Come holiday season, I’m not usually the type to listen to Christmas music. I’ll listen to a few while decorating the tree and then a few more on Christmas Eve when my family comes to my house. This, I’m beginning to learn, is definitely a character flaw on my part. So, I’m using this article as an excuse to expose myself to more Christmas music and put together a playlist of holiday songs.
To start, here are a few of my favorites, ones that definitely get played when I actually do listen to Christmas music:
- “Christmas Tree Farm” by Taylor Swift — I love Taylor Swift, so of course her Christmas song is my absolute favorite.
- “Little Drummer Boy/Silent Night/Auld Lang Syne” by Jimi Hendrix — This is my dad’s favorite holiday song, so he always infiltrates my phone to add it to the queue. I’ve come to enjoy it, along with his commentary on why it’s the best Christmas song.
- “Carol of the Bells” — I tend to play the versions by Cathedral Choir and Pentatonix the most. I love the drama of Cathedral Choir’s version, and Pentatonix’s is so fun and upbeat.
- “Last Christmas” by Taylor Swift — To be honest, her whole holiday album is such an underrated serve. This is my favorite version of the song, and I’m manifesting a Taylor’s Version for this album.
- “All I Want for Christmas is You” by Mariah Carey — I can’t leave out what is possibly the most iconic Christmas song, so here it is.
Next, because my friends listen to more Christmas songs than I do, I texted them to find out some of their favorites. I made a little playlist to bake chocolate chip cookies too, and here are my top five from that playlist:
- “Christmas Wrapping” by The Waitresses — This was recommended by two of my friends, Fiona (Fairfield ‘27) and Holly (a friend from home). Both of them have taste because I absolutely loved this one!
- “Happy Xmas! (War is Over)” by John Lennon and Yoko Ono — This was recommended by my friend Emily (Fairfield ‘27), and my parents (who were watching me bake cookies) were so happy to hear it. I also enjoyed it, so it’s definitely going to make regular rotation.
- “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies” by Royal Philharmonic Orchestra — Emily recommended this song, too, and I loved it! It’s probably my favorite from this section.
- “Wonderful Christmastime” by Paul McCartney – Fiona recommended this song, and it was also another favorite from this section.
- “Let It Snow” by Michael Bublé — Another Emily recommendation (she really slayed with the recommendations). I’ve listened to this before, and I really enjoyed it, so I’ll definitely listen to it more often come holiday season.
Finally, here are some songs that aren’t Christmas songs, but remind me of winter and the holidays, based on vibes alone:
- “‘tis the damn season” by Taylor Swift — Honestly, Taylor’s probably going to dominate this list. This song (and the entire Evermore album) reminds me of winter, specifically November, December and January.
- “New Year’s Day” by Taylor Swift — I think this one is pretty self-explanatory.
- “About You” by the 1975 — I can’t really explain this one, but it also reminds me of winter, especially the end of November and mid-January. Maybe it’s just that I had it on repeat all winter last year, but I promise it’ll make sense once you listen to it.
- “Back to December (Taylor’s Version)” by Taylor Swift — Don’t let “The Summer I Turned Pretty” fool you. This song reminds me of the part of winter that drags on (looking at you, February and March), where you’re reminiscing on better times, just like Taylor does with this song.
- “ceilings” by Lizzy McAlpine — Maybe it’s just that TikTok trend from last year, but this feels like the first snowfall, where you’re happy to spin around outside in the snowflakes, or a late-night drive on woodsy backroads with some flurries.
Hopefully, this gives you some inspiration for your holiday playlists this year. If you’re looking for this playlist exactly as it is, I’ve added it to Spotify, and it’s called Christmas Music for The Mirror.
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