By Tonya Dale

It’s that season again—can’t you tell by the porch-sized, light-up Santas at Costco? Yes, Christmas time’s a comin’!

If you want to join in the holiday fun with your ukulele in hand, now’s the time to start getting a bead on those familiar Christmas tunes you’ll be singing around the tree. While there are some great “for purchase” resources with holiday tunes arranged for ukulele, a few years’ back I pulled together a listing of websites from around the world featuring oodles of traditional and contemporary Christmas and holiday songsheets.

It showed up on my doorstep. Literally.

A blue grey suitcase with its condition belying 30+ years spent toting travel necessities on land and air. This little Samsonite’s latest excursion, though, had taken it from Phoenix (Arizona) to Paradise (California) in a class far lower than coach: try UPS Ground.

The suitcase, one we might have called an “overnighter” in days prior to wheeled rollaboards, sat stoutly just at the front door of our office as I returned from a lunch visit to the nearby taco truck.

I squealed at its sight—I knew what the blue grey valise held: an ukulele lovingly sent to me by my Uncle Harry, because, as he said, he knew I’d appreciate it and give it a good home.