White Christmas has been a holiday classic for many years! Irving Berlin wrote the song in 1940, and the first performance was by Bing Crosby on Christmas Day, 1941. Since then, the song has been covered by many people, including Frank Sinatra, Andy Williams, Bette Midler, and Lady Gaga!
Larry’s new arrangement of White Christmas will bring joy, and perhaps a touch of nostalgia, to your audience! It’s for handbells, handchimes, and flute. Thanks to Rose Wiersma for joining us to play the flute part on our demonstration video. Rose is a talented musician, who not only plays a variety of instruments professionally, but also directs the Zeeland Community Band. Rose is based in Holland, Michigan, and we’ve been privileged to be friends for some years now. We hope you’ll enjoy our video!
More information about this arrangement
White Christmas is for 5-7 octaves of handbells, with 2 octaves of handchimes, and an optional flute part that really adds something special!
If you’d like to find out more about this arrangement, and other arrangements and original compositions for handbell choir, visit our Choraegus website. Alternatively, click below to go directly to Sheet Music Plus!
Other holiday handbell arrangements from Choraegus
We have lots of Christmas and holiday music available from Choraegus (and Sheet Music Plus). Options include some fun-to-play secular arrangements. Click on the titles to find out more!
Our 2025 holiday handbell performances are finished! It’s time to thank everyone involved, and to look back at a fun December of duet-ringing!
We had busy holiday performance season this year. We were very fortunate with the weather, and the fact that we didn’t have to travel long distances to get to any of our Christmas gigs. That’s very helpful in Michigan. Our Christmas handbell performances are often booked months in advance, and there’s no way to know what the weather’s going to do! We just hope for the best, and remember to allow extra time for travel. We’ve never been late for any of our holiday handbell performances yet!
Here are some of the highlights from our 2025 holiday season:
Handbells on WOOD TV8
Our holiday performance season began early this year, with a short-notice booking for November 19th! This was for an appearance on the WOOD TV8 Daybreak show. The show was being presented live from the Christkindl Markt in Grand Rapids. Even though we wouldn’t be playing handbells while the market was open, we were invited to go and add to the holiday atmosphere with some Christmas ringing. This involved waking up at 3:30am, and arriving at the market at 5:15am on a very cold day! Still, we had fun, and we met Santa while we were there! Interestingly, the Santa we met there was not the official Christkindl Markt Santa. He was a very good one, though!
Trying not to look too cold, in Grand Rapids early in the morning
Glad to be back indoors for a while!
After that wintry start to our holiday performances, we were thankful to be indoors for a candlelight Advent evening in Marne. This was a nice opportunity to play some of our “it’s not quite Christmas yet” pieces, although we were happy to fulfil a surprise request for Jingle Bells at the end of the evening!
Later in December, we were welcomed back to The Village at the Pines in Grand Haven, where we enjoyed sharing some Advent and Christmas handbell duets with residents. It’s always such a friendly place! Several of the residents (and a staff member) played Jingle Bells on handchimes, and did very well. We have a version that uses words instead of music notation, and that makes it easier, although a couple of the residents had played handbells before, and their experience definitely showed!
For the first time, we shared our handbell music at The Warm Friend (Resthaven) in Holland, and appreciated all the interesting questions we received from the audience. We felt as if we could have stayed all afternoon and talked about handbells with the residents there! We took extra handbells and handchimes with us to this performance, so we added a smaller percussion table to the side of our usual table. This enabled us to demonstrate Savior of the Nations, Come on lower bells than we’d usually use, and to use handchimes for a couple of our pieces too.
A larger-than-usual set-up at The Warm Friend
Handbells at the Kerstmarkt-Holland
We enjoyed two evenings ringing at the Kerstmarkt in downtown Holland. We’ve been playing at this European-style Christmas market for some years now, and we always love it there. This year, we were very fortunate with the weather. We had just a few flurries of gently swirling snow, but the temperature on both evenings was mild by Michigan winter standards. We were wearing multiple layers of clothing, which helped a lot too, and we were grateful for the loan of a heater from Shady Side Farm. This holiday market is always such a fun, festive event, and it turns out that Santa and Mrs Claus love handbell music too!
So many layers of clothing, and we have a feeling Santa and Mrs Claus had the same idea!
