Waiting Patiently for Santa
$8.00 – $20.00
Christmas Eve can seem like the longest night of the year! Children who are told to go to bed early so Christmas morning will come sooner often find it difficult to get to sleep creating exactly the opposite effect. Waiting Patiently for Santa is a humorous song imagining the frustration of anticipating Santa’s arrival and trying to find things to do to pass the time. The singer is obviously not in bed sleeping and in addition to redecorating the tree (that has obviously fallen down at least once) somehow Santa’s cookie treats have also been eaten! The final conclusion is that Santa must come more promptly if such “patient” waiting is to be expected in future years.
The melody of this song is created with gentle step-wise movement staying within a vocal range of C#4 – D5. The lyrics follow the natural flow of language using simple rhythms. However, the lyrics will be the most challenging part of this song. (See teaching tips included in the description below.) All singers have fun singing the repetitive and tongue-twisting “waiting” lyrics.
Listen to the Donna & Andy performance track:
Listen to melody + accompaniment:
Download Includes:
- Vocal score
- Lead sheet
- Director/piano score
- Lyrics
- Accompaniment – with melody guide
- Accompaniment – piano
- Donna & Andy band – instrumental track
- Donna & Andy – performance track
- Teaching Tips
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Waiting Patiently for Santa
Follow along with the lyrics as you listen to the accompaniment with melody guide for Waiting Patiently for Santa.
Waiting Patiently for Santa is one of 12 songs from the song collection "It's Christmas Time". Donna Rhodenizer has written these songs in a variety of styles and skill levels for singers from ages 5-12+.
Learn more about this fun collection for elementary-aged kids, choirs and solo vocal students.
Purchase print copy from Amazon
Stream or Purchase Waiting Patiently for Santa (It's Christmas Time CD) from many streaming sites including:
Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, Amazon, Pandora, Deezer.
The It's Christmas Time CD (Donna & Andy performance and instrumental) tracks (20) are available for download or physical CD on this website.
Expressive singing
Read the lyrics aloud to become familiar with the story being told in this song.
Singers will need to use clear diction, dynamics, breath energy and facial expression to tell this humorous story.
The lyrics “I’m waiting, waiting, waiting patiently” are easy to remember, but it can be challenging to sing these tongue-twisting words! Clear diction is very important in these sections. Use dynamic contrast to create an expressive presentation of the repeated words.
Staging suggestions
Students may dress in pajamas, slippers, etc. as if they are ready for bed on Christmas Eve.
Add visual props like a large clock set to 1:25, a plate of cookies, etc.
If there is access to a video screen, create a series of photos with students creating a visual “snapshot” of what is happening in the song. Project the photos on a large screen as the students sing the song.
Performance preparation
Waiting Patiently for Santa has a lot of lyrics, and no breath marks are indicated in the score. Explore the score to find natural breaks in the story – ends of sentences or commas, where it sounds natural to take a breath. Add breath marks in the score to assist with consistent practice of the spots you have chosen to include a breath.
Small groups and choirs have support between singers. This is a wonderful opportunity to discuss the use of staggered breathing to create continuity of phrases.
Waiting Patiently for Santa
I have always enjoyed a good story-telling song. Waiting Patiently for Santa has a musical theatre type of vibe to it. When creating the story for this song I had fun thinking about all the things a child might do while trying to wait patiently for Santa to arrive on Christmas Eve. The fun of singing “waiting” multiple times in tongue twister style was challenging to sing but allowed for the chorus not to add to the overall “lyric load” of the song. I introduced this song to my grade 5 classes for the school Christmas concert. We all had a wonderful time with the story, the singing was exuberant– and it was a hit with the audience.
For my school concert, I accompanied my singers with a cheery and lighthearted piano accompaniment. When we (Donna & Andy) were creating a Christmas CD, Waiting Patiently for Santa was included as one of the songs. As I contemplated the CD accompaniment I decided to use a brass ensemble of French horn, trombone and tuba paired with the banjo. I have always enjoyed the banjo, and I thought it was a fun addition to the overall feel. The brass instruments gave the accompaniment a solid but jaunty foundation and the banjo added a bit of whimsy.
When you have enjoyed singing this song with your students - please drop by again and leave a Review on this page. Thanks!
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| License | Single User License, Classroom / Studio License, Treble Choir License |
|---|---|
| Context | Choir – Elementary, Choir Repertoire, Classroom Songs, Expressive Storytelling Songs, Small Group Class, Vocal Solo, Choir – Unison, Song Collection – It's Christmas Time / C'est Noël |
| Topic | |
| Level | |
| Voicing | |
| Vocal Range | C#4 – D5 |
| Duration | |
| Composer | Donna Rhodenizer |
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