Tris’ Top 20 Favorite Christmas Songs
By: Tris Mamone
Tags: Christmas, Top 20, Christmas Music, Lists, Music

Half of this list previously appeared in an old Splice Today article.

Let’s be honest: most Christmas music sucks. Either the songs are overplayed (do we really need another cover of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”?), overproduced (Gwen Stefani’s cover of “White Christmas,” I’m looking at you), or just plain bad (“The Christmas Shoes”). Yet even within the great garbage heap that is Christmas music, there are still a few good songs. These are the songs that actually psyche us up about Christmas. Here are my top 20 picks.

20). “Wonderful Christmastime” by Paul McCartney

I know a lot of people hate this song, but I fucking love it. Sure, it has that cheesy echoing synthesizer, it’s repetitive, and the lyrics are so simple a five-year-old could write them. Even the promo video is corny with its animation, 1980s-era special effects, and that weird conga line McCartney leads around the pub. But it’s just so damn happy and cheery that I can’t help but smile whenever I hear it. And after a shitty year like 2020, I’ll take all the happiness and cheer I can get.

19). “Marshmallow World” by Darlene Love

Phil Spector is a piece of shit human being, but he was a damn good producer. His 1964 Christmas compilation album A Christmas Gift for You features his famous “wall of sound” production along with some of his artists from the time: The Ronettes, Darlene Love, the Crystals, and Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans. This rendition of “Marshmallow World” is one of the album’s standout tracks.

18). “This Christmas” by Donny Hathaway

Just a great song, period. (Has anyone found Patti LaBelle’s backup singers yet?)

17). “Thank God It’s Christmas” by Queen

Even though it’s Queen, I never hear this song on any of those radio stations that play Christmas music 24/7 throughout December. I mean, it’s Freddie Mercury, and it’s Christmas. What more do you want?

16). “Frosty the Snowman” by Leon Redbone and Dr. John

Two musical legends team up to put their own spin on an old-time classic. Sadly, both passed away in 2019 (ironically within about a week of each other), so if Heaven exists, hopefully these two are singing this song again right now.

15). “I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday” by Wizzard

For the past month, I’ve been hearing Leona Lewis’ version of this song on the PA at my grocery store job. No disrespect to Lewis, but I have to go with the original by Roy Wood and his band Wizzard. This is another Christmas classic I hardly hear on American radio for some odd reason.

14). “Sleigh Ride” by the Ronettes

Another classic off of A Christmas Gift for You From Phil Spector. Be forewarned, my friends: after you hear this, you will find yourself singing “Ring-a-ling-a-ling-a ding dong ding” all day!

13). “River” by Joni Mitchell

Christmas isn’t always fun and cheer. It can be really sad, too, and Joni Mitchell’s “River” perfectly captures it with this song. While the song itself isn’t really about Christmas — it only takes place during the holiday — Mitchell incorporating “Jingle Bells” into it makes it a Christmas classic.

12). “The Night Before Christmas Song” by Gene Autry and Rosemary Clooney

This song has a special place in my heart. My grandmother had a record of Gene Autry singing Christmas songs, including this one. I always thought it was a pretty song, but since she passed away the it’s taken on a different meaning. Kinda makes me cry, too, even though it’s literally just the famous poem set to music.

11). “Father Christmas” by the Kinks

Yet another song I don’t hear on the radio, although there might be a good reason for this one. I mean, it is about a department store Santa who gets mugged by a gang of poverty-stricken kids after all. But it’s still an awesome song with a real punk energy.

10). “Fairytale of New York” by the Pogues with Kirsty MacColl

When a song takes place on Christmas Eve “in the drunk tank,” it won’t be a Hallmark Channel Christmas story. The song details the failed romance between two Irish people: a drunk guy and a jilted woman. He promised her Broadway when they first met, but in the end they both fucked up each other’s lives. Now on Christmas the two exes exchange insults like “old slut on junk” and “cheap lousy f*ggot.” (Yeah, that line did not age well.) At least Irish people are brutally honest with each other.

9). “What Christmas Means to Me” by Stevie Wonder

This classic is full of happy imagery and a swinging beat that will make even the Grinch rock around the Christmas tree. If this song doesn’t make you feel like running wild with Stevie, check your pulse!

8). “The Season’s Upon Us” by Dropkick Murphys

Continuing the tradition of brutally honest Irish rockers, this Celtic punk song is for all of us stuck with shitty relatives on the holidays. From “whack-job” sisters with equally obnoxious husbands to nephews who give shitty Christmas presents (literally) to selfish drunk dads, this song will make you feel better about spending the holidays with your cousin that’s always mooching money off you.

7). “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” by John and Yoko

I know most of you are tired of hearing this year after year, but hear me out. Yes, John was an abusive dick. Yes, Yoko’s voice makes nails on a chalkboard sound like Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. Yes, wanting war to be over isn’t enough to actually end war. Still, the song has a great message of hope. Plus, the kids singing, “War is over if you want it, war is over now” still brings a tear to my eye.

6). “White Wine in the Sun” by Tim Minchin

Atheist comedian, singer, and songwriter Minchin finally answers the old question, “Why would an atheist celebrate Christmas?” True, we don’t believe in the nativity story, and we don’t like all the gross commercialization either. Instead, Christmas to us is about spending time with our loved ones. It’s a pretty song that really tugs on the heartstrings when Minchin tells his infant daughter that she might not understand family gatherings now, but will when she grows up.

5). “The Little Drummer Boy/ Peace on Earth” by Bing Crosby and David Bowie

David Bowie makes everything better. Originally the producers wanted Bowie and Crosby to sing “The Little Drummer Boy” together, but Bowie hated the song and asked to sing something different. The producers wrote some new lyrics for Bowie, and the result is a beautiful song with a humanitarian message.

(I think the producers changed some of the original lyrics, too. In this version, Bing sings, “Little baby, ba-rump-a-bum-bum/ I stood beside him there, ba-rump-a-bum-bum” instead of the original “Mary nodded, ba-rump-a-bum-bum/ The ox and lamb kept time, ba-rump-a-bum-bum.”

4). “Christmas Wrapping” by The Waitresses

Not everything was bad in the 1980s, and this song proves it. It even has a nice little love story: girl meets boy, girl keeps crossing paths with boy but never hook up, girl finally connects with boy during a last-minute trip to the grocery store for cranberry sauce.

3). “That Was the Worst Christmas Ever!” by Sufjan Stevens

It’s hard to pick just one Sufjan Christmas song, but this is a beautiful short song about Christmas growing up with a violent father. It also helps that Shara Nova of My Brightest Diamond provides haunting backup vocals.

2). “I Believe in Father Christmas” by Greg Lake

It’s a sad song about how the magic of Christmas turns out to be a myth, but it’s still great. Maybe we all need to grieve that loss of innocence from time to time. As compensation, the video ends with a soldier reuniting with his son, so that makes up for the gloominess.

1). “Christmas in Hollis” by Run-DMC

What’s not to love about this? It’s fun, funky, and it’ll make anyone hungry for chicken, collard greens, rice, stuffing, and mac ’n’ cheese. Plus, it has a great message about how you should never steal from Santa, even if he accidentally drops a wallet filled with millions of dollars.