Let's Talk About Christmas Music

Do you love Christmas music? Cool. Do you hate Christmas music? Also cool—though you can probably stop reading right about...here. Either way, I don’t much care about your personal opinions on it for one main reason: I have MANY opinions.

First and foremost: You will never be able to convince me that Mickey Mouse’s 12 Days of Christmas isn’t the best Christmas album that has ever (and will ever) been recorded. There were a few years in middle school where I listened to Family Force 5’s Christmas Pageant year round. The Elf soundtrack Baby It’s Cold Outside is the best Baby It’s Cold Outside.

Yet despite all of these (obviously correct) opinions, I still only want to listen to Christmas music a few weeks out of the year, preferably in December. All those Christmas memes you see of the “two moods of Christmas” with one Grinch and one Buddy the Elf? I always feel like I should be somewhere in the middle.

One reason I think I get sick of Christmas music is because you often hear the same 10-15 songs recycled radio station after radio station, year after year. And while I appreciate the classics (I’m looking at you Elvis and Michael Bublé), I also have found that adding some new tunes to my Christmas playlist this year has helped alleviate some of the I-can’t-take-this-much-longer feelings.

Top 10 Original and/or Underrated Christmas Songs:

10. Deck the Rooftop - Glee Cast

Say what you will about Glee the television show. But you can’t tell me there weren’t some incredibly talented singers and some banging mash-up episodes. This mash-up of Deck the Halls and Up on the Rooftop has not received nearly enough credit in the world of Christmas tunes. It’s fun and light and cheery and everything I want a mashup of two classics to be.

This GIF brought to you by the Santana Lopez fan club.

9. Just Ain’t Christmas - Neyo

Neyo has a storied history of releasing Christmas bops, and he’s got my respect for it. There aren’t too many hip hop artists who have the guts to release any Christmas music, let alone *good* Christmas music.

8. All I Want (For Christmas) - Liam Payne

Listen. We all know Liam had a big glow down since his days in 1D. But one of his solo songs that shouldn’t flop is All I Want (For Christmas). This song is what I want all of his solo stuff to sound like. It’s a dreamy piano ballad that is full of heart-wrenching lyrics.

7. Christmas Tree Farm - Taylor Swift

The more I listen to this song, the more I love it. And while some may take this as an insult, I mean it with 100% loving sincerity when I say this belongs at the end of every Hallmark Christmas movie when the big city lawyer realizes she’s in love with her high school sweetheart who works at his family’s Christmas tree farm and she runs up to him and they kiss as snow falls down on them and then the camera zooms out so we see the whole town as the credits roll.

6. Christmas Without You - DNCE

Putting my love for Joe Jonas and everything he does aside, Christmas Without You is my favorite song from A Very ROC Christmas. It’s one of very few Christmas songs I can imagine playing in the car with my Dad without eliciting groans. It’s one of very few Christmas songs that a full bands needs to be a part of instead of just a piano or guitar. It’s one of very few Christmas songs that doesn’t sound like any other Christmas songs.

5. Purple Snowflakes - John Legend

I was more disappointed than I expected to be from John Legend’s Christmas album. Now, don’t get me wrong… It’s good. I just expected it to be so much better than good. That being said, this song makes me wish I could move my hips in a certain typa way. It makes me wish I was sitting in a little nook with hot cocoa and a book and watching purple snowflakes fall down and I *hate* snow. It just makes me feel things.

4. Santa Tell Me - Ariana Grande

While Ariana has an entire EP of Christmas songs, my favorite Christmas song of hers isn’t on Christmas Kisses at all because Santa Tell Me is clearly the best. The verses and chorus almost sound like they could be part of different songs, yet somehow she makes it all work together in 3 minutes and 24 seconds of pure joy. I despised every concert I was part of during my years in choir, but the last 44 seconds of this song makes me wish I was in a choir that got to clap along behind her.

3. One I’ve Been Missing - Little Mix

I can’t quite put my finger on all the specific reasons (maybe it’s the heartwarming harmonies or maybe it’s the heartbreaking lyrics, either way it’s very heart-eyes emoji) why I love this song, but all I know is that I love love love this song more than Little Mix loves the ones they’ve been missing this Christmas.

2. Christmas Love - Justin Bieber

Under The Mistletoe is straight up delightful. It’s one of the few Christmas albums I can listen to in order without getting bored. It has a wide variety of tunes--new and old--and I’m not disappointed by one of them.

I could’ve chosen any one of them to put on this list, but I chose Christmas Love mainly because of the cute lyrics. I mean, “Tell Santa I’m cool this year, my present is standing right here.” C’MON, GUYS. Often overshadowed by Mistletoe and Fa La La, this song can hold its own.

1. Like It’s Christmas - Jonas Brothers

I don’t have a single negative thing to say about this song. From the first ‘dum-dum-dum-dum” to the last “Every day I’m with you” and everything in between, (esp. that quick lil nomatterthereasonnomattertheseasonmyheartwillkeepbeatinyoubetterbelieve) this song is everything I never knew I needed from a Christmas song. Each word is dripping with how much Joe loves Sophie and Nick love Priyanka and Kevin loves Danielle. Here’s to hoping for an entire Jonas Christmas album in 2020.

(Disclaimer: I also hope you decide to respect the opinions of your friends and families and strangers on the internet this holiday season because there is enough bad in the world and if listening to Christmas music in July makes somebody happy I truly believe they should be able to do so.)