Sick of Slade? Made miserable by Mariah Carey? We've got your back with a suitably seasonal and yet alternative playlist of the best Christmas songs of all time, from Stormzy's "Xmas Shut up" to Frank Sinatra's “Whatever Happened To Christmas?”, as chosen by the Editors of GQ. Work your way through this today and concentrate on eating and drinking yourself into a merry slumber and save the family arguments for something other than the soundtrack...
"The Road To Hell" by Chris Rea
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"I always play this on my way to visit my step family. First song on the M4 playlist. Volume 30, fan on for dramatic effect." Grace Gilfeather, Fashion Editor
"Merry Christmas Baby" by Otis Redding
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"No one sings like Otis, with just the right shade of sad and happy at the same time. Pour a port (or Bellini in the morning) and put this on on the 25th. You won't regret it." Paul Henderson, Associate Editor
"Xmas Shut Up" by Stormzy
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"Stormzy's special Christmas mash up for BBC Radio 1Xtra from 2015 is without a doubt the seasonal song that's brought the most cheer to GQ HQ this year. His repeated references to "my young Elves" and the line "where do you know me from? North Pole" are particularly memorable." Eleanor Halls, Staff Writer
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“Whatever Happened To Christmas?” by Frank Sinatra
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"The best Christmas song ever is “Whatever Happened To Christmas?” Written by Jimmy Webb and performed by Frank Sinatra, it is unusually both a torch song dedicated to the season of good cheer and a reflective meditation on the emotional aftermath of all that festive fun. Save it up for Boxing Day and crack open a box of Kleenex." Bill Prince, Deputy Editor
Fairytale of New York by The Pogues featuring Kirsty MacColl
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"This song manages to seem uplifting despite the fact that if you actually listen to the lyrics, it's the most depressing song ever written. It starts off with a man in a drunk tank saying he won't live to see another Christmas!" Stuart McGurk, Senior Commissioning Editor
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"Rockin' Robin" by Bobby Day
"Best Christmas song hands down, always a winning choice to get the party started." Carlotta Constant, Junior Fashion Editor
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"8 Days Of Christmas" by Destiny's Child
"While this does admittedly err dangerously close to Mariah Carey territory, Destiny's Child's rendition of the classic song never fails to get everyone up and dancing on Christmas evening." Kathleen Johnston, Social Content Editor
"New Year's Resolution" by Otis Redding & Carla Thomas
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"Two amazing voices, simple but stirring lyrics: a moment of calm in the festive insanity before you move on to yet another year. “Let’s turn over a new leaf, and baby let’s make promises that we can keep, and call it a New Year’s Resolution.” Spin and savour." Becky Lucas, Insight and Strategy Editor
"Blue Christmas" by Bright Eyes
"Not the cheeriest, but there's something quite comforting about playing a song about a broken heart on Christmas day, between all the Mariah and Slade." Anna Conrad, News and Features Editor
"Keeping the Dream Alive" by Münchener Freiheit
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"Keeping the Dream Alive by Münchener Freiheit, or just Freiheit as they were known in Britain, was a sleeper hit in the UK in 1988. It has nothing to do with Christmas, but is now widely regarded as a de facto Christmas song. It’s a sickly Euro synth-pop dollop of nonsense, but oddly uplifting. They had massive hair and hoped for a better tomorrow. You had to be there, I guess…" George Chesterton, Managing Editor
"My Only Wish (This Year)" by Britney Spears
"A early 00s bubblegum teen bop from the princess of pop- what’s not to love?"Angelo Mitakos, Fashion Assistant at GQ Style
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"A Snowflake Fell (And It Felt Like A Kiss)" by Glasvegas
"With sleigh bells on every track and gems including "Please Come Back Home", this entire EP is properly Christmassy." Aaron Callow, Chief Sub Editor
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Good morning, and Merry Christmas. Most of the Lifehacker staff is off today, but before we went our separate ways, we had a fast and furious Slack session about our favorite Christmas songs, the better to compile them into one festive, rather confusing Spotify playlist.
As you can see below, tastes here run the gamut, and some of our personal picks could arguably be counted among the worst Christmas songs of all time. But no matter! They’re our Christmas songs, and we love them.
But what are your Christmas songs? Do you eschew Christmas music altogether? Stick strictly to Bob Dylan’s mess of a holiday album? Stan for the Chipmunks? Sound off in the comments, and have a happy holiday.
