Andy Williams, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” from his 1963 album “The Andy Williams Christmas Album”
Interestingly, it’s not an old song at all; it was written in 1963, specifically for Williams for one of his early TV Christmas specials.
I’ve always wondered at the “There’ll be scary ghost stories” line. Were ghost stories ever a feature of Christmas celebrations? Does “A Christmas Carol” then just become a part of this tradition? Or is this line a reference to Dickens?
A good question. I’ve wondered, but not enough to research it. Unfortunately, the song’s composer, George Wyle, passed away in 2003, otherwise I’d write him.