20 Best Old Fashioned Christmas Songs: Music is a gift that comes free every once in a while. It’s at our disposal from every store sound system, radio station, and streaming service playlist. It helps that more and more artists are releasing on their own individual labels too.
20 Best Old Fashioned Christmas Songs
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Along with all the festive cheer, decorating your trees with lights, and making memories with those you love most, all you need is the best Christmas music of all time playing in the background to really set the mood.
For music lovers and churchgoers all over the world, carols are the beloved musical companions of the festive season.
Quick Facts
| List Type | Classic & old-fashioned Christmas songs |
| Era Covered | 1857 (“Jingle Bells,” written) – 1971 (“Happy Xmas (War Is Over)”) |
| Featured Artists | Bing Crosby, Gene Autry, Brenda Lee, Nat King Cole, Judy Garland, Elvis Presley, and more |
| Bonus Deep Dives | Brenda Lee’s Decca Christmas recordings, Linda Bennett’s 1975 cult single, Raymond Arroyo’s 2023 jazz album |
| Where to Listen | Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music |
Brenda Lee’s Classic Decca Christmas Recordings
Brenda Lee recorded her signature “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” for Decca Records in 1958, and it went on to become one of the best-selling Christmas singles of all time. Over the years Decca compiled her holiday recordings — first as the 1964 LP Merry Christmas from Brenda Lee, later expanded to 18 tracks as Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree: The Decca Christmas Recordings — which includes these genuine Brenda Lee holiday cuts:
- Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree
- Papa Noel
- This Time of the Year
- Jingle Bell Rock
- Christy Christmas
- I’m Gonna Lasso Santa Claus
- Winter Wonderland
- Silver Bells
- Silent Night
Linda Bennett’s Cult-Classic Christmas Novelty Single
Not every old-fashioned Christmas song is a polished standard. Singer Linda Bennett’s 1975 Mercury Records single “An Old Fashioned Christmas (Daddy’s Home)” b/w “Daddy Cursed the Day” has earned cult status as one of the most unexpectedly dark novelty Christmas records ever released — a cheerful ode to dad coming home for the holidays that’s abruptly interrupted by a news bulletin about his commuter bus crashing on the ice. (Don’t worry — he missed the bus.) Little is documented about Bennett’s career beyond this single and a handful of TV variety-show appearances, but the record itself is real and still circulates among Christmas-music collectors.
- An Old Fashioned Christmas (Daddy’s Home)
- Daddy Cursed the Day
Raymond Arroyo’s Modern Big-Band Christmas Album
Broadcaster and author Raymond Arroyo brought his New Orleans jazz roots to a 2023 Christmas album, Christmas Merry & Bright, backed by the jazz supergroup The NOLA Players with arrangements by Kevin Kaska. The album reworks a set of old-fashioned carols in a big-band swing style, including an all-new “Feliz Navidad” duet with Grammy winner José Feliciano:
- The First Noel / We Magi of the Orient Are
- I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
- Joy to the World
- Feliz Navidad (duet with José Feliciano)
- Go Tell It on the Mountain
- Silent Night
- Deck the Halls
- Jingle Bells
The 20 Best Old-Fashioned Christmas Songs, Verified
Here is our verified list of 20 essential old-fashioned Christmas songs, with each artist and release year fact-checked:
| Song | Artist | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Jingle Bells | James Lord Pierpont (written) | 1857 |
| Winter Wonderland | Felix Bernard & Richard B. Smith (written) | 1934 |
| Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town | Popularized by Eddie Cantor | 1934 |
| White Christmas | Bing Crosby | 1942 |
| I’ll Be Home for Christmas | Bing Crosby | 1943 |
| Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas | Judy Garland | 1944 |
| The Christmas Song | Nat King Cole | 1946 |
| Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer | Gene Autry | 1949 |
| Frosty the Snowman | Gene Autry | 1950 |
| Mele Kalikimaka | Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters | 1950 |
| Silver Bells | Bing Crosby & Carol Richards | 1950 |
| Blue Christmas | Elvis Presley | 1957 |
| Jingle Bell Rock | Bobby Helms | 1957 |
| Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree | Brenda Lee | 1958 |
| Run Rudolph Run | Chuck Berry | 1958 |
| Do You Hear What I Hear | Bing Crosby | 1963 |
| It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year | Andy Williams | 1963 |
| Christmastime Is Here | Vince Guaraldi Trio | 1965 |
| Feliz Navidad | José Feliciano | 1970 |
| Happy Xmas (War Is Over) | John Lennon & Yoko Ono | 1971 |
In this article, we embarked on a musical journey through the best old-fashioned Christmas songs — from a 19th-century sleighing song to mid-century standards, plus a cult novelty single and a brand-new big-band album that prove this genre is still very much alive.
Stream these songs on Spotify, Amazon Music, and Apple Music. For more festive listening, check out our companion list of Christmas Songs Released in 2023, our movie soundtrack hub, and our TV soundtrack hub for more holiday viewing and listening.
Source: Good Housekeeping, Apple Music
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the oldest song on this list of old-fashioned Christmas songs?
“Jingle Bells,” written by James Lord Pierpont, dates back to 1857, making it the oldest song on this list — though it wasn’t originally written as a Christmas song at all, but as a Thanksgiving sleighing song.
Are “Christy Christmas” and “I’m Gonna Lasso Santa Claus” real Brenda Lee songs?
Yes. Both are genuine Brenda Lee recordings included on the expanded reissue of her Decca Christmas catalog, Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree: The Decca Christmas Recordings, alongside better-known cuts like “Papa Noel” and “Winter Wonderland.”
What is Raymond Arroyo’s Christmas album called?
Christmas Merry & Bright, released in 2023, is broadcaster Raymond Arroyo’s big-band jazz Christmas album, backed by The NOLA Players and featuring a duet with José Feliciano on “Feliz Navidad.”
What is the newest song on this list of old-fashioned Christmas songs?
“Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, released in 1971, is the most recent song in our verified table of 20 classics.
Where can I listen to these classic Christmas songs?
All of the songs on this list are available to stream on Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music.