Looking to get in the holiday spirit? We tried 'Dial-A-Carol'

If you've left your house at all in the last month, you might feel that you've had enough Jingle Bells or Silent Nights to last a lifetime.

But there are those that just can't get enough Christmas carols, and for them, students at the University of Illinois have created the Dial-A-Carol hotline. The students claim anyone can call their 24-hour hotline at any time of the day or night, and a volunteer will sing them any Christmas carol they request.

"My voice is struggling a little bit," Kate, a Dial-A-Carol volunteer, tells As It Happens host Carol Off.

"We've been up all night and we've had a large volume of calls."

The Dial-A-Carol event has been an annual tradition at the Snyder Hall residence for the past 55 years.

As news of the service spreads across social media, the community of callers is rapidly expanding. Kate says this year the volunteers have already received over 8,000 calls.

"As we've become more technologically-advanced we've been able to reach a wider audience," Kate explains. "We're a bit overwhelmed to be honest."

As It Happens0:47Hold music for 24 hour emergency Christmas carol hotline, Dial-A-Carol

We call a 24 hour emergency Christmas carol hotline to test their claim that a live person will give us a rendition of any holiday song we request.

The Snyder Hall council provide binders of popular lyrics and schedule shifts, but Kate says students frequently drop by for fun.

"Usually people are like, 'I'll come down for two or three minutes and sing a song or two,' and then three hours later they're like, 'Oh my goodness, I have to go study for my final!'"

Popular favourites like Jingle Bells and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer top the list of requests, along with a few more contemporary holiday numbers.

"We get a lot of All I Want For Christmas is You by Mariah Carey," Kate admits. "We're pretty Mariah Carey-ed out!"

With this in mind, As It Happens gave the Dial-A-Carol team a choice.

On the heels of CBC Saskatchewan's dramatic #CarolOff Christmas carol battle, As It Happens host, Carol Off requested #CarolOff winner, O Holy Night, or the runner up, Silent Night.

After consulting with her team and learning that Silent Night lost by a single vote, Kate and her team made their decision.

Live from the Dial-A-Carol headquarters, here is their moving rendition of Silent Night:

As It Happens0:41Dial-A-Carol volunteers perform a moving rendition of 'Silent Night' for As It Happens

We call a 24-hour emergency Christmas carol hotline to test their claim that a live person will give us a rendition of any holiday song we request.

To hear the full interview please select the Listen audio link above.