Finding the best songs for December means chasing two very different moods at once: the warm, tinsel-lit nostalgia of the holiday season and the quieter, more reflective pull that the year’s final month always seems to bring. This list blends both. Some entries are sleigh-bell standards built for a crowded kitchen and a roaring speaker; others are hushed, piano-led confessions built for a pair of headphones and a dark car ride home. Together, they cover six decades of songwriting, from Tin Pan Alley standards to TikTok-era bedroom pop, and every single one earns its spot through genuine musical craft, not just seasonal timing.
“A Long December” by Counting Crows
Adam Duritz wrote “A Long December” for Counting Crows’ 1996 album Recovering the Satellites, and it remains one of the most quietly devastating tracks the alt-rock era produced. The arrangement builds from a spare piano figure into a full-band swell, with Duritz’s rasping, conversational vocal delivery doing most of the emotional heavy lifting. Lyrically, it is less about Christmas than about exhaustion and hope colliding — “a long December and there’s reason to believe maybe this year will be better than the last” has become a mantra for anyone closing out a rough twelve months. On a late-night drive, the build in the final chorus still lands with real weight, and that dynamic range rewards a decent audio setup rather than a tinny phone speaker.
“Back to December” by Taylor Swift
Released on 2010’s Speak Now, an album Swift wrote entirely solo, “Back to December” flips her usual narrative structure by making Swift the one apologizing rather than the wronged party. The production leans country-pop, built around acoustic guitar and strings that swell rather than overwhelm, giving space for the lyric’s regret to breathe. Swift’s phrasing is unusually restrained here, holding back vocal runs in favor of a plainspoken delivery that sells the sincerity of the apology. It is a masterclass in using a season as emotional shorthand — December becomes a stand-in for cold distance and missed chances rather than any actual holiday imagery.
“All I Want for Christmas Is You” by Mariah Carey
Co-written and co-produced by Carey with Walter Afanasieff for 1994’s Merry Christmas, this track has quietly become one of the best-selling singles in music history and reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in December 2019 — twenty-five years after release. The production borrows heavily from Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound, layering sleigh bells, horns, and a driving piano line under Carey’s famously athletic vocal runs. What makes it endure is the songwriting underneath the spectacle: a tight, four-chord pop structure that never overstays its three-and-a-half-minute runtime. Streamed through a good pair of over-ear cans, the density of that mix really opens up, which makes this a solid stress test if you’re weighing options on a headphone comparison guide before the holidays.
“Last Christmas” by Wham!
George Michael wrote, produced, and essentially performed nearly every instrument on “Last Christmas,” a 1984 single that famously lost the UK Christmas number-one spot to Band Aid’s charity single that same year. The synth-pop arrangement, all shimmering keyboard pads and a steady drum-machine pulse, has aged into something closer to a genre unto itself. Michael’s vocal is understated but aching, delivering heartbreak with a lightness that keeps the song from tipping into melodrama. Decades of covers, from Ariana Grande’s to Taylor Swift’s, only underline how sturdy the original songwriting really is.
“Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” by Dean Martin
Written in 1945 by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne, this standard has been recorded by nearly every major vocalist of the twentieth century, but Dean Martin’s 1959 version from A Winter Romance remains the definitive reading. Martin’s phrasing is loose and conversational, riding just behind the beat in the laid-back style that defined his entire catalog, while the big-band arrangement swings rather than marches. Notably, the lyrics never mention Christmas at all — it’s simply a winter song about wanting an excuse to stay indoors with someone. That warmth translates well in almost any listening environment, from a crowded party speaker to a quiet solo commute.
“Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” by Brenda Lee
Brenda Lee was only thirteen years old when she recorded this Johnny Marks composition in 1958, and the song’s rockabilly energy — twangy guitar, walking bass, and a horn section that refuses to sit still — still sounds fresh today. It didn’t become a genuine hit until years later, once rock and roll radio caught up to how forward-thinking the arrangement actually was. Lee’s vocal performance carries a confidence well beyond her age at the time, snapping through the melody with real swagger. Few holiday songs work this well at full volume in a moving car, which says a lot about how tightly the mix was built.
“Jingle Bell Rock” by Bobby Helms
Written by Joseph Carleton Beal and James Ross Boothe and recorded by Bobby Helms in 1957, “Jingle Bell Rock” fuses traditional Christmas melody with the era’s emerging rock and roll rhythm section. The arrangement’s signature is that hiccuping vocal delivery on the title phrase, paired with sleigh bells that sit surprisingly high in the mix for a recording of its era. It has since become one of the most licensed Christmas songs in film and television, which speaks to how instantly recognizable that opening guitar lick remains. Compared to more orchestral holiday standards, this one still feels loose and a little playful.
“Santa Tell Me” by Ariana Grande
Ariana Grande co-wrote “Santa Tell Me” with Ilya Salmanzadeh and Savan Kotecha for a 2014 single release, and the production draws directly from Mariah Carey’s holiday playbook without simply copying it. Grande’s four-octave range gets showcased in miniature here, with whistle-tone runs threaded through a mix built on modern trap-influenced percussion under vintage-sounding sleigh bells. Lyrically, it’s a rare Christmas song about romantic uncertainty rather than pure celebration, asking whether a new relationship is stable enough to trust. The layered vocal harmonies in the bridge reveal new detail on a good pair of earbuds, which is worth remembering if you’re browsing this year’s earbud comparison guide for commute listening.
“Mistletoe” by Justin Bieber
Co-written by Bieber himself for 2011’s Under the Mistletoe, this single leans into reggae-tinged production, with a laid-back guitar skank and hand percussion that separate it from the orchestral holiday tradition entirely. Bieber’s vocal had matured noticeably by this point in his career, and the relaxed, mid-tempo groove suits the more restrained tone he was reaching for. The lyrics stay squarely in young-romance territory, treating the holiday as backdrop rather than subject matter. It topped the Billboard Holiday Digital Songs chart and remains a streaming staple every winter.
“Wonderful Christmastime” by Paul McCartney
McCartney wrote, performed, and produced nearly every element of this 1979 single himself, built almost entirely around a Prophet-5 synthesizer riff that gives the whole track its distinctly futuristic, slightly kitschy charm. It divides listeners more than almost any song on this list — some find the synth-driven repetition hypnotic, others find it grating — but that polarizing quality is exactly what has kept it in rotation for over four decades. McCartney’s vocal is intentionally simple, almost childlike, matching the song’s stripped-down lyrical sentiment about celebration for its own sake. However divisive the reception, the production choices were clearly deliberate rather than accidental.
“The Christmas Song” by Nat King Cole
Written by Mel Tormé and Robert Wells and first recorded by Nat King Cole in 1946, with a fuller orchestral version following in 1961, this is arguably the most covered Christmas standard in American songbook history. Cole’s baritone is warm and unhurried, riding gently over lush string arrangements that never fight for attention. The songwriting itself is remarkably vivid, painting chestnuts roasting and tiny tots with eyes all aglow in just a handful of lines. That 1961 stereo recording, technologically ahead of its time, still sounds rich and full through modern equipment.
“Underneath the Tree” by Kelly Clarkson
Clarkson co-wrote “Underneath the Tree” with producer Greg Kurstin for 2013’s Wrapped in Red, and it stands as one of the strongest modern additions to the holiday canon. Kurstin’s production nods heavily to 1980s Mariah Carey and Wham! while adding a punchier, more contemporary low end. Clarkson’s powerhouse vocal, honed since her American Idol days, gives the chorus a belting hook that few new Christmas songs manage to pull off convincingly. It has steadily climbed the Billboard Holiday 100 nearly every December since release, proof that new standards can still break through a genre this saturated.
“Feliz Navidad” by José Feliciano
José Feliciano wrote this bilingual classic in 1970 in roughly twenty minutes, reportedly homesick for Puerto Rico while recording in a cold New York studio. The song’s structure is deceptively simple — a repeating two-part chorus in Spanish and English — but that simplicity is exactly what made it a genuine crossover hit and a fixture on Billboard’s Holiday charts for decades. Feliciano’s guitar work throughout carries a distinct Latin folk influence, and his warm, unforced vocal tone keeps the track feeling personal rather than novelty. Few songs on this list translate as universally across cultures and languages.
“Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” by Darlene Love
Phil Spector produced this 1963 track, co-written with Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry, as part of his landmark album A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector. Darlene Love’s vocal is a genuine powerhouse performance, cutting through Spector’s dense Wall of Sound production with real vocal grit. The arrangement stacks strings, horns, and layered percussion into something closer to a wall than a mix, which was Spector’s signature approach at the time. It has since been covered by artists from U2 to Mariah Carey, but Love’s original take remains definitive for its sheer emotional force.
“Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” by John Lennon and Yoko Ono
Released in 1971 and produced by Phil Spector, this track functions as much as an anti-war anthem as a holiday song, written in direct response to the ongoing Vietnam War. The Harlem Community Choir’s backing vocals give the recording an unmistakable sense of communal urgency, while Lennon’s melody stays deceptively gentle given the weight of the subject matter. Yoko Ono’s songwriting contribution shaped the track’s political directness, a rarity among Christmas standards of any era. Decades later, the refrain “war is over, if you want it” still carries genuine protest energy rather than simple sentimentality.
“December” by Earth, Wind & Fire
Earth, Wind & Fire’s 2014 holiday album Holiday included this reworking of their 1978 classic “September,” with the lyric changed from the “21st night of September” to the “25th night of December” to fit the season. Everything else about Maurice White and Al McKay’s original arrangement stays intact — the horn stabs, the falsetto lead from Philip Bailey, and that unmistakable disco-funk groove. It’s a clever bit of catalog repurposing that respects the source material rather than diluting it. Hearing the familiar melody land on a different date feels less like a gimmick and more like a genuine holiday gift to longtime fans.
“December 1963 (Oh, What a Night)” by Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
Released in 1975 and written by Bob Gaudio and Judy Parker, this disco-inflected track marked a significant sonic left turn for The Four Seasons, trading their doo-wop roots for a four-on-the-floor groove built for the dance floor. Valli’s falsetto still anchors the melody, but the arrangement’s driving bassline and string stabs put it firmly in the disco era rather than the group’s 1960s sound. The lyric, framed as nostalgic reminiscence about a specific night, gives the song its title without any direct December holiday imagery at all. It remains one of the group’s most enduring commercial successes decades after its original release.
“This December” by Ricky Montgomery
Originally released in 2016 on the album Montgomery Ricky, this indie-pop track found a second life years later through viral streaming and social media discovery, eventually earning a dedicated holiday version release in 2023. The production is intimate and lo-fi by design, built around acoustic guitar and gentle percussion that leaves plenty of room for Montgomery’s plainspoken, slightly weary vocal. Lyrically, it’s about holding onto a relationship through hard times rather than anything explicitly festive, which is part of why it resonates with listeners well outside December. For anyone curating a full-length holiday rotation, browsing the wider songs archive is a good way to find more tracks in this same understated, indie-leaning vein.
“Snowman” by Sia
Sia released “Snowman” as part of her 2017 album Everyday Is Christmas, an entirely original holiday record co-produced with Greg Kurstin rather than a collection of standards. The arrangement is stripped down compared to Sia’s usual maximalist pop production, built around a simple piano line that lets her distinctive, raspy vocal tone carry the melody. Lyrically, it plays with the image of a snowman melting in warmer weather as a metaphor for wanting someone to stay. It has become one of the more streamed original Christmas songs of the last decade, proof that new material can still find a permanent place in the holiday rotation.
“White Christmas” by Bing Crosby
Irving Berlin wrote “White Christmas” for the 1942 film Holiday Inn, and Bing Crosby’s recording went on to become the best-selling single of all time, a title it has held for over eighty years. Crosby’s smooth, understated baritone delivery set the template for holiday vocal performance that countless singers have chased ever since. The orchestral arrangement is deliberately restrained, letting the melody’s simple, wistful longing for a snowy Christmas carry the entire recording. As the song that essentially launched the modern Christmas music genre, closing this list with it feels less like tradition and more like simple accuracy.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes a song count as one of the best songs for December?
The strongest December songs balance emotional honesty with strong songwriting fundamentals, whether that means a tightly written pop hook, a well-arranged orchestral standard, or a lyric that captures the specific feeling of a year winding down. Chart success helps establish cultural relevance, but longevity and repeat listenability matter more over time.
Are all of these songs actually about Christmas?
No. Tracks like “A Long December,” “Back to December,” “December 1963 (Oh, What a Night),” and “This December” use the month itself as emotional shorthand rather than leaning on any holiday imagery. That mix of festive standards and non-holiday December songs is intentional, giving the list range beyond typical Christmas playlist fare.
Which of these songs work best for a party versus quiet listening?
“Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” “Jingle Bell Rock,” and “December 1963 (Oh, What a Night)” are built for upbeat, social settings with their driving rhythm sections. Meanwhile, “A Long December,” “This December,” and “Snowman” reward quieter, more focused listening on headphones where vocal nuance and arrangement detail come through clearly.
What is the best-selling Christmas song of all time?
Bing Crosby’s 1942 recording of “White Christmas” holds that title, having sold over fifty million copies worldwide and remaining the best-selling single in music history across any genre.
How often are new songs added to the December and Christmas music canon?
Fairly regularly, though few break through the way older standards have. Modern entries like Kelly Clarkson’s “Underneath the Tree,” Sia’s “Snowman,” and Ariana Grande’s “Santa Tell Me” show that contemporary songwriters can still carve out lasting space alongside decades-old classics.
What listening setup gets the most out of dense holiday productions like Mariah Carey’s or Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound recordings?
Layered productions built on stacked strings, horns, and percussion reveal more detail through equipment with good separation and a wider frequency range, rather than a single small speaker. Comparing options ahead of time makes it easier to find gear suited to that kind of dense, orchestral mix.