Making a playlist?

The top 10 Christmas songs ever...

 (well, according the UK 'Metro' newspaper)

Whether you’re trimming the tree or heading out to a Christmas party, you’ll need the perfect soundtrack to get you in the festive spirit.

There’s so many to chose from but, when it comes to ‘the most wonderful time of the year’, it’s all about the big hitters.

Here’s our top 10 Christmas songs of all time, counting down in a TOTP style to number one:

10. I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday by Wizzard

Is it one of the best Christmas songs of all time?

Well the guys in charge of the department store festive sound tracks seem to think so and who am I to disagree?

Catchy tune + bemused children in bobble hats = muchos royalties for Roy Wood.

They don’t make videos like that these days, do they?

9. Jingle Bell Rock by Bobby Helms

Such a fun, festive song.

Chances are this one either makes you think of Lethal Weapon or Mean Girls. Either way, it’s an ear worm.

8. Driving Home For Christmas by Chris Rea

Wait, wait, just hear me out on this.

If you’ve ever lived half a country away from your family and have packed up the car with presents to head home for Christmas through the snow and the ice, you must appreciate at least the spirit of this song.

Have you never done said drive listening to a playlist starring this song so you can sing the obvious? Shame on you. It definitely deserves its place among the top Christmas songs of all time.

If you’re wondering what’s with the video, basically old Chris never made one when he first released it in 1986.

So, when it was re-released in 2009, he decided to finally get round to one and dedicated the proceeds to Shelter.

Now that’s some real Christmas spirit.

7. Merry Xmas Everybody by Slade

Personally, we find this song a bit like mince pies. I don’t really like them that much but you have to get them in because, well, it’s Christmas.

Does anyone really like the Noddy Holder screech? But has any festive compilation been complete without its inclusion?

Bung it on your Christmas playlist, for the chorus if nothing else. ‘It’s only just beguuuuuuun’.

6. The Christmas Song by Nat King Cole

Yes, we have included this instead of White Christmas by Ol’ Blue Eyes. It’s better.

The Christmas Song is smoother than a freshly resurfaced ice rink and more than deserves its place among the best Xmas music of all time.

The clue is in the name. You can practically smell the roasting chestnuts.

If a Christmas pudding could sing, this is what it would sound like

5. Winter Wonderland by Doris Day

This 1964 version is probably too saccharine for some, but ’tis the season for tooth-aching treats.

Whichever version you prefer (Perry Como’s is more robust), this song evokes the Christmas of all our dreams, one of snowflakes falling gently on our eyelids, curling up in front of crackling log fires and romance.

An old-school favourite.

4. Santa Baby by Eartha Kitt

The sexiest Christmas song ever written.

Eartha Kitt purrs more than sings the immortal line ‘been an awful good girl’ with an eyebrow raised.

It’s basically the festive equivalent of Happy Birthday, Mr President.

Plenty of other ladies have also tried to match the va-va-voom of old Eartha – the Pussycat Dolls, Madonna, Taylor Swift and even Missy Piggy – but none have done it quite like her.

This is the song that puts the X in X-mas.

3. All I Want For Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey

Ah Mariah, the Christmas fairy with a vocal range so high she can probably communicate with bats.

Her rendition of O Holy Night is another beautifully executed, gospel-tinged twist on a traditional carol, featuring mind-blowing high notes.

But this is the big one – cheerful, tuneful and rosier than Rudolph’s nose.

The video’s a bit lame though – a wildly unconvincing ‘home video’ featuring MC flirting with Santa, apparently receiving a dove and a rabbit for Christmas and being constantly ‘surprised’ by a camera. Still, it does have dogs dressed up as reindeer.

Without a doubt one of the best Christmas songs ever made.

Fun fact – did you know MC also co-wrote and co-produced the song with Walter Afanasieff, the multiple grammy-winner who also produced My Heart Will Go On and Aladdin’s A Whole New World?

2. Fairytale Of New York by The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl

This clearly is one of the best Christmas songs ever!

Pathos, proper instruments and an excuse to sing obscenities in the middle of WH Smiths. Plus Matt Dillon randomly pops up in the video. 

Yes, Shane MacGowan is totally out of tune and appears to have just rolled  off a park bench with an empty bottle of supermarket own-brand shandy,  but that’s the point. If a Christmas pudding could sing, this is what it would sound like.

RIP, Shane!