By Alan Light
Special to MSN Music

What is your idea of a classic Christmas song? Is it "Silent Night" or "Christmas Wrapping" by the Waitresses? John Lennon's "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" or "Good King Wenceslas"?

Whatever your pick, it was probably represented at the McGarrigle Christmas Hour show, presented at New York's fabled Carnegie Hall on Dec. 10. For the third time, the Wainwright and McGarrigle clan (revered folk duo Kate and Anna McGarrigle and a slew of their family members, including Kate's children with ex-husband and singer-songwriter Loudon Wainwright III, Rufus and Martha Wainwright) gathered up a bunch of friends to put on a ramshackle, heartwarming holiday concert. This year, participating comrades included Lou Reed and wife Laurie Anderson, Emmylou Harris, Jimmy Fallon, and Teddy Thompson (another second-generation troubadour as son of Richard Thompson and his ex, Linda Thompson).

It was clear from the moment Rufus Wainwright ambled onstage in an alarming, multicolored patchwork overcoat that this would be no ordinary seasonal gathering (when he grabbed his mother for an impromptu midsong dance, Martha remarked that they looked like "a homeless guy and a hooker"). It's easy to focus on the show's left-field highlights: a slightly befuddled-looking Reed crooning his way through a deadpan version of Elvis Presley's hit "Blue Christmas"; Taylor McFerrin, son of Bobby, blasting some high-speed human beat boxing on "The Little Drummer Boy"; drag queen Justin Bond delivering a dramatic original protesting recent votes against gay marriage ("If God is love, then let's get loving").

But mixed in with the weirdness was some truly gorgeous singing, including Harris leading a rendition of "O Little Town of Bethlehem" and a magnificent, unamplified performance by Rufus of "O Holy Night" in French translation. In addition, this year's show was a benefit for the Kate McGarrigle Fund (www.muhcfoundation.com/mcgarrigle), supporting cancer research at Montreal's McGill University.

If this all sounds like your kind of Christmas cheer, there's good news. The McGarrigle Christmas Hour players reconvened the following afternoon at the downtown club the Knitting Factory to film a DVD version of the concert; the plan is for the disc to be released within the next few weeks. (Editor's note: Listeners can check out the show's studio inspiration, the 2005 album "The McGarrigle Christmas Hour," as well as Harris' now-classic holiday set, "Light of the Stable.")

The day before the show, Rufus took a break from rehearsals to share his thoughts about holiday music, though he was also still recovering from a family visit to Martha Stewart's TV show to bake cookies. "There was flour and sticky dough all over the place," he said. "Lucille Ball was definitely in the room."

MSN Music: Now that the Christmas music season apparently starts at Halloween, how can you still stand these songs enough to actually perform them?

Rufus Wainwright: Whether you love Christmas music or hate it, you cannot deny that it's pretty sturdy stuff. It lasts, and even seems to grow more popular over the years, so you have to respect the material.

That said, this is the McGarrigles and the Wainwrights, so you have to add a certain spin to your expectations. The show isn't really overly rehearsed or too traditional, too sacred with the music. We're having fun with it. It's not life or death, which I think is a good message for the holidays, anyway.

More on page 2: Why the show is biennial, his mother and more