# Your best and worst holiday season songs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 6, 2018, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-best-and-worst-holiday-season-songs/825648 "2018-12-06T02:35:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2018, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-best-and-worst-holiday-season-songs/825648/1 "2018-12-06T02:35:03Z")
Best: 1. Winter Wonderland — [Tony Bennett - Winter Wonderland (from A Swingin' Christmas) - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GKYYvXAN9w) 2. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! —[- YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EvvUUpy7Qc) 3. It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year — [Andy Williams - It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year (Music Video) - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFGC_YgeQ5w) 4. All I Want for Christmas is You — [Mariah Carey - All I Want For Christmas Is You (Official Video) - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXQViqx6GMY) 5. Santa Baby—sexist and offensive, yes. Eartha Kitt, Yes! Yes! Yes! — [Eartha Kitt "SantaBaby" from New Faces - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppYGHqxwCuk) Worst—I just wish these songs would disappear from the face of the earth: 1. Little Drummer Boy—bleargh glurge 2. Jingle Bell Rock—oh, god, so cheesy and stupid. Gah! 3. Do You Hear What I Hear?—guess I just hate the Harry Simeone Chorale, because this is the second hit of theirs on my worst list 4. Silver Bells—I first saw this in a puppet version on Kukla Fran and Ollie and have never recovered 5. Baby, It’s Cold Outside—rapey, rapey, creepy And an honorable mention for my “worst” list—ANY AND ALL MEDLEYS! Don’t mash songs together! Please! ---
**Author:** ![Temporary\_Name](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@Temporary\_Name](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Temporary_Name)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2018, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-best-and-worst-holiday-season-songs/825648/2 "2018-12-06T07:39:08Z")
Despite loving parents, and some time spent in college . . . my favorite Christmas song is I BOUGHT YOU A PLASTIC STAR FOR YOUR ALUMINUM TREE [Michael Franks - I Bought You A Plastic Star.wmv - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3c5SR7MP7o) Now I just returned from hearing my kid play with some of the best Hard Bop players in central AZ, so I have an idea of what “real” jazz is—but I just love the sweet simple groove of the song, the false ending, even the polished production values. The music is gooey sweet, and the cynicism of the lyrics just drips out of the speakers, but it is comfort food for my holiday musical appetite. My second favorite is the even more novelty leaning Pearl Bailey tune FIVE POUND BOX OF MONEY [Pearl Bailey - Five Pound Box Of Money - Christmas Songs - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWLfSInlZ6Y) I find both songs cleaver and humorous as well as musically pleasant. On the other hand I have listened to all the traditional songs, carols, and hymns of the season most days since Halloween so part of their appeal may be that they are not mainstream. On the other hand, SANTA BABY is only “okay” in my opinion and feels like it is trying too hard to be funny and/or sassy. ---
**Author:** ![blindboyard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindboyard/32/2833_2.png) [@blindboyard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blindboyard)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2018, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-best-and-worst-holiday-season-songs/825648/3 "2018-12-06T09:02:12Z")
Driving Home for Christmas by Chris Rea. Fairytale of New York by Kirsty MacColl and the Pogues. Stop the Cavalry by Jona Louie. In Dulce Jubilo by Mike Oldfield. It’s Cliched to be Cynical at Christmas by Half Man Half Biscuit. Worst: The Snowman. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2018, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-best-and-worst-holiday-season-songs/825648/4 "2018-12-06T12:15:49Z")
Oh, I also hate “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2018, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-best-and-worst-holiday-season-songs/825648/5 "2018-12-06T12:34:36Z")
Favourites: - White Christmas – Nice and sentimental and Bing Crosby is great. - The Christmas Song (“chestnuts roasting, etc.”) – Sentimental and has some nice turns of phrase. - Zat You, Santa Claus? – Funny lyrics and Louis Armstrong is great. Least favourites: - It’s A Marshmallow World – Sorry, snow just isn’t that exciting, and it almost never looks like whipped cream - It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year – The time of year for roasting marshmallows and telling ghost stories is summer camp. And “jingle-belling” and “hap-happiest” just sound forced. - I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas – It’s just stupid and not funny. Dishonourable mention for worst lyric: - “Lo, he abhors not the virgin’s womb” ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2018, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-best-and-worst-holiday-season-songs/825648/6 "2018-12-06T12:49:01Z")
Oh, I forgot my favourite! - Bob & Doug’s 12 Days of Christmas – The other three are the “mystery days”. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2018, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-best-and-worst-holiday-season-songs/825648/7 "2018-12-06T13:04:04Z")
Being a miserable git, my favorite pop Christmas tune is “Please Come Home for Christmas” by the Eagles. Conversely, Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” can burn in hell. Please make it stop. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2018, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-best-and-worst-holiday-season-songs/825648/8 "2018-12-06T13:08:40Z")
