"The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection", originally titled "Sounds of the Season: The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection", is a Christmas EP by American singer Taylor Swift. The EP was first released on October 14, 2007 by Big Machine Records exclusively to Target stores in the United States and online.

The release was originally a limited release for the 2007 holiday season, but was re-released to iTunes and Amazon.com on December 2, 2008 and again in October 2009 to Target stores. The album features cover versions of Christmas songs and two original tracks written by Taylor, "Christmases When You Were Mine" and "Christmas Must Be Something More", all of which have a country pop sound.

Like her first album, this one also features CDVU+ technology that includes more than 30 pages of bonus features with an exclusive video performance, 60 printable photos, complete album lyrics, downloadable graphics, and hidden links. In addition, the packaging of the album is made from 100% recycled materials.

The album has sold over 2 million copies in the US.

BACKGROUND

For the original release of "Sounds of the Season: The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection", Taylor partnered with the American retail company Target; it was made available as an exclusive limited release at Target stores in the United States and online. "The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection's" cover art is from Taylor's music video for "Teardrops on My Guitar". On October 6, 2009, the EP was re-released by Target and made available as a digital download on the iTunes Store, both making minor adjustments to its cover art and removing "Sounds of the Seasons," leaving it as "The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection".

The EP is holiday music with a country pop inclination. It is mainly composed of cover versions of holiday hits and Christmas carols. The EP's opening track is a cover version of "Last Christmas" by Wham! from their 1986 album "Music from the Edge of Heaven". The original song "Christmases When You Were Mine" was written by Taylor, Liz Rose, and Nathan Chapman. Lyrically, the track fixates of prior Christmases, in which the song's protagonist was happier. The lyrics also express that the current Christmas is much harder to cheer for than previous ones.  Taylor covered "Santa Baby", a 1953 song originally performed by Eartha Kitt. "Silent Night" is a Christmas carol cover that is musically performed differently, replacing the instrumentation from piano to acoustic guitar; Taylor's vocals are also faster than traditionally recorded for the song. "Christmas Must Be Something More" is the second original song from "The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection", self penned by Swift. The lyrics attempt for audiences to recognize the reason for the celebration of Christmas, the commemoration of Jesus Christ's birth. The closing track is a rendition of Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" from his 1942 album of the same name.

PROMOTION

Taylor first performed a song from "The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection", "Silent Night", on November 28, 2007 in New York City, at the Rockefeller Center, which was broadcast by The Today Show; she dressed in a long black dress and a white winter coat and performed while playing a rhinestoned acoustic guitar. She then performed '"Christmases When You Were Mine" on November 29, 2007 in St. Charles, Missouri, at the Family Arena, as part of her set for WIL's Jinglefest 2007, and "Santa Baby" in Bloomington, Minnesota, at the Mall of America on December 8, 2007. Swift appeared on The Today Show again on Christmas Day of 2007, performing "Christmases When You Were Mine" and "Silent Night".

All of the tracks except "Christmas Must Be Something More" received airplay on several country radio stations and therefore each charted on Billboard's Hot Country Songs: '"Last Christmas" peaked at number twenty-eight, "Christmases When You Were Mine" peaked at number forty-eight, "Santa Baby" peaked at number forty-three, "Silent Night" peaked at number fifty-four, and "White Christmas" peaked at number fifty-nine.

CRITICAL RECEPTION

Music critics received the album with favorable responses, where some would have preferred a full album. The EP was a commercial success, peaking at number twenty on the Billboard 200 and at number one on Top Holiday Albums. Songs from "The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection" have been performed at several venues.