Celebrating 20 Years of Daddy’s Christmas Songs (2005–2025)

Dear Friend:

Wow, more than 20 years ago, before I realized how quickly moments become memories, I recorded a Christmas CD with my daughter for our family, friends, and business clients. What began as a simple gift has grown into a celebration of 20 years of Mozena Family Christmases, memories, music, and moments I will always treasure.

My daughter, Arista, was only 3 1/2 years old when she first sang with me. Today she is 23 years old and a recent graduate of the University of Oregon with a degree in Journalism with an emphasis in Advertising and a Minor in Theater Arts. She now seeks opportunities in advertising or theater, and the apple truly did not fall far from the tree.

She has always loved entertaining others with many recent parts in community theater in Eugene, Oregon, just as I have throughout my life.

One of the first songs she ever recorded was “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” which she sang with her tiny voice at 3 1/2. You can hear it below. That little recording helped inspire everything that followed.

During her first year of high school in 2016, at age 14 1/2, Arista received a Christmas gift from Santa, the chance to record 2 pop songs. You can enjoy them here as well. One of my dreams is for the three of us, my wife, my daughter, and me, to someday sing “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” each of us taking 4 of the days. I especially want to sing “Five Golden Rings” with my baritone and bass voice, as Bing Crosby once did so beautifully. I would also love to surprise my wife and daughter by learning a Filipino Christmas song one day.

Christmas has always brought dreams with it, and I have held onto one of my own.

Although I have appeared as an extra and earned 3 SAG vouchers that allowed me to qualify for my SAG card, I have never had a speaking role even an under-5 role. I would be grateful for even an under-5 part in a television show, a streaming show, or a film. It is a Christmas wish I have carried with me for decades.

Another meaningful moment came at Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger's premiere party for the movie Eraser, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Vanessa Williams, I met Actor and Producer David Hasselhoff. I joked that if he put me on Baywatch, I could act as if I were drowning and yell “Help!”, and Pamela Anderson, as C. J. Parker, could rescue me so I could finally have a speaking role on television. He laughed, reached into his wallet, pulled out a gold business card case, and handed me one of his production company cards, telling me to drop off a headshot and a resume to the production company. I followed through and did exactly that.

Nothing ultimately came of it, but the moment stayed with me. The encouragement mattered, and so did the possibility it represented. I continue to carry the Christmas wish that one day I might still be given the opportunity to take part in a production.

Hollywood brought memorable moments into my life. At one of the many Dracula premiere parties I met Motivational Speaker Tony Robbins. I had read his books and listened to his recordings for years. He gave me the phone number of his executive assistant along with a special code word so I could receive a free ticket to one of his seminars at the LAX hotel. I attended the seminar and walked across 8 feet of burning coals. I had just completed the Los Angeles Marathon, running nonstop for 4 hours, 52 minutes, and 52 seconds, so I felt prepared for the firewalk challenge. Not only did I do it, but I dated someone I met at that seminar.

Years after that, I met legendary music executive Clive Davis at a speaking engagement in Los Angeles. I sent him a follow-up letter along with the Christmas CD that Arista and I had recorded. I explained that my daughter’s name was Arista, the same as his renowned record label. He wrote a handwritten note on my letter, telling me that Arista was a beautiful name and encouraging me to make sure she received a full education. He had begun his own career as an attorney, so education mattered deeply to him.

Clive Davis is still alive today in his nineties, and I often think about how meaningful it would be for him to know that I followed his guidance. Arista has now completed her degree, and she continues to grow as a performer and an artist. Now that she has graduated, I sometimes wonder if he still has enough influence with a label to consider letting Arista and me record a CD together. I believe that when he encouraged her education, he hoped that someone would reach out to her after she finished college. She has sung her whole life, including at the Newman Center at St. Thomas More Catholic Church for about four years while she was a college student.

These stories, small and large, are part of the fabric of this website. Christmas is not only about music but about the people and moments that shape our lives. Listen to the Christmas CD tracks below, especially Arista, at the age of 3 1/2, singing “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” See the Christmas CD cover at the bottom of this homepage.

Now to walk back in time a bit. During her first year of high school, beginning in the Fall of 2016 at the age of 14 1/2, Arista was given a Christmas present by Santa, an opportunity to have 2 additional songs produced. This time, they were pop songs. Here they are below for your listening pleasure.

				Full Song
1.	"Riptide" (4:21) Arista Mozena
2.	"Let it Go" (3:23) Arista Mozena

Let's jump back farther into a Christmas past, when Arista was 8 years old, and sang the Christmas song "Jolly Old St. Nicholas"; Arista even sang for Santa Claus on-air.

In fact, Santa Claus had even heard about Arista's lovely song about him and interviewed her on KOST Radio at FM 103.5 in Los Angeles in 2010. You can listen to both the song and the interview right here:

				Full Song
1.	"Jolly Old St. Nicholas" (1:16) Arista Mozena
2.	"Santa Calls Arista" (2:38) Radio Interview

With that said, we hope one day Arista's "Jolly Old St. Nicholas" will be put into the music rotation by the management and program director at KOST fm 103.5 in Los Angeles as part of their about one-month-long rotation, because that's where she originally spoke and sang to Santa. Moreover, now that my daughter attends the University of Oregon, maybe the radio management at the local radio station will play her “Jolly Old St. Nicholas” during their Christmastime music rotation, at the radio station 94.5 Mix FM and/or 104.7 KDUK, #1 Hit Music Station.

In the meantime, maybe you can attend one of her upcoming theater productions at the University of Oregon, local Eugene area productions, or even right now, you could be entertained by Arista at her Youtube channel at ARISTACAT101. You may want to subscribe to it. Also, there is her newly created podcast at K-DramaPop where you can tune in to it.

For me, on the other hand, I am not a professional singer or musician. Although my daughter reads music and plays instruments, I cannot play any instruments, though I have a good ear for music. Despite this, I made the CD because I love singing, and I love Christmas. I hope you enjoy the music.