As if you’re not sick to the back teeth of all the Christmas tunes regularly being pumped into your ear holes already, here’s my top 5 Christmas songs for you all. I’ve also put an extended Spotify list of all of my favourite Christmas songs at the end, in case you can’t get enough of the Christmas cheer.

5. Christmas Wrapping by the Waitresses

The Waitresses were an “experimental post-punk band” (not my words, but Wikipedia’s) from Ohio, USA. This song was originally released in 1981 and did you know fact fans, it was covered by the Spice Girls in 1998 as a B-side to their “bye Gezza we love you” track Goodbye. Anyway, I love this song. It makes me do bad dancing and the vocals are so spectacularly ordinary it makes it very fitting that it was eventually covered by Posh et al. Even though the Waitresses singer, Patty Donahue, sings about wanting to miss Christmas this year, it never fails to make me feel all Christmassy.

4. Winter Wonderland by Darlene Love

All together now “Sleigh bells ring, are you listening?” Well are you? It would be hard not to. Winter Wonderland is all over the shop every Christmas and rightly so. This song was written in 1934 and has been covered over 200 times. So pick a version, any version, but my particular favourite is this jolly one by Darlene Love. It reminds me of my Mum singing and making our Christmas dinner as I run into the kitchen for the 999th time that day to ask when dinner will be ready. And for that reason alone, it’s in my top 5.

3. Fairytale of New York by the Pogues featuring Kirsty MacColl

From the age of about 16 years until a few years ago, this would have come top of my Christmas song list, but after over playing it myself and hearing it every time I walk into a pub every year from end of November until the beginning of January, it has now been relegated to number 3. Yes it is still a great song, yes we all love Kirsty’s vocals and yes of course I can recite all of the lyrics even when I’ve had one too many Snowballs (“you’re a bum, you’re a punk, you’re an old slut on junk”- aah Christmas), but it ain’t my number 1 and you’re just going to have to deal with it.

2. All I Want for Christmas is You by Mariah Carey

Mariah! All hail Queen Mariah. Oh Mariah, how you must have loved (and enjoyed the $50 million in royalities from) this being used in everyone’s favourite Christmas movie Love Actually (look I’ve tried to resist this being my favourite Christmas film for so many multi-layered reasons, but I’ve finally succumbed- I bloody love it). So as a Christmas pop tune my conclusion is thus: there is nothing wrong with this song.

1. Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy by Bing Crosby & David Bowie

It is only in the past couple of Christmases that I’ve finally realised that this is actually a very lovely Christmas tune indeed. Not only are Crosby & Bowie’s vocals divine, but you have the wonderful, cosy accompanying video of Dave just casually popping round to Bing’s gaff for an eggnog & sing song around the old Joanna (sorry, but I can’t say Bing’s name now without hearing Chandler BING! If you’re a Friends fan- you’ll now) . Also, singing about peace on earth seems sadly far too apt at the moment. This also wins my number one slot due to the best Christmas joke around:

David Bowie bought Bing Crosby a pom-pom for Christmas.

Not just any pom-pom.

A proper pom-pom.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS Y’ALL

For seasonal playlists for other times of the year, click below:

Valentine’s   Spring/Easter  Summer   Halloween   Bonfire Night