Macaroni snowflakes. Paper-plate Frosty the Snowmen. Styrofoam balls with who-knows-what-that’s-supposed-to-be glued all over them. These are the gifts of children at Christmas. Home-made (or classroom-made). Imaginative yet derivative. Imperfect, to be sure, but made with the hands and from the heart of a child.

It is in that spirit that I gift you a song.

“Born in a Stable” was written and recorded in 1988 by a new-wave band called The Level Heads and appeared on a Christmas compilation for the label Broken Records, entitle The Broken Christmas. As far as I know, the band dissolved (there is a newer band by the same name on Spotify—I don’t recommend them), but I’ve always thought this song was a keeper. And so, here is my own rendition of the song: it’s something home-made, yet derivative, and certainly imperfect. And it’s from the heart.

From all of us at Alcuin Study Center, Merry Christmas!