During the holiday season, we all love to listen to the jolly music tracks around the world. Our newspaper staff gathered together to share our favorite and least favorites tracks.

FAVORITES

“All I want for Christmas is you”

Since I was in about fifth grade, Mariah Carey’s “All I want for Christmas is you” has been my favorite song. Some of my friends and I made up a dance to it. we still sing it year-round. Every time it comes on, I still make everyone lower their voice or be quiet so I can sing along. To me, the song is special because it’s something my friends and I still have in common, even though we are all busy and don’t see each other as frequently. -Kylie Davenport

“The Christmas Song” 

How could a song be more festive than one that’s literally called “The Christmas Song?” If you don’t know this one immediately, it’s the one that begins with “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire.” The jazzy instrumentals and warm vocals of Nat King Cole give me a feeling of comfort and nostalgia year after year. This song is so simple and yet it perfectly captures what Christmas feels like to me. -Allie Calvert

“Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”

There’s nothing better than starting off the Christmas season than listening to Frank Sinatra singing classic Christmas songs. “Have yourself A merry Little Christmas” is one of a kind that gives me a very nostalgic feeling for something that never even happened. With Sinatra’s smooth voice, he is able to make this song put me in the  Christmas spirit that I wasn’t quite feeling before. -Ashtyn Rowland

“I’ll Be Home For Christmas”

While “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” “Carol of the Bells” and especially “Jingle Bell Rock” are incredibly close seconds, nothing hits as hard as this one does. The song is about a WWII soldier desperately wanting to be home with his family for Christmas, although he’s not optimistic he’ll make it home, which is where the line “if only in my dreams” comes from. The beautifully sad message and wonderfully meadow lyrics sell this one for me. While the incredibly iconic Bing Cosby version is great, I prefer the Frank Sinatra version, partly because Sinatra is my favorite musical talent, and partly because he sells the heartbreaking message better. -Beckham Nobles

“Winter Wonderland”

The feeling of warmth that this very song creates within one’s self is nothing but joy. It’s the kind of song which you never really pay attention to as it would just be more like background noise for movies and family gatherings. With that being the case, this song can fill those with joy with the soft and sweet vocals/lyrics that this masterpiece plays into your ears. -Trae Stouard

“Grandma got ran over by a Reindeer”

Once this song comes on, then the Christmas season has officially started. This song is not only hilarious, it is a classic. Everyone and their grandmas know this song. I love this song because the tune is simple and the words are the easiest to learn. –Sidney Lott

LEAST FAVORITES

“Jingle Bell Rock”

Don’t get me wrong, I love this song when it is performed by more modern artists versions. However, this song sung by any country or original artists just annoys me. The original version is my least favorite Christmas song because it has always given me a headache. The girls’ voices are too high and squeaky. They also sound like they used too much auto-tone. Who wants to be a scrooge on Christmas because of a headache? –Kylie Davenport

“Santa Baby”

Between the squeaky voice and the annoyingly demanding lyrics, it’s safe to say that I always skip this song when it comes on Christmas playlists. This song doesn’t give me any feelings of nostalgia or magic. It just makes me want to bash my head against a wall. –Allie
Calvert

“Twelve days of Christmas”

Not only is this song repetitive and overplayed, I also have a personal vendetta against this maddening melody. Every Christmas Eve, my family and I will celebrate Christmas by having a nice dinner. Sadly, it doesn’t stop there however, because the next thing we do is get ready to sing “Twelve days of Christmas.” We pass a bucket around and pick a number that will decide what line of the song you have to sing. Let’s just say you want 12 to be the number you pick, and if you get one, be ready to sing your heart out. My advice is if you hear this song, think about this story and then tell me how much you really like this nightmare of a tune. -Ashtyn Rowland

“Little Drummer Boy”

To be frank, few things annoy me as much as “Little Drummer Boy” does. To start, the “Pa rum pum pum pum” gets incredibly obnoxious incredibly fast. Secondly, the tune and beat of the song is repetitive, there’s nothing interesting done with it at all, and after a minute, it just makes your ears hurt. While I like a song about the nativity rather well, adding a lackluster drummer does nothing more than take away from the beauty of the scene. The lyrics outside of the repeated drumming sound are underwhelming at best and fail to tell an interesting story, much less an addition to something that’s already well known. -Beckham Nobles

“That’s Christmas to Me”

This song is just entirely forgettable, the vocals and the overall feel of the song is ear-grinding and unpleasant to listen to. I’ve found many other people who’ve had the same distaste as me. The song’s lyrics and music in general can be considered a great song to give you a headache -Trae Stouard

“All I Want For Christmas Is You”

Unpopular opinion: this Mariah Carey hit is the worst Christmas song ever. This song gets really old and annoying after a while; however, radio stations continue to play it. All I want for Christmas is for this song to remain in the past. -SidneyLott