Ever since I was young, one of my favourite games to play to help me get to sleep was the alphabet game. It’s easy to play by just picking a category and thinking of something in that category for every letter of the alphabet. There are so many things I could have written about for this blog related to Christmas, but for a bit of fun I thought I’d try and do the alphabet game for Christmas songs and carols! The only problem is that a lot of Christmas songs and carols begin with the same letter. I particularly noticed a lot of Is (It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas, In the Bleak Midwinter, I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, I’ll Be Home for Christmas, Infant Holy Infant Lowly, I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day, It Came Upon a Midnight Clear etc.) and Ss (Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Silent Night, Santa Baby, Silver Bells, Sleigh Ride, Step Into Christmas, Sussex Carol etc.) among many other letters that also had multiple wonderful Christmas songs. So, apologies if your favourite isn’t included (as I’m only doing one for each letter) or if you don’t know some of the more obscure ones, but hope reading through this Christmas Song Alphabet and listening to some of the songs mentioned will still be enjoyable and get you in the Christmas mood!
All I Want For Christmas Is You
How could I not start this Christmas Song Alphabet with Mariah Carey’s upbeat Christmas love song? It’s definitely been a favourite since its release 1994 and will no doubt be played in numerous shops, pubs and households in the lead up to Christmas this year too!
Baby It’s Cold Outside
This song isn’t one of my favourite Christmas songs, but nevertheless is still a classic so deserves its place on this list. Originally written by Frank Loesser in 1944 it has been covered by lots of other artists since, including Tom Jones and Cerys Matthews and more recently Idina Menzel and Michael Bublé.
Carol of the Bells
This is probably one of the most popular Christmas carols around, with numerous arrangements covering various musical styles. It was originally written in 1914 by Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych with lyrics by Peter J. Wilhousky.
Driving Home for Christmas
Fast forward 72 years and we have another Christmas favourite, but this time a much more relaxed and chilled one. Chris Rea first released this song in 1986 as a non-album single, but it wasn’t until 1988 that it got to number 53 in the UK singles chart.
Everybody’s Waiting For The Man With The Bag
I struggled to find a good Christmas song beginning with E. I really love O Come O Come Emmanuel but didn’t think I could stretch that to counting for E’s Christmas song so instead had to search for something else. I didn’t know this song until I went digging but it’s a jolly, jazzy Christmas hit originally written in 1950 by Irving Taylor, Dudley Brooks and Hal Stanley.
Frosty the Snowman
Written by Walter "Jack" Rollins and Steve Nelson, this is a classic Christmas favourite, especially for children and families. It can get a little annoying after hearing it too much, but innovative arrangements ensure it stays fresh and enjoyable. My favourite would have to be Sarah MacDonald’s arrangement which features a musical quote from the Indiana Jones Main Theme, but since I can’t find a recording of that anywhere, below is the original recording by Gene Autry and the Cass County Boys (1950), which they recorded after the success of Autry's recording of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer the previous year.
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
This English melody is thought to be one of the oldest carols, dated to the 18th century. Despite its age it is still a firm favourite today and is sung by many churches, choirs and carollers throughout the Christmas period.
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Another favourite for churches, choirs and carollers is the stirring Hark! The Herald Angels Sing. The music was originally written by Felix Mendlessohn for his cantata Fetsgesang and the lyrics are by Charles Wesley and George Whitefield, two of the founding ministers of Methodism. I’m not a soprano but even I have to say one of my favourite things about this carol is the glorious descant by David Wilcocks, convincing me to include this on the list rather than other favourites such as Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.
I Wish it Could Be Christmas Every Day
Back to the 20th century, this Christmas favourite by Roy Wood for his rock band Wizzard celebrates some of the best things about Christmas. I don’t know about you, but for me Christmas every day might get a little difficult, even if only for trying to come up with another Christmas song for each letter of the alphabet!
Jingle Bells
Another family favourite is the upbeat, American song Jingle Bells written by James Lord Pierpont and published under the title The One Horse Open Sleigh in 1857. Since then it has been performed many times, most commonly by and for children.
