It seemed really appropriate that it was Giving Tuesday when I met up with Nora Collins and her mom, Jenny, to make a couple of kids’ holiday dreams come true by doing some Angel Tree shopping at the Brookfield Target. Collins’ shopping trip preceded the official kickoff to her "It Must Be Christmas" campaign, which began today.

During the campaign, Collins will encourage fans to give of themselves throughout the holiday season. She hopes that her fans will be inspired by her own stories of giving to reach out, help, give back and show appreciation by grabbing a name off an Angel Tree, baking for first responders, bringing a meal to an elderly neighbor or a family in need, or supporting their favorite charities through gifts of time or money. Collins feels that if "we could all just give a little, in whatever way we feel, big or small, it would add up to a lot of cheer spread" throughout the season.

But I should back up a step. You’re probably wondering who Nora Collins is, why do you care that I tagged along on her Angel Tree trip, and why does she have her own "It Must Be Christmas" campaign, right? Before a few weeks ago, I would’ve been asking the exact same thing.

Here’s the answer: Nora Collins, born and raised a Sconnie girl, is currently taking hold of Nashville, one song at a time. She’s a singer-songwriter from Brookfield who moved to Music City last year after signing a publishing and artist development deal with MV2 Entertainment.

Before hitting that career milestone, Collins was performing 200 shows a year and making waves in Milwaukee, racking up WAMI nominations and awards in the process. In January, she was a member of FM 106.1’s annual "Class Of" concert series at the Northern Lights Theater. She’s been playing Summerfest since she was in high school. And Collins has opened for some big names in country music, including David Nail, Kelsea Ballerini and Cassadee Pope to name a few.  

So she’s got chops. Still, before she opened for Keith Anderson a few weeks ago, I had no idea there was a Nora Collins. But now, I can tell you that she’s not only a gifted songwriter with an incredible set of pipes, but she’s a sweet human being who cares about other humans.

On Tuesday, she and her mom were shopping for two boys, ages 7 and 5. The boys’ requests were simple: toys related to cars or superheroes. With Angel Tree tags in hand, Nora and Jenny headed straight for the toy aisle. Jenny is a pre-school teacher whose keen insight into what makes a good toy for young kids made for quick work of the boys’ lists. Still Nora and her mom debated the pluses and minuses of each toy they chose trying to pick just the right one for each child. For the older boy, superhero LEGOs. For the younger, a Hot Wheels toy with spinning tracks. (Nora grabbed a pack of batteries to make sure the toy was an actual hit on Christmas Day.)

Nora explained that the boys’ lists were provided by their church: Unity Lutheran Church (Christ the King campus). She said that the Angel Tree is something they’ve been doing since she was a kid and that trying to help others is important to their family. The boys are kids that live in one of Milwaukee’s poorer neighborhoods.

It’s not surprising that part of the cloth of the Collins family is helping others. At only 23, Nora has been named a Champion for the Southeastern Wisconsin region by the Alzheimer’s Association. Her grandmother had Alzheimer’s, and after she passed away, Nora put her music to work to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Association. She says, now with things so busy, she helps where she can. She sang at the Silver Bells Caroling last Saturday in Waukesha with all proceeds benefiting the association. She also performed at the group’s annual walk in Nashville this year.

Collins is surprisingly determined for someone so young. At 23, she’s gone after her dreams. But she’s also put in the work, often missing out on parties and social hangs in high school to perform in bars in an effort to hone her craft. While she doesn’t regret it, she does say that it wasn’t easy – especially when her peers didn’t understand. But she’s used that to help drive her.

"When you believe in yourself and have other people believe in you, and then you hear 'no' from your peers," Collins explained, "you just want to prove that you’re not just chasing something that’s never gonna happen."

But it has happened. It is happening. It’s going to keep happening for Collins. Keeping in line with that, Collins just released her newest EP, "It Must Be Christmas."

Admittedly, I’m so not the biggest fan of Christmas music except the classics, with a few newer songs sprinkled in. By classics, I mean the actual classics: the Bing Crosby version of "White Christmas," the Gene Autry version of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," Perry Como’s cut of "Home for the Holidays," a congregational version of "Silent Night" with candles … you get it. I’m kind of a scrooge when it comes to Christmas music.

But Collins, once again, surprised me with her Christmas EP. Her lead single, "Christmas Kiss" which she co-wrote with Robert Arthur, is just the right amount of sweet. Honestly, though, I think if someone else besides Collins was singing it, "Christmas Kiss" would be one of those sappy Christmas songs you listen to just once. But with Collins driving the vocals, the song is good – really good. For sure, it’s going in my Christmas music queue.

For me, though, the standout song on the EP is actually "Last Christmas." Yeah, that’s right – a re-cut of Wham’s hit. If you’re going to re-cut a popular song, you better own it. And she does. In this case, owning it means going for an aggressively acoustic, less synthesized version of the song. It’s grittier – and obviously totally country. And it works.

When I asked Collins why she cut the song, she laughed, "It’s honestly one of my favorite Christmas songs!" She went on to say that "lyrically and musically, I think it’s cool. Coming from a songwriter’s perspective that it sounds happy, but it’s a sad song about heartbreak. But because it’s up-tempo and it’s got jingle bells, it puts you in the holiday spirit. And I just think that’s interesting."  

The last thing I asked Collins about were her plans for future recordings. She smiled and said that there was another EP in the works. A listening meeting took place just before she came back to Wisconsin for Thanksgiving. They went through and hand-picked favorite songs that Collins has written over the last year.

She’s excited about it. You should be, too.