Christmas Songs: The Best (And Worst) Of All Time

Christmas songs: they're a love-hate thing, and everyone has an opinion. There's the ultimate classics, the cheesy pop versions and those 80s hits that rear their (ugly?) heads every. single. year. We've all got our favourites, right?

Historically, Mariah Carey's All I Want For Christmas Is You has topped every Christmas song opinion poll around, but we reckon there's plenty of others that deserve some extra credit. 

So since all we'll listen to on the radio from now until the 25th December (and probably after) is Christmas tunes, we're running through our favourite – and not-so-favourite – festive bangers, from Wham! to Wizzard and everything in between. Thoughts?

Best ever Christmas songs

Tell me the lyrics, “chestnuts roasting on an open fire” don't make you feel instantly Christmassy.

It's timeless, it's catchy, it's… relatable. All about dealing with a failed relationship and coming face to face with that person a year later, Last Christmas has stood the test of time for good reason. 

East 17's classic is not actually a Christmas song, and if you listen to the lyrics, it's a heart-wrenching ballad – but that makes it even more of a beauty, IMO. Stay Another Day was written by the the group's main songwriter Tony Mortimer about his brother Ollie, who took his own life. To this day it is particularly poignant to those who have lost a loved one at Christmas.

It was released in November 1994 and became the Christmas number one that year – though the only festive element to it is the Christmas bells at the end of the song, to give seasonal appeal, apparently. It worked.

An underrated bop that deserves far more credit. There I said it. Is Leona the UK's Mariah??

Hands up if you wanna dance and prance in Jingle Bell Square, in the frosty air? The 1957 hit Jingle Bell Rock is still a solid Christmas playlist option, Mean Girls dance routine or not.

Written to unite people with its bilingual lyrics, Feliz Navidad is one of the most-played Christmas songs across the world. It's simple, effective (though a little repetitive, I'll admit) and always warms those cockles. A firm favourite.

You can't decorate the Christmas tree without playing this one, can you?

Another modern classic. Tell me it's not on repeat already.

One of the most joy-giving of the cheesy classics, methinks. Released in 1985, it still consistently climbs the Christmas charts each year, and for good reason. Plus it's giving Strictly Christmas Special quickstep vibes, and there's not much more festive than that here in the UK (when it comes to Christmas Day tele, at least).

It had to be done. The unbeaten chart topper, it's literally the Christmas song that keeps on giving.

Those opening xylophone notes will always signal Christmas is here (and maybe trigger a few too many embarrassing karaoke flashbacks).

Get your phone torches in the air, it's Coldplay's emotional Christmas banger! You can always count on Chris Martin for a rousing chorus.

A more recent favourite is Ed and Elton's 2021 tune, which was released to support the Suffolk Music Foundation and The Elton John Aids Foundation. It's got everything you want from a Christmas hit: bells chiming, heartfelt lyrics and a catchy, building melody – plus they get extra points for the epic music video, which parodies other festive classics like Mariah and East 17.

It's not Christmas without Michael Bublé's Christmas covers, is it? They all feel instantly festive, but Bublé's version of Burl Ives' Holly Jolly Christmas is upbeat and ever-charming.

Another newbie! Kelly and Ariana's buttery vocals came together for a collaboration on Kelly's 2021 album When Christmas Comes Around. The live version from her NBC Christmas special of the same name is extra special – the harmonies are chef's kiss.

Not technically a Christmas song in terms of release (it was an album track on Joni's album Blue, released in June 1971), this bittersweet tune is just so beautiful. It's so beloved that Joni released a video for River in December 2021, saying: “River expresses regret at the end of a relationship…but it’s also about being lonely at Christmas time… A Christmas song for people who are lonely at Christmas! We need a song like that.”

Give it a listen if you haven't already. The likes of Ellie Goulding, Sam Smith and Olivia Rodrigo have also covered it more recently.

It's hard to believe this dates back to 1958, isn't it? Another unrivalled bop that's forever a classic.

A total tune, and classic Britney (from her Oops!… I Did It Again era, in case you're wondering). 

You can't knock the classic Bing Crosby version, no doubt, but The Drifters' upbeat version of White Christmas is just so great (and extra nostalgic because of the Home Alone element). And those voices! Stunning.

Worst ever Christmas songs

The lyrics to this one are just a bit weird whichever way you look at it. Apparently, the song isn't about Mommy cheating on Daddy with Santa Claus, it's supposed to allude that the Dad was actually dressed as Santa – but either way, all this talk of creeping, peeping, tickling and kissing in a song sung by a child just seems a bit… off.

Criticised for its white saviour narrative and controversial lyrics about Africa, Do They Know It's Christmas? should have never passed the vibe check, to be honest.

Another classic with questionable lyrics, sadly. Baby It's Cold Outside is on the no-play list for many, because of its controversial lyrical conversation between a man and a woman: “I ought to say, ‘No, no, no sir’ / Mind if I move in closer?… I really can't stay / Baby, don't hold out.”

Some have argued that the time period and context of the song should be taken into account, but this song certainly doesn't hold up in 2022.

Is it too late now to say sorry, Justin? It's the ‘shawty’ that gets me.

Michael changed the lyrics for his version of Santa Baby, deciding ‘buddy’ was a more masculine term for Santa – and changing his wishlist to include a Rolex, ice hockey tickets, decorations bought at Mercedes (not Tiffany's) – with many assuming he was trying to avoid seeming effeminate or gay.

An unpopular opinion, no doubt. The thought of having Christmas everyday is really quite overwhelming, though?

Sorry again, Justin. Sadly this 2011 version of All I Want For Christmas Is You is not going on the nice list.

This song was once voted the most hated Christmas song of all time, which seems a little harsh – but it's no Wham!, is it? 

Another one with dark lyrics that are really not giving the festive cheer. “When we found her Christmas morning  / At the scene of the attack / She had hoof prints on her forehead / And incriminating Claus marks on her back… It's not Christmas without Grandma / All the family's dressed in black / And we just can't help but wonder / Should we open up her gifts or send them back? Send them back!”

Ditto for this one. “Please daddy, don't get drunk this Christmas / I don't want to see my mamma cry,” is certainly not how you open a festive banger.

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