Best: [Merry Fucking Christmas](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-2VszpHHY0) Worst: Everything else. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2018, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-best-and-worst-holiday-season-songs/825648/9 "2018-12-06T13:49:59Z")
Worst: [I Farted On Santa’s Lap (Now Christmas is Gonna Stink for Me)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxomWFi3qZc&ytbChannel=null) Best: None. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2018, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-best-and-worst-holiday-season-songs/825648/10 "2018-12-06T14:02:25Z")
I want to hear Dolly Parton’s Hard Candy Christmas. I do _not_ want to hear I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus. Ever, ever again. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2018, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-best-and-worst-holiday-season-songs/825648/11 "2018-12-06T15:35:55Z")
Favorites: pretty much anything that has that Ray Conniff Mitch Miller sound. Takes me back to my childhood even more than actual religious songs. And The Chipmunk Song Worst: baby it’s cold outside Santa baby anything that’s obviously someone trying too hard to make a new standard. I’d rather listen to Santa’s Super Sleigh than most of what passes for new Christmas music. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2018, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-best-and-worst-holiday-season-songs/825648/12 "2018-12-06T15:44:44Z")
The choral version of [(Let’s Have a) Patrick Swayze Christmas](https://youtu.be/Lq8WhYTRbC8) is a fun choice for a Christmas playlist. I’m also fond of [Santa’s Laughter Mocks the Poor](https://youtu.be/ifP_0RN0JTk) for its loud social commentary. The Christmas Shoes deserves to be cast into the firey depths of hell. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2018, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-best-and-worst-holiday-season-songs/825648/13 "2018-12-06T15:55:03Z")
Favorite: “Christmas Wrapping” by the Waitresses. “Christmas (Bah, Bug and Hum!)” from _Olive the Other Reindeer_ (performed by Dan Castellaneta) "Santa Doesn’t Cop Out on Dope’ by Martin Mull “Do You Hear What I Hear?” (especially because it’s one of the few Christmas songs about thermonuclear war). “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.” One of the most pro-feminist Christmas songs ever written. Least favorite “Santa Baby,” unless Eartha Kitt is singing it. Bob Dylan’s version of “Here Comes Santa Claus.” “Must Be Santa.” ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2018, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-best-and-worst-holiday-season-songs/825648/14 "2018-12-06T16:46:00Z")
Worst and best for me: Worst: 1. \*All I Want for Christmas is You \* 2. - Last Christmas \* 3. - Jingle Bells Rock \* 4.\* Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree\* 5.\* Feliz Navidad\* Best: 1._O Holy Night_ 2. _Silent Night_ 3. _God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen_ 4. _O Tennanbaum_, 5. _Angels We Have Heard on High_ ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2018, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-best-and-worst-holiday-season-songs/825648/15 "2018-12-06T16:46:58Z")
Favorites: Breath of Heaven - Amy Grant O Come, O Come Emmanuel O Holy Night A’ Soalin - Peter, Paul & Mary Gabriel’s Message Happy Holiday/The Holiday Season - Andy Williams Christmas in Killarney - Bing Mele Kalikimaka - Bing Let it Be Christmas - Alan Jackson Noel, Christmas Eve, 1913 - John Denver Christmas Is A-Comin’ - Bing Christmas Blues - Dino Hate: I Want a Hippopotamus For Christmas All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus Susie Snowflake Sandy Sleighfoot Jingle Bells ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2018, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-best-and-worst-holiday-season-songs/825648/16 "2018-12-06T16:57:00Z")
Hate: “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” _Retch/_ Favorite: Weird Al Yankovic’s “Christmas at Ground Zero,” though it’s now a relic of the Cold War. Such fun. ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2018, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-best-and-worst-holiday-season-songs/825648/17 "2018-12-06T17:17:58Z")
Best: The [Coventry carol](https://youtu.be/UFnM8pSsyUU) Worst: Pretty much everything else. Not because I’m a grinch, but because of massive over-playing. Although, like **blindboyard** above, I can occasionally just about stand a listen of Jona Lewie’s Stop the Cavalry. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2018, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-best-and-worst-holiday-season-songs/825648/18 "2018-12-06T17:56:01Z")
> [@RobDog](#): > > Best: The [Coventry carol](https://youtu.be/UFnM8pSsyUU) > > Worst: Pretty much everything else. Not because I’m a grinch, but because of massive over-playing. Although, like **blindboyard** above, I can occasionally just about stand a listen of Jona Lewie’s Stop the Cavalry. Traditional Christmas carols are rarely ever played because… well I am not exactly sure why. It’s mostly Christmas schlock – the stuff I think is most hated by those who hate Christmas music. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2018, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-best-and-worst-holiday-season-songs/825648/19 "2018-12-06T18:00:53Z")
Bob Dylan’s “Here Comes Santa Claus” IS unbearable. However, he does a rather moving “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” on the same album. It’s like listening to your Grandpa sing it. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2018, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-best-and-worst-holiday-season-songs/825648/20 "2018-12-06T18:35:59Z")
Best: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel Panis Angelicus Gesu Bambino Cantique De Noel Silent Night Worst: Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-best-and-worst-holiday-season-songs/825648.md?page=2)