance to Santa Baby. “Maybe we worry too much about wishing and not enough about giving,” she muses. This endearing track espouses random acts of kindness and general goodwill, and for its refreshing message, it’s the one I most hope to hear on the radio.

Caillat has a unique voice that just seems to exude happiness, so I’m glad that she decided to release an album in a genre so marked by happy music. The fact that her father produced the album adds to the sense of authenticity that particularly comes from her self-penned songs. While I would have liked to hear a more personal touch on some of the other songs, this would make a charming gift for those who already enjoy her laid-back style.