After a strenuous bout of finals and the pile of dirty clothes that’s become of your roommate, the holidays are an oh-so-welcome way to celebrate the end of a semester and year. Whether your favorite activities include watching holiday movies, getting tossed on eggnog, making gingerbread houses or covering your entire home with snowflakes and lights, we’ve got the perfect mixtape for you.
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You knew this was coming. Mariah Carey’s 1994 hit “All I Want for Christmas Is You” is the first song that marks the beginning of the holiday season. You’ll hear this at the mall, in cafés, on the radio and at the top of every seasonal playlist. And you know what? We’re not even mad about it.
“Last Christmas” by Wham! also scores near the top of our list for karaoke-ability, and its countless covers since. Our favorite is Ashley Tisdale’s rendition in 2006. What’s more festive than some petty season heartbreak?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkCEw5m7Mcw
Timeless Classics
“Let It Snow,” either by Dean Martin or Frank Sinatra, always make me want