The first instrumentals for the special were recorded by Guaraldi at Glendale, California's Whitney Studio with bassist Monty Budwig and drummer Colin Bailey in September 1965. Recycling "Linus and Lucy" from the earlier special and the album "Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown", Guaraldi completed two new originals, "Skating", and "Christmas Time Is Here". In the weeks preceding the premiere, Mendelson encountered trouble finding a lyricist for Guaraldi's instrumental intro and wrote "Christmas Time Is Here" in "about 15 minutes" on the backside of an envelope.