Christmas Kisses, Serena Ryder (Serenader Source)

Canadian singer-songwriter Serena Ryder has dropped a Christmas album for 2018, produced by classic rock svengali Bob Ezrin, who's previously given us iconic albums by Lou Reed and Alice Cooper among many. Serena's more of a pop-rock-country artist, though, so this is relentlessly commercial and cheerful all the way through. She's using the upbeat original title song as a way to raise funds from the Ontario SPCA, so check out the video and support the little beasties while you're enjoying a fine new Christmas song. The rest of the album is classic carols done in classic pop-rock arrangements, so you probably already know what "Santa Baby," "Jingle Bell Rock" and "Let It Snow" sound like, as well as ballads like "I'll Be Home For Christmas" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," though she gets points for doing "White Christmas" as an upbeat boogie shuffle and "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts)" as a warm ukelele strum. Given the strong title song, I'd advise Serena to add a few more originals to her holiday repertoire.