Another cold (but festive) evening at Otsego Hometown Christmas
Thanks to Otsego District Public Library for sponsoring our evening at Otsego Hometown Christmas! This is always a chilly event to play at, but the warmth of the welcome makes up for it, and this year we particularly loved how many children came to listen to our handbell music. They asked interesting questions too, and it was an opportunity for us to educate as well as to entertain. This is a wonderful community event, and we’re always happy to be part of it.
Holiday handbell performances outdoors can be cold, but so much fun!
A concert with the Zeeland Community Band
We joined our friends at the Zeeland Community Band for their concert at Freedom Village. This concert included some pieces that were familiar to us, and others that were new. We played a 15-minute prelude, then three of our own pieces in the middle of the concert, and added our handbells to three of the band’s pieces. The concert was very well attended, and was a wonderful way to share the spirit of Christmas with this retirement community in Holland. We also appreciated being able to play our recent arrangement of Ring the Bells, accompanied by the band’s director Rose Wiersma on piano. We didn’t get a video of the performance, but here’s our recording at home, so you’ll get the idea.
Another performance at the Gary Byker Memorial Library of Hudsonville
We were pleased to be invited back to the library in Hudsonville for another holiday handbell performance. This was our seventh year at this Ringing in Christmas event hosted by the Friends of the Library, and after last December’s slightly-too-exciting drive through the snow, we were thankful for much kinder weather this time! The event is always popular, and audience members appreciate homemade treats provided by the Friends, and the opportunity to ask all their burning questions about handbells! Well, we like to think they have burning questions, of course, even though they’ve probably had them all answered by now. Thanks to audience member Steve Snow for this photo of us in action!
Deep in concentration at Hudsonville Libary’s Ringing in Christmas program. (Photo credit: Steve Snow)
Handbells in worship during Advent
We have quite a lot of Advent hymns for just eight bells now, but it’s still rare for us to be invited to play in churches here in Michigan during the run-up to Christmas. This December, we played at three churches; one on the third Sunday of Advent, in Grand Haven, and two on Christmas Eve, in Holland and Kalamazoo.
Handbell duets at the Advent service at St. Paul’s UCC in Grand Haven, Michigan
Playing in two different places made for a busy Christmas Eve and a very late night/early morning. It was worth it, though, because there’s something so special about welcoming Christmas morning with handbells, especially when candlelight is involved.
Lots of activity on our Facebook page!
Apart from our handbell duet performances, and concerts with Kalamazoo Ringers, we also recorded and shared a lot of handbell duets on our Facebook page during the run-up to Christmas. If you didn’t catch up with us at any of our performances, we encourage you to look at Facebook and watch our videos (now called Reels). We hope you’ll enjoy continuing to celebrate Christmas with us online!
Special thanks to those who made our 2025 holiday handbell performances possible:
WOOD-TV 8 Kerstmarkt-Holland Shady Side Farm, Holland, MI St. Mary Catholic Church, Marne, MI The Village at the Pines, Grand Haven, MI Zeeland Community Band Otsego District Public Library, MI Zeeland Community Band Resthaven The Warm Friend, Holland, MI Friends of the Gary Byker Library, Hudsonville, MI Internet Archive St. Pauls United Church of Christ, Grand Haven, MI Providence Church, Holland, MI First United Methodist Church, Kalamazoo, MI and others who booked us for private events.
“I want a hippopotamus for Christmas Only a hippopotamus will do I don’t want a doll, no dinky Tinkertoy I want a hippopotamus to play with and enjoy.“
I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas is a song from 1950 by John Rox. In 1953, Gayla Peevey, a ten-year old from Oklahoma City, OK, recorded it with Mitch Miller’s orchestra as the supporting cast. It’s been a holiday classic ever since – and now it’s available for 3 octaves of handbells (plus optional D7).
Here’s our demonstration video. We had so much fun recording this!
More information about I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas
You can find out more about this arrangement on our Choraegus music site, but if you want to play it, you’ll need to go to Sheet Music Plus to purchase the downloadable score. This site has been a huge help with publishing arrangements of songs that are still under copyright, especially when communicating directly with copyright holders proved to be less than successful. We hope you’ll want to put I Want a Hippopotamus on your Christmas wishlist!
We hope you’ll enjoy browsing our selection of handbell music on Sheet Music Plus. You’ll find more of Larry’s arrangements there soon! If there are any popular songs you’d like to see an arrangement for, you’re always welcome to contact us to suggest it. As always, if you have any questions, please let us know!
