Mariah Carey, Michael Buble, and… MmmmmKelly Clarkson. If you’re looking for holiday music to add to this year’s playlist, look no further!
A capella parody songs and the two classics aside, Hannukah music just really isn’t there compared to Christmas music. As a girl who celebrates both, you can find me lighting my menorah and then turning on a three hour carols playlist. I like my holiday music to transcend time and generations (yes, I am very cool). Here’s a list of my ten holiday music favorites for any party, Christmas dinner prep, or tree decorating session!
10. It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas by Michael Buble – Come October, we all must participate in the ritual of removing Michael Buble from the freezer and letting him defrost in time for late November. Yes, it’s a Christmas classic that’s been covered time and time again, but this version hits differently! It’s an inherent crowd pleaser.
9. O Tannenbaum by Vince Guaraldi Trio – If the name sounds familiar, it’s because this is the group behind the music from the essential (E S S E N T I A L) holiday classic, “Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown!” If you’re me, you will instantly recognize “Christmastime is Here” by the group, but again, if you’re me, the memories of Charlie Brown lamenting his loneliness to Linus are an afterthought to this iconic joke from “Arrested Development.” In its stead, this version of O Tannenbaum plays when Linus and Charlie Brown find their tiny Christmas tree! I can’t hear this song without thinking about walking my childhood neighborhood in the winter, with crisp 60 degree air and lights adorning every roof.
8. It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year by Andy Williams – Grab the cookie cutters and the ugly sweater. This is the song that plays when Thanksgiving dinner ends and and the tree buying begins. This song just brings the warm and fuzzies to your heart! It feels like a hug from your best friend as they arrive to the Secret Santa party.
7. All I Want for Christmas is You by Mariah Carey – Listen. Don’t fight it. You know it’s coming. I know it’s coming. Accept it, keep that one friend away from the karaoke machine, and you’ll be fine.
6. Jingle Bell Rock by Bobby Helms – For some (maybe even most), you will immediately get flashbacks to Mean Girls (Or “thank u, next?”). I, however, remember every step of my Christmas parade choreography as a child baton twirler. It always makes me smile!
5. Christmas Eve/ Sarajevo by Trans-Siberian Orchestra – If you’re looking to push yourself in the gym to look your fittest in your Christmas morning Instagram story, or if you’re just hoping to add some epic to your holiday decorating, this is THE song to add. If you’re looking for the former, add this to the end of your workout, get on the treadmill, and increase the speed at every major junction. You will feel stronger than a reindeer by the time the song ends. I also wouldn’t be a true fan of “The Office” if I didn’t shout out this iconic moment from the post-Michael Scott era.
4. Underneath the Tree by Kelly Clarkson – I know, a lot of Christmas music now is just covers of older classics, and there’s NOTHING wrong with that. However, Kelly Clarkson’s “Underneath the Tree” is the closest I think we’ve come to an original, new Christmas classic. You’ll hear it at Target, under the “Today” show segments, and it deserves a spot on your holiday soundtrack. I humbly believe that if you’ve got the voice for it, this should be the new Christmas karaoke essential. Let’s stop with “Santa Baby” (which is NOT performed by Marilyn Monroe. Iconic as she is, it’s Eartha Kitt behind this classic. And let’s keep it that way).
3. Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree by Brenda Lee – I’m gonna share a sentimental secret: yes, when I hear this song, I do think of the fake Christmas party from “Home Alone,” but I also remember the final scene from “Cheaper by the Dozen” (which, by the way, HOLDS UP seventeen years later). While not, strictly speaking, a Christmas movie, “Cheaper by the Dozen” does contain a lot of themes that you see in Christmas movies, chief among them the importance of family. At the end of the film, Steve Martin’s character takes a moment to observe the setting before him: a bountiful Christmas dinner, his loving wife, and his eponymous dozen children. It’s a moment of simple happiness, gratitude, and love. It’s one of my favorite endings from any movie, and it’s on my mental vision board to manifest for my future family.
2. Please Come Home for Christmas by Charles Brown – Speaking of Christmas movie moments to manifest, it’s hard to explain this one. The first time I heard it was in “Home Alone.” It plays when Kevin’s mother decides to stay in the airport and get a flight back to the US to be with her son, leaving the other kids and relatives to head to the family’s planned Parisian vacation without her.
She shares a tight embrace with her husband before they part. That brief moment has cemented itself into the depths of my brain. It’s such a sweet, throwaway moment that feels so intimate. Granted, not everyone accidentally leaves their eight year old alone on Christmas! However, mistakes and sacrifices are just a part of life, let alone raising a family. I don’t know what it is about this hug in the airport that just fills my heart with love and peace, but it’s perfect to me. The song itself is classically blues, and ideal for you and your partner to share a moment for just the two of you amidst the family chaos of Christmas.
Before I give my number one pick, I want to give an honorable mention:
HONORABLE MENTION: God Only Knows by Pentatonix – Yes, this is a Beach Boys cover, and The Beach Boys version is JUST as acceptable, but I couldn’t create a Christmas playlist without including any a cappella. This song is not a Christmas carol, but it plays at the end of “Love Actually,” a Christmas classic. This is referenced in the Pentatonix’ music video for the cover. I almost used it as my first dance with Aaron, I love it so much. This song just gives you comfort, and reminds you that Christmas love really is all around.
Here it is — my number one favorite Christmas song:
1. Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire (The Christmas Song) by Nat King Cole – My dad used to wake us up by playing this song on Christmas morning (when I say “wake us up,” I mean alert my siblings and I that he and my mother were awake so we could stop pretending to sleep and open our presents). Just hearing the opening notes makes me smile.
In a similar vein to Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole’s Christmas album in its entirety belongs on your Christmas playlist. This song just personally hits differently. When people say “I wish I was born in a different generation,” it’s this! It makes you want to put on a long red velvet dress with a white ruffle trim. You wear that while you take the roast goose from the oven to serve to your darling children. Between the heartwarming strings and piano solo, it’s just a beautiful song that touches the heart.
I cried tears of joy three times while compiling this list of my holiday music favorites. As a result, you aren’t allowed to disagree with my opinions or you’ll hurt my feelings. I don’t make the rules! Here’s a link to my Spotify playlist with all these tunes and more. Now… where can I buy fake snow?