Calor’s Top Christmas Songs

It's the most wonderful time of the year. Who doesn’t love a good Christmas song? We all have our favourites, right? There is always one or possibly more than one that makes the top of everyone’s list.

As Christmas 2020 approaches, we have compiled a list of 15 of the best songs to get you in the festive mood in the week’s leading up to the holidays. We don’t expect everyone to agree on our top spot, but there’s certainly no denying the universal love of festive cheer.

Let the countdown begin!

15. What's This? (1993) - From the soundtrack to The Nightmare Before Christmas, hero Jack Skellington sings about the joy of seeing Christmas for the first time through a fresh set of eyes. May not be on everyone’s radar, but give it a listen, it won’t disappoint.

14. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas – Originally a song by Judy Garland for the musical Meet Me in St. Louis in 1944, Sam Smith’s recent cover in 2014 is also a contender, especially for the millennials out there.

13. Santa Baby – A cheeky song by Eartha Kitt in 1953 about wanting some pretty extravagant Christmas gifts. Many others have had a go at this tune since, the best of them being the pop princess herself, Kylie Minogue.

12. Silent Night – Supposedly this song was first performed on Christmas Eve in 1818. If you’re looking for something more contemporary, Destiny’s Child perform a stunning version of this carol.   

11. It's Beginning to Look a Lot like Christmas – We couldn’t let our list go on without the voice of Christmas in modern times, Michael Bublé. With a whole Christmas album of glorious covers to choose from, this one if definitely one of our favourites.

10. Last Christmas (1984) – Composed by the late, great George Michael and his WHAM! Partner Andrew Ridgeley, this banger, believe it or not, didn't hit the top of the charts until 2017 (after Michael's death), despite inspiring many cover versions in the ensuing years.

9. Let it Snow – the Frank Sinatra version, because Frank Sinatra should be on every music list.

8. Do they know it’s Christmas (1984) – ‘Feed the world’ has been belted out by the best of us over the weeks leading up to the big day. Written by our very own Bob Geldof and Midge Ure in reaction to the 1983 famine in Ethiopia, this song was first recorded on 25 November 1984 by the Band Aid supergroup.

7. The Christmas Song (1946) – Three words… Nat “King” Cole.

6. Feliz Navidad (1970) - One of the most downloaded and aired Christmas songs in the United States and Canada. What a tune!

5. Auld Lang Syne – After Christmas comes the highly anticipated New Year’s Eve 2020-2021. Putting this NYE anthem on your playlist is a no-brainer to cheers to all the good times, past and present.

4. Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town – Cover by “The Boss”, Bruce Springsteen, where you can literally hear him smiling and laughing. Heart-warming.

3. White Christmas (1942) - Bing Crosby's classic hit about a picturesque Christmas scene is one of the most popular holiday songs ever — Guinness World Records even named it the best-selling single of all time.

2. All I Want for Christmas Is You (1994) – Love it or loath it, Mariah Carey's ultimate Christmas bop is still the go-to tune to get any party started. Let’s not pretend we haven’t all tried those high notes!

1.  Fairytale of New York (1987) – It had to be.  A fun fact, The Pogues originally wrote this song on a dare — a challenge put forth by Elvis Costello! — and in the years since its release, it's become the most-played Christmas song of the 21st century in the U.K. and Ireland.   Regardless of whether the lyrics are tweaked to soften them, this is a song of heartbreak and joy in near equal measure.  Not bad for a bet!