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel is one of the most popular hymns for the Advent and Christmas season. We were recently asked for a straightforward 2-3 octave arrangement, designed for beginning and improving handbell choirs.
Here’s our demonstration video of this Level 1+ piece.
More information about this 2-3 octave arrangement
This arrangement of O Come, O Come, Emmanuel is written with beginning/improving handbell choirs in mind. There are lots of chords, and lots of quarter notes; ideal for less-confident ringers. It’s a no-frills arrangement, and you can add as many repeats as you need. This arrangement is also suitable to be played on handchimes if you prefer. Sheet music is available to purchase and download from Choraegus. We offer the full choir license at a bargain price for this “no frills” arrangement. Purchase gives you our no-fuss permission to print up to 15 copies for your group.
Your purchase of the full-choir license allows you to perform, broadcast and live-stream this piece as part of a concert or worship service. There’s no need for any additional license or fee. We ask that youcredit the arranger (Larry Sue) and publisher (Choraegus) in any printed media such as concert programs, and online (in video descriptions). Please see our licensing agreement for full details.
We appreciate your help in spreading the word about Choraegus handbell music. If you record a video of your group playing any of our pieces, we’d love to see it. You’re welcome to share it with us by email or on our Facebook page!
Please note that Choraegus handbell music is designed to come to you as a downloadable PDF file. You’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. If you haven’t purchased music online from Choraegus before, we recommend our step-by-step guide. We designed this guide to help you navigate the purchase and download process in a (we hope!) stress-free way.
Any questions?
If you have any questions about O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, or any of our music, please start by reading our Frequently-Asked Questions. If someone has asked us a question even once, it will be there, along with the answer. Please contact us if you don’t find the information you need, and we’ll be happy to help.
Deck the Halls is a traditional carol with a Welsh tune that dates back to the 16th century. The original Nos Galan drinking song was part of the New Year’s Eve celebrations in Wales, and the lyrics had nothing to do with Christmas, and more to do with drinking!
“Deck the hall with boughs of holly, Fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la! ‘Tis the season to be jolly: Fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la! Fill the meadcup, drain the barrel, Fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la! Troul the ancient Christmas carol. Fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la!”
The English lyrics were written in 1862 by Scottish musician Thomas Oliphant. Over the years, the words have changed even more, with the drinking references gone in the later versions.
In case you’re wondering about the “correctness” of the title, Deck the Hall (singular) was used in the original English version. Our late friend Tim Waugh was always insistent that only one hall should be involved. However, the plural “halls” has been widely used since the late 1800s, so we believe that either version is acceptable. Our 12-bell arrangement only has the melody and not the lyrics, so if you want to change the title and call it Deck the Hall, that’s no problem at all.
Here’s our demonstration video, recorded on a sunny afternoon in July:
More information about Deck the Halls
As with all Choraegus 12-bell pieces, Deck the Halls is suitable for 3-6 ringers. Sheet music for this arrangement is available to purchase and download from Choraegus. Each arrangement is available for three different ranges of handbells, so you can choose which you prefer. Please refer to the bells-used charts on the Choraegus webpage to make sure you have all the bells you need, and make sure you purchase the right version!
We also have an 8-bell arrangement of Deck the Halls, available to download from Choraegus.
Important things to know about Choraegus handbell music
Choraegus handbell music scores are designed to be downloaded as PDF files. That means you’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. Purchasing a 12-bell arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain up to six copies for your handbell group – so please don’t pay for more copies than you need! A practice track is also available separately – useful if your ringers need to practise their parts without the full group being available.
Your purchase also gives permission for performance, broadcasting, live-streaming and video-sharing online. See our licensing agreement for full details. Please remember to mention the arranger (Larry Sue) and the publisher of the piece(Choraegus) on video-sharing sites, social media and any printed materials such as concert programs. We appreciate your help in getting the word out about Choraegus handbell music – and if you make a video of your handbell group playing any of our pieces, we’d love to see it!
If you haven’t purchased music online from Choraegus before, you might like to look at our step-by-step guide. We designed this to help you navigate the purchase and download process in a (we hope!) stress-free way.
Any questions?
If you have any questions about our music, please start by reading our Frequently-Asked Questions. Please contact us if you don’t find the answers you need, and we’ll be happy to help!
Infant Holy, Infant Lowly is a traditional Polish Christmas carol. The song was originally titled W Żłobie Leży (In the Manger He Lies), and it was translated into English as Infant Holy, Infant Lowly in 1920. It’s thought that the melody could date back to the thirteenth century.
