If you’re arguing with your friends or family about which song is the best, you can be sure that I’ve put together this list of best-selling Christmas songs so we can figure it out. Which song is the best Christmas song?
Music is an important part of any holiday party, but have you noticed how many Christmas charts don’t mention snowflakes or Christmas decorations? Not to mention Santa himself and his weird chimney-jumping habit?
1. White Christmas
- Bing Crosby
First on our list of best-selling Christmas songs is White Christmas. The Guinness Book of Records lists “White Christmas” as the best-selling single and Christmas song in history, with sales of almost 50 million copies.
Irving Berlin wrote the song’s original lyrics and music for the 1942 movie of the same name, for which it won the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
After the Crosby cover, it topped the Billboard charts for 11 weeks. It has since become the most-recorded Christmas song, with over 500 different versions.
But despite its many global successes, “White Christmas” never topped out in the UK, reaching number five in 1977.
2. All I Want for Christmas is You
- Maria Carey
This hit has been on the charts every year since its release. Although it did not reach number one in the UK, it is currently the most downloaded-Christmas song of all time.
It hit one million in 2013 and is certified dual platinum. Every time we hear this song, we know it’s Christmas.
3. Jingle Bell Rock
- Bobby Helms
This song is a variation of “Jingle Bells,” which has been sung by a variety of musicians but is best known for the Bobby Helms rendition.
To this day, it holds a huge place in the Christmas standard, with over 780,000 downloads, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
4. Happy Xmas (War Is Over)
- John Lennon / Yoko Ono
This holiday song was not immediately successful after its initial release and did not reach the US charts.
It was released the following year and peaked at number four in the UK. After the dissolution of the original Beatles in 1980, it was later reissued.
5. Mary’s Boy Child
- Harry Belafonte
Mary’s Boy Child is next on our list of best-selling Christmas songs. American Calypso star Harry Belafonte first released Mary’s Boy Child in the 1950s, before Boney M made his version.
The only song twice to reach first place in the Christmas blockbuster. Harry’s version started as a huge hit and is still relevant today.
6. Final Christmas
- BOOM!
Due to Band-Aid’s Do, They Know It’s Christmas; Last Christmas could not dethrone it as the top song in the UK at the time of its release.
It is the number two best-selling single of all time, sliding 1.82 million copies in 1984, only to lose the number one spot due
to the massive single Band-Aid. Year after year, this hit sells more copies and is number three on the UK singles chart.
7. The Christmas Song
- Nat King Cole
Next on our list of best-selling Christmas songs is The Christmas Song. This song’s title, “Christmas Song (Toasting Chestnuts on a Fire),” is almost generally recognized. The reason for this is so that everyone will understand what the song is about.
The song’s most popular rendition was a Nat “King” Cole cover from 1946 that was certified six times platinum by the RIAA in 2009.
Unfortunately, this song has been unfairly accused due to the presenters’ dubious taste in huge sweaters as they watch holiday television by the fireplace.
8. The Little Drummer Boy
- The Harry Simeone Chorale
With music based on a traditional Spanish song recorded in 1958 by The Harry Simeone Chorale, “The Little Drummer Boy” is another Christmas classic of relatively recent times.
More than 150 renditions of Simeone’s songs had amassed a cumulative 25 million sales by the time of Simeone’s death in 2005.
However, the most interesting version ever created belonged to David Bowie and Bing Crosby in a 1977 duet, who sang the tune “Peace on Earth.”
9. For Children ‘Funky Funky Xmas’
- New Kids On The Block
The double disc A side of NKOTB’s Christmas album Merry Christmas was awarded RIAA Gold certification in 1990, meaning the album has sold over 500,000 copies.
10. Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)
- Mariah Carey
While Mariah Carey’s cover of Darlene Love isn’t as well known as another Carey track on the next list, it was so popular that it was certified gold in October 2019. Two of Mariah’s songs hit the top 20 best-selling Christmas songs.
11. This Christmas
- Chris Brow
Next on our list of best-selling Christmas songs is This Christmas. In 2017, Chris Brown’s cover of Donny Hathaway, possibly best known for Patti Labelle’s version of a train wreck, was certified gold.
12. Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 24/12)
- Trans-Siberian Orchestra
According to Billboard, the trans-Siberian medley of “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen” and “Shchedryk” (also known as “The Carol of the Bells”) has been downloaded 1.3 million times since 2016.
13. Do you want to build a snowman?
- Kristen Bell
According to a 2016 Billboard article, one of Frozen’s songs went platinum, achieving 1.6 million downloads, which has increased since Frozen 2’s release.
14. Mistletoe
- Justin Bieber
Next on our list of best-selling Christmas songs is Mistletoe. One of the two songs was officially multicultural. Since 2015, “Mistletoe” has sold at least two million copies.
15. What Christmas Means To Me
- Stevie Wonder
What Christmas Means to Me, written by Allen’s Story, Anna Gay, and George Gordy.
The song’s essence is that it celebrates the idyllic things that come with the holidays; most people overlook gifts and the secularism of the holidays.
He is also grateful for the love present at this special time of the year. Listen on Amazon Music.
16. Santa Baby
- Eartha Kitt
“Santa Baby” is a 1953 Christmas song by sexy nightclub artist Eartha Kitt. In late 1953, Joan Javits, the niece of Senator Jacob Javits, wrote “Santa Baby” with Philip Springer for Kitt, which became a summer hit and Kitt’s most popular song.
The artists covered in the song include Taylor Swift, Natalie Merchant, Kylie Minogue, The Pussycat Dolls, Leanne Rimes, Faith Evans, and Kelly Pickler.
17. Please Come Home For Christmas
- Eagles
The song was originally written and released by blues singer Charles Brown in 1960. In 1978, The Eagles rewrote the song and released it as a Christmas single.
The Eagle’s version includes the words “bell will ring when sad, sad news,” in contrast to Brown’s original version, which reads “happy, good news.”
18. Mistletoe and Holly
- Frank Sinatra
Last on our list of best-selling Christmas songs is Mistletoe and Holly. Mistletoe and Holly is a ceremonial masterpiece that evokes all the emotions in most classic Sinatra recordings, including nostalgia for the “good old days.
“You can listen to the seemingly simple message of this song and move on to times when life itself was simple. A song about love, family, and seasons.
Conclusively, the list above shows the best-selling Christmas songs of all time.
