Kids Favorite Christmas Songs
It happened on October 1 this year, and that was a new record. I was in a bank and their corporate radio station was already tuned to Christmas music. Not only was it not Christmas, it was still a month until Halloween. In the words of Charlie Brown, “good grief!”
However, now that we’re at the height of holiday music season it’s acceptably everywhere. From TV commercials to radio ads, in stores and online you just can’t avoid the ho, ho, ho holiday music. Just like every year, from Thanksgiving until December 26, the nostalgic Christmastime tunes are played and replayed until even the kids are tired of them.
Not. Much like candy, soda, and knock knock jokes, kids apparently never get tired of repetitive Christmas anthems. So, in addition to hearing this music everywhere I’m hearing the kids sing it too. All day.
Because of this Christmastime treat, I’ve been forced to learn the top 10 Christmas songs for kids.
10. Frosty the Snowman. Sadly, many kids don’t even know the movie that this ditty is from. Also sadly, they know exactly where to yell STOP! in the song when the cop does.
9. Jingle Bells. Do you remember the version where the entire song is barked by dogs? The Christmas radio station made the mistake of playing that one regularly one year and while it was annoying for adults immediately it was entertaining for kids infinitely.
8. Simply Having a Wonderful Christmastime. Repetitive? Check. Up beat? Check. British accents? Check. The British Invasion of pop music didn’t stop in the 1960s and didn’t stop for Christmas. Now the kids and grandparents can share a favorite singer: Sir Paul McCartney.
7. Dominick the Donkey. Do you adore the sound of a braying donkey in the middle of a chorus? Of course not. Do your kids? Absolutely! And that’s why Dominick the Donkey is an automatic top ten holiday music hit.
6. Santa Claus is Coming to Town. Regardless of how involved the guy in the big red suit is with your Christmas celebrations, this song undeniably appeals to kids. “You better watch out, you better not cry…” That’s pretty much the only line the younger kids know and they repeat it over and over again. For some reason this one doesn’t go away after Christmas and long into the summer I hear little renditions of this song at our house.
5. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. I’m torn on this song because I don’t like it but the version the boys like is the Frank Sinatra version (because he says Rudy instead of Rudolph at one point and this has street cred with kids I guess). It’s hard not to like Frank Sinatra’s crooning but this one will put even the most ardent Sinatra fan to the test.
Of course, once the kids start adding the extra lines to each verse (“like pinocchio!”) it’s basically a whole new song. That I still don’t like. But the kids sure do.
4. We wish you a Merry Christmas. It’s got the familiar kid appeal of being a short, upbeat song that’s repetitive. But it’s the figgy pudding that sets this song apart and makes it a kid favorite. What is figgy pudding? The kids have no idea. Most adults have no idea. Maybe that’s the appeal...
3. Christmas Time is Here (by Alvin and the Chipmunks). The helium inhaling voices are a hoot. As is John yelling, “Allllvvvvin!” The 3-year-old calls it “the munky song” because he doesn’t know chipmunks aren’t monkeys. They sure sing like them though.
2. The Charlie Brown Christmas “Linus & Lucy” theme music (it has no words). This one is somewhat unique to our house (I think). The oldest learned approximately two bars of the chorus on the piano in February. He has proceeded to play those two bars approximately 87,000 times since February. I now hear them when he’s not even playing. Dum, dum, duh, duh, duh, dah, da, dum…
1. I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas. The first time our (then) 2-year-old heard this song we were driving in the van and he burst out laughing. It is the undisputed favorite. Crocodiles, lessons about herbivores, and “rhinocerusses”…. It’s like the song was targeting children. I’ve often wondered if the hippo song originated in Hutto.
Merry Christmas, readers! May your ears be spared the barking Jingle Bells song, may your children never find out about Dominick the Donkey, and may all your future Octobers be Christmas music free.