“Infant holy, infant lowly, For His bed a cattle stall. Oxen lowing, little knowing, Christ the Babe is Lord of all. Swift are winging, angels singing, Noels ringing, tidings bringing, Christ the babe is Lord of all.”
We recorded our demonstration video on a hot day in July. If you use your imagination, you might think that the harsh sunlight on the trees and grass behind us is soft, billowing snow. If not, it can just be a Christmas in July thing. After all, if we waited until December to publish new handbell music, no one would have time to learn it!
More information about Infant Holy, Infant Lowly
As with all Choraegus 12-bell pieces, Infant Holy, Infant Lowly is suitable for 3-6 ringers. Sheet music for this arrangement is available to purchase and download from Choraegus. Each arrangement is available for three different ranges of handbells, so you can choose which you prefer. Please refer to the bells-used charts on the Choraegus webpage to make sure you have all the bells you need, and make sure you purchase the right version!
We have other arrangements of Infant Holy, Infant Lowly, available to download from Choraegus. We have two 8-bell versions; one standard and one Surprisingly Easy™. We also have a Level 2 arrangement for 3 octaves.
Things to know about Choraegus handbell music
Choraegus handbell music scores are designed to be downloaded as PDF files. That means you’ll be responsible for printing your own music, and you won’t receive anything in the mail. Purchasing a 12-bell arrangement gives you permission to print and maintain up to six copies for your handbell group – so please don’t pay for more copies than you need! A practice track is also available separately – useful if your ringers need to practise their parts without the full group being available.
Your purchase also gives permission for performance, broadcasting, live-streaming and video-sharing online. See our licensing agreement for full details. Please remember to mention the arranger (Larry Sue) and the publisher of the piece(Choraegus) on video-sharing sites, social media and any printed materials such as concert programs. We appreciate your help in getting the word out about Choraegus handbell music – and if you make a video of your handbell choir playing any of our pieces, we’d love to see it!
If you haven’t purchased music online from Choraegus before, you might like to look at our step-by-step guide. We designed this to help you navigate the purchase and download process in a (we hope!) stress-free way.
Any questions?
If you have any questions about our music, please start by reading our Frequently-Asked Questions. Please contact us if you don’t find the answers you need, and we’ll be happy to help!
The Kerstmarkt-Holland 2025 is a great opportunity to see and hear local handbell duo Larry and Carla, who will be playing traditional Christmas handbell music on two Friday evenings in November and December.
The Kerstmarkt is an open-air European-style holiday market located at the 8th Street Marketplace in Downtown Holland. It’s an annual event, and a wonderful opportunity to shop for unique handcrafted gifts and locally-made holiday treats. This isn’t the kind of market that’s filled with mass-produced items that you can easily find online. There are local sellers who will talk with you about their crafts, and sometimes you can even watch items being made! On cold winter evenings, it’s nice to listen to beautiful handbell music as you shop. Coffee, hot cider and food will also be available at this event. It’s your chance to try traditional Dutch treats such as pigs-in-blankets, banket (sweet pastries with almond paste filling), and stroopwafels!
Things to know about the Kerstmarkt in Holland
Most of the Kerstmarkt is under cover, so you can shop for gifts comfortably there. The street isn’t icy underfoot. The city’s famous “snowmelt” system makes it safe to walk on the heated sidewalks, even if the weather is wintry. The Kerstmarkt will give you a taste of a traditional European Christmas market, without having to fly to Europe! There are plenty of shops and restaurants close by, and lots to do in downtown Holland. Come for the day, and enjoy the holiday atmosphere!
The weather can be unpredictable in December, so dress warmly and prepare for snow or rain! Whatever the Michigan winter throws at us, this traditional market is always worth a visit. Check the Kerstmarkt website for other special events, such as Dickens Carolers and sled dogs, and bring your family and friends!
Free Admission is free, but tips for the musicians are appreciated!
The Kerstmarkt-Holland 2025 is a great opportunity to see and hear local handbell duo Larry and Carla, who will be playing traditional Christmas handbell music on two Friday evenings in November and December.
The Kerstmarkt is an annual open-air European-style Christmas market located at the 8th Street Marketplace in Downtown Holland. Come and listen to beautiful festive music as you shop for unique handcrafted gifts and locally-made holiday treats. Coffee and hot cider will be available to help you stay warm!