Kissin’ By the Mistletoe
Written by J Leslie McFarland, Kissin’ By the Mistletoe was released by Aretha Franklin in 1963. K was another letter I struggled to think of a song for but I’m glad I found this jazzy, romantic, feel-good hit to be a part of the list.
Last Christmas
British pop duo Wham! are pretty famous for lots of hits but one of their most popular songs is the Christmas classic Last Christmas. Not quite as feel-good as some of the others but it’s still a great pop classic to sing along to!
Mistletoe and Wine
Another Christmas classic from the 80s is Mistletoe and Wine made famous by Cliff Richard. Probably not one of my absolute favourites but it does include heart-warming lyrics, a catchy melody and sleigh bells so what’s not to love?
Nazareth
There are so many Christmas films out there (that’ll have to be saved for another list) but one which was a big hit in 2009 was Nativity! featuring Martin Freeman. I really liked a lot of the songs in this film and often have them going round in my head, but this song is the one that gets the children interested and sets the tone for the rest of the Nativity play.
O Come All Ye Faithful
Similar to Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, O Come All Ye Faithful is another favourite carol with stirring lyrics and a great descant. I can’t remember the number of times I’ve sung this over the years but it still never gets old and below is one of my favourite times of singing it as part of Selwyn College Choir.
Peace On Earth/Little Drummer Boy
Surprisingly I actually struggled to find a good song beginning with P but landed on this one which I think just about counts. This song features two very popular singers: David Bowie and Bing Crosby who beautifully harmonise and articulate their Christmas wishes for a peaceful world.
Quem Pastores Laudavere
If you enjoyed hearing Selwyn Choir’s performance of O Come All Ye Faithful you can hear them again for this beautiful soothing piece by Ben Parry, praising Christ and rejoicing in His birth. This is from Parry’s album Music for Christmas, recorded by The Chapel Choir of Selwyn College in Ely Cathedral.
Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree
In contrast, this song is a completely different style and a lot more well-known! This song always brightens my mood and if you want a good sing and dance this is definitely the right song for you!
Silent Night
Rewind a century and we’re back to a simple but beautiful, serene Christmas carol composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr. As I mentioned before, there are a lot of songs beginning with S I could have chosen, but Silent Night (Stille Nacht) is a big favourite in many different music genres so I couldn’t leave it out.
The Twelve Days of Christmas
In my opinion, this song is one of the most fun Christmas songs to sing ever! This view was only reinforced during my time at Cambridge where we sang it at Christmas formals with a table taking a day each and everyone joining in for 5 gold rings. If you don’t know it, please listen and enjoy!
Underneath the Tree
With a lack of many Christmas songs beginning with U I decided to put this song by Kelly Clarkson on the list. I’m not a massive fan but if you like All I Want For Christmas Is You and don’t mind something trying to be similar but not as good then it’s still worth a listen.
Veni Emmanuel
Another from Parry’s choral album Music for Christmas, this piece was a big favourite with the choir! It is somehow both exciting and tranquil at the same time and was definitely good fun to learn and sing!
White Christmas
If you’re still not sure whether Bing Crosby is a master of Christmas songs, you will be after this one. There were so many Ws to choose from but I love the rich and (ironically) warm melodies and harmonies of this song, especially when it’s got a singer as good as Crosby singing it.
Xmas Time of the Year
As you can probably guess, X was a difficult letter to find songs for, but I managed to find this one that I had never heard before. Xmas Time of the Year is a fairly pleasant Christmas song recorded by American punk rock group Green Day and released in 2015.
You Make It Feel Like Christmas
A fun, feel-good but perhaps slightly less catchy Christmas song is Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton’s, You Make It Feel Like Christmas. I didn’t know it before but enjoyed listening to it for this blog post.
‘Zat You Santa Claus
Z was also a letter that I hadn’t previously heard any songs for, but if you like jazz (which I do) then this song is for you. This fun, energetic hit by Louis Armstrong is the perfect way to end this Christmas Song Alphabet!
If you disagree with any of these or want to find more of your own, you can check out this website which has a very helpful list of Christmas Songs A-Z: https://www.listchallenges.com/christmas-songs-from-a-to-z . I hope you’ve still enjoyed going through this list though and having a listen to some of the songs! Maybe next year I’ll have to do Christmas films…
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