Singer Anna Wilson said she wanted to create a unique Christmas album.
"I was always intrigued by singers who wrote their own songs," Wilson said during a phone call from her home in Nashville, Tenn. "I grew up listening to a lot of the old standards, though. And loved what I heard.
"I always thought if I got to a place in my career where I could make a Christmas album I would," Wilson said. "And that's what I did."
Instead of singing cover songs of Christmas staples as "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas," Wilson wanted to record an album of original holiday songs.
"I wanted to make an album that was unique, and if someone liked a song I did, they could only find it on my album," she said with a laugh.
Wilson began writing songs the day after Valentine's Day this year, she said. "So, it has been Christmas at my house all year."
The singer said it was a little strange writing Christmas songs "when the tulips were blooming."
So, she had an idea.
"We went to the studio, where there are no windows, and set up some Christmas decorations," she said. "And that was fun when guests would come over and go into the studio."
Wilson said she wrote three original Christmas songs in the past.
"I thought that would be a good place to start," she said with a laugh. "It was. But after we had written 15 songs, those three were thrown out."
Wilson cut the list down to the 10 that appear on her Christmas album "Yule Swing."
The songs range from good-time fun to childhood memories, she said.
"The song 'One Day' was written when I was thinking of my father," Wilson said. "One of my fondest Christmas memories isn't one where something big and glorious happened, and this is so Hallmark, but I remember I was 5 years old and I wanted a bike."
Wilson remembered walking down the stairs and seeing her blue bike and how she and her father went outside to ride.
"He taught me how to ride," she said. "We had a very short driveway and I was so proud the time I made it down to the end of the driveway without any help.
"That is my most memorable Christmas, and since my father is no longer with us, it is a memory that I cherish."
Another song is "A House, a Home," which was picked as the theme for Habitat for Humanity.
"When I looked at the list, I realized that there was no 'Home for the Holidays' song," she said. "I chose 'A House, a Home' to fill that niche."
Wilson wrote "A House, a Home" for a Habitat for Humanity rally in Nashville earlier this year, she said. "The organization was building a bunch of homes for people who needed them in a nearby neighborhood, and they asked some singer/songwriters to entertain the volunteers."
Wilson performed and the song found its way to the corporate offices where they decided to use it.
"It is an honor," she said.
For the album version of "A House, a Home," trumpeter Rick Braun lends his talents.
"I was so happy Rick wanted to play on the song," Wilson said. "It made the song better."
Wilson said her upcoming Christmas concert will feature songs from "Yule Swing" and other holiday-flavored tunes.
"We have been working hard getting the set list just right," she said. "And it's a fun little set."
If you go...
What: Anna Wilson
Where: Egyptian Theater, 328 S. Main, Park City
When: Monday, Dec. 22, 7 p.m.
How much: $30
Phone: 435-649-9371
Web: www.egyptiantheatrecompany.org
E-MAIL: scott@desnews.com