When I was a kid, I loved Christmas music. But as I got older, and more cynical, I started to detest Christmas songs. They were overly sentimental mush that exemplified everything that was wrong with Christmas: commercial, unoriginal and bland. So I approached Sufjan Steven’s newest release “Songs for Christmas” with a little apprehension and without really having listened to Christmas carols for several years.

It, then, certainly was a treat to hear Sufjan’s newest effort from his humorously titled label, ‘Asthmatic Kitty.’ Of course, it may be a misnomer to call this Sufjan’s ‘latest’ work, as he has been working on this release since 2001, when he made an Christmas EP for his family and friends. This box set contains five EPs which Sufjan has released each year since 2001 (except for 2004 when he was working on ‘Illinois’). It contains a total of 42 songs, a story book, an animated music video, an essay by Sufjan, lyrics and guitar tabs, stickers and a poster of Sufjan.

It would seem that all these extras could create something utterly commercial and detestable, but all these extras are far too cute to be crass. In a way, they are a sort of parody of all the traditional merchandising that comes with Christmas.

“Songs for Christmas” is full of wonderful traditional songs, from ‘Silent Night’ to ‘The Little Drummer Boy’ to ‘Jingle Bells.’ Sufjan takes these songs and makes them his own in small ways, like playing the songs on his banjo rather than the normal guitar. His lovely, delicate voice is perfect for these traditional Christmas carols. In “The Little Drummer Boy,” Sufjan sings in such a warm, poignant and heartfelt manner that his is the best version of the song I have ever heard.

But it is Sufjan’s original songs that are easily the best songs in the box. These songs create a welcome freshness to the often stale sound of Christmas songs. They are far more upbeat and silly than the rest of the Christmas music canon. Sufjan has managed to create songs with a distinctive Holiday sound, while also moving beyond the normal tone of Christmas songs.

Take “Get behind me, Santa!”, for example. It has zany and silly lyrics than are strangely and charmingly appropriate for Christmas, with the singer accusing Santa Claus: “I don’t care about what you say Santa Claus/ You’re a bad brother breaking into people’s garage .” Santa, defends himself by replying “You got it wrong,/ Cause I’m just another regular guy/ Super powers and a penchant for the Yuletime /Is it a crime to give a little once in a while?” While these lyrics are pretty cheesy, they fit perfectly with many other ridiculous modern Christmas songs.

One nice thing about the album is that it allows the listener to hear Sufjan’s musical growth. Sufjan’s 2001 EP is simpler, humbler and more to Sufjan’s folk roots. But as the years go by, we can hear Sufjan create very impressive and ambitious arrangements that sound terrific.

The only problem with the box is that it is sometimes repetitive: the song “O Come O Come Emmanuel” appears three times, albeit in different arrangements. And the traditional songs sometimes blend into each other when you try to listen to the album for too long. But this is certainly forgivable, given what Sufjan is working with.

Overall, Sufjan strikes a good balance between the Christmas classics and his new original songs. His songs, of course, are more fun and new, but the traditional songs are sure to please anyone who loves conventional Christmas music. The compilation is a reminder that Christmas music doesn’t have to be bland and boring, it can be fresh and dynamic.

“Songs for Christmas” would make an excellent Christmas present for anyone who likes Christmas music or just good music in general. But it would be a pity to receive “Songs for Christmas” and not be able to play it until the next year’s Christmas season. I know that “Songs for Christmas” has been a great present for myself, since listening to it was the first time I’ve been excited for Christmas music in a long while.