Most of the Kerstmarkt is under cover, so you can shop for gifts comfortably there. The market is located in downtown Holland, so there are plenty of shops and restaurants close by. There’s enough to do that you could easily turn a visit to the Kerstmarkt into a day trip. The city’s famous “snowmelt” system makes it safe to walk on the heated sidewalks, even if the weather is wintry. The Kerstmarkt will give you a taste of a traditional European Christmas market, without having to fly to Europe!
The weather is unpredictable in December. Whilst it’s safe to walk in downtown Holland in the winter months, it’s wise to dress warmly. Here’s a photo from Kerstmarkt opening day, on a chilly Saturday in 2022!
Admission is free, but tips for the musicians are appreciated!
Ringing in Christmas! Enjoy the traditional sounds of Christmas handbells at Hudsonville Library! Michigan handbell duo Larry and Carla will be back for the seventh time with a program of handbell duets!
More about Larry and Carla
Larry and Carla started playing handbells when Carla lived in England and Larry lived in California. Their shared love of these unusual musical instruments led to a chance meeting online! Larry and Carla spent nearly three years in a long-distance relationship, and eventually they were able to go through the US visa process before getting married in California in 2012. They moved from California to Holland, Michigan in the summer of 2016, and became West Michigan’s Smallest Handbell Choir! They play duets using just eight handbells, and love to show how much music can be played using such a small number of bells.
This will be Larry and Carla’s seventh time at this popular Hudsonville Library holiday event. They’ll demonstrate the art of playing handbells by holding two bells in each hand. Their program will include some well-known carols, as well as some less-familiar holiday tunes from around the world. You’ll also hear music played on a set of of handchimes, and perhaps even have a chance to try playing them! There will be plenty of opportunity to ask all your burning questions about handbells, and coffee and snacks will be provided.;
Not sure what to expect? Here’s a recording of Larry and Carla playing handbells in their home last Christmas:
We look forward to welcoming you to Ringing in Christmas, presented by the Friends of the Gary Byker Memorial Library.
Ringing in Christmas – a note about winter weather!
NOTE: If the weather’s bad on the day, please check with the library (or on our Facebook page) before venturing out. If the library’s open, we’ll plan to be there, but your safety is always a priority. Here’s a photo from last December, when the snow was falling heavily but the event still happened as planned. Now that we’ve lived in Michigan for a few years, we’re used to all the fun of the winter snowstorms!
Free to attend; a donation to the Friends of the Library is appreciated
Kerstmarkt – Holland
150 W 8th St Holland,
MI
49423United States+ Google Map
Silver Bells is a wonderfully nostalgic Christmas song from the 1950s. It was written by Ray Evans and Jay Livingston, and was used in the 1951 movie The Lemon Drop Kid. It was first sung by Bing Crosby and Carol Richards, and has since been recorded by many others, including Elvis Presley, Johnny Mathis, Michael Bublé and The Temptations. We recently had fun arranging and recording a brand-new arrangement of Silver Bells for handbells!
Silver Bells is a Level 4 arrangement for 3-7 octaves of handbells and 3 octaves of handchimes. If you don’t have handchimes, you could still play it without them, but the chimes definitely add an interesting texture. We have some borrowed Silver Melody Bells, so we used those instead of the handchimes at the beginning and end of the piece, so that’s another option if you have “alternate” bells, like Petit and Fritsens or Whitechapels. You could even use malleted bells on a bell tree. You get to decide how creative you want to be!
The score for Silver Bells is available to download from Sheet Music Plus/Sheet Music Direct, either as a single copy (for massed ringing events, or as a preview) and as a full-choir version. If you’d like to find out more about purchase options, please visit our Choraegus website!
Other recent Christmas titles from Choraegus
Winter Wonderland
Larry’s recent 5-octave arrangement of Winter Wonderland is an exciting challenge for advanced handbell choirs! This piece is available from Sheet Music Plus, in either a single-copy version, or a full-choir score. Find out more on our music site!
Ukrainian Carol of the Bells
This 5-7 octave, Level 4 arrangement makes the perfect concert-closer or encore piece for a holiday concert! Sheet music is available to download from Choraegus.
There are lots more Christmas and holiday arrangements available from Choraegus, so please feel welcome to browse our music site! If there are any Christmas carols or songs you’d like to see an arrangement for, you’re always welcome to contact us to suggest it. As always, if you have any questions, please let us know!
