16 Christmas Songs to Listen to on a Loop

From the Carpenters to Cher to Kelly Clarkson to Mariah Carey, dive into some holiday goodness.

In an effort to get myself in the holiday spirit while living in Thailand, here are 15 great holiday songs that I start playing around Thanksgiving and don’t let up until January 1st.

Are any of these your favorites? Did I miss any? Let me know in the comments below. And you’re welcome! Happy holidays!

“Do They Know It’s Christmas?” by Band Aid.

Kelly Clarkson being joined by Ariana Grande for "Santa Can You Hear Me?”

Carrie Underwood “Let There Be Peace”

The Carpenters Christmas Portrait Album is at the top of my list and I found a TV special from 1978, when the album was released. Not the best quality but Karen’s voice is so perfect.

John Denver + the Muppets = another fun holiday special with their rendition of “12 Days of Christmas". Even though I no longer have a cassette player, I still have the cassette for the soundtrack from this special.

Vanessa Williams “Star Bright” Christmas album came out in 1996 and was an instant favorite of mind. Here she is performing on of the songs from that album, “What Child Is This?”

Sia is known for not showing her face so why not get a bunch of celebrities (Henry Winkler! Kristen Bell! Dax Shepard! Susan Lucci!) for her holiday song “Santa’s Coming for Us”?

One of my favorites I remember loving when I was a kid was Elton John’s “Step Into Christmas” which is still very much in rotation today. As it should be!

Kristen Chenoweth will always be associated with Wicked but she has had such a great career and you can just hear her vibrant personality when singing ‘Christmas Island.’ I had never seen this video of her recording it…so much fun!

Celine Dion is like no other and her rendition of ‘O Holy Night’ is so beautiful. A good alternative to some of the faster paced songs on this list.

There are a gazillion versions of “Hallelujah” out there but when I heard Pentatonix offer their version, I was awestruck all over again. The a capella group just makes it their own.

Like Chenoweth, another Wicked alum who has made such a great career for herself. Her “A Season of Love” Christmas album isn’t that old (2019) but she rounded up some fun people to sing with her, including Tony winner Billy Porter for “I Got My Love to Keep Me Warm.”

Laughter and Ana Gasteyer go together so why not add that to a holiday song, “Sugar and Booze” from the 2019 album of the same name.

Cher finally put out a Christmas album last year and the best song on it is “DJ Play a Christmas Song.” I’m currently reading her memoir (which you can find here!…I suggest buying it from an independent bookseller!) Go, Cher!

If there’s one Christmas special I watch every year it’s A Charlie Brown Christmas (watch it on AppleTV+!) and Vince Guaraldi’s “Linus and Lucy” has just become synonymous with Christmas and for good reason.

….and, of course, I couldn’t have a holiday music list without Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You.”