With current economic conditions sending consumers in search of bargains (if they’re opening their wallets at all), my contribution to making this bah-humbug season a tiny bit better will be to spotlight some free holiday MP3s available on the Interweb.

Sure, free tunes can’t turn that fiscal frown upside down, but these little gifts of music may markedly improve your mood. And couldn’t we all use a little extra cheer this Christmas?

After last week’s Sheryl Crow freebie, the second entry on my cash-free holiday playlist comes from Tony-award winning actress Kristin Chenoweth. The talented stage and screen star is currently in the cast of ABC’s Pushing Daisies as Olive Snook, a role that earned her an Emmy nod earlier this year (my Christmas wish is for the series to survive). On A Lovely Way To Spend Christmas, recorded at the same legendary Capitol Studios where Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, and Nat King Cole made their yuletide classics, Chenoweth offers a mix of secular and spiritual songs to usher in the season.

“I grew up listening to Barbra Streisand’s Christmas album, and that was such an inspiration to me,” says Chenoweth. “Christmas is my favorite holiday and I am blessed and excited to be able to do my own Christmas album.” She also co-stars in the upcoming Four Christmases with Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn.

“Home On Christmas Day,” one of two original songs on A Lovely Way To Spend Christmas, is available for a limited time as a free download from Borders.