Do you love Christmas tunes as much as we do here at Cityline.ca? We’re music nerds, and that doesn’t stop come the holidays — we thought we’d put together a little playlist of our favourite merry melodies for you to enjoy. We only have one request: play them loud!
Suzanne’s picks: It was challenging narrowing my Christmas song picks down to 10 — I have well over 100 tracks on my Christmas playlist, and I add more each year. I’m a sucker for the oldies — Ella, Nat, and Bing in particular — but some newer songs and albums have snuck on in recent years. She & Him’s Christmas album is good from start to finish, and I’m also a big fan of the Vince Guaraldi Trio’s soundtrack to the Charlie Brown Christmas special. I need to explain and/or apologize for a couple of picks on this list. Wham!’s Last Christmas is corny as heck, but it makes me smile because it reminds me of a Christmastime girls’ trip to New York City a few years back when we couldn’t turn a corner without hearing it (interestingly enough, we spotted George Michael that weekend). Gene Autry’s Here Comes Santa Claus isn’t even on my current Christmas playlist, but I had to add it as it’s the song that was playing on the radio when my boyfriend proposed to me — also in NYC — earlier in December. We’ve been laughing about it since, so I feel it’s destined to become a classic for us.
The Christmas Song – Nat King Cole
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas – Ella Fitzgerald
Christmas Time is Here – Vince Guaraldi Trio
Sleigh Ride – She & Him
Christmas Day – Dido
Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) – U2
Last Christmas – Wham!
Here Comes Santa Claus – Gene Autry
2000 Miles – The Pretenders
Fairytale of New York – The Pogues featuring Kirsty MacColl
Suzie’s picks: When I was 5 years old, my family moved from Montreal to just outside Toronto, and so for the next almost 20 years, we’d spend every Christmas back in Montreal with my grandma and other friends and family. For almost 6 hours each way, I’d be sandwiched in the back seat, one older sister on either side of me, with endless Christmas music playing and much singing along. The first two on my list were definitely our fave sing-along tunes. With Barbra Streisand’s “Jingle Bells?” we all took on the challenge of singing the song as fast as the diva herself does, and with The Muppets’ rendition of “Twelve Days of Christmas” we all tried to one up Miss Piggy’s dramatic “5 gold rings” part. (If you don’t know what I’m talking about, give both a listen!) Most of my favourite songs come from these annual car trips, although I threw in a couple newer favourites, too.
Jingle Bells? – Barbra Streisand
Twelve Days of Christmas – John Denver & The Muppets
Do They Know It’s Christmas? – Band Aid
Happy X-Mas (War is Over) – John Lennon
The Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth – Bing Crosby & David Bowie
Oi to the World – No Doubt
Santa Claus is Coming to Town – The Pointer Sisters
River – Joni Mitchell
Let It Snow – Frank Sinatra
It Snowed – Meaghan Smith
Louisa’s picks: My favourite Christmas songs are all sentimental choices – whether it’s from a favourite movie like How the Grinch Stole Christmas or from dancing around in the kitchen, all of these are fun, classic tunes to lift your spirits this holiday season. These ten are the Christmas songs that I could listen to a thousand times and not get sick of them. You’ll find them on my Christmas playlist year after year.
Where Are You Christmas – Faith Hill
Frosty the Snowman – Gene Autry
Step Into Christmas – Elton John
Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy -Tchaikovsky
All I Want For Christmas Is You – Mariah Carey
Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree – Brenda Lee
It’s The Most Wonderful Time of The Year – Andy Williams
Winter Song – Sara Bareilles & Ingrid Michaelson
A Holly Jolly Christmas – Burl Ives
It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas – Bing Cosby
What’s your favourite Christmas tune? Add to our playlist by adding your song in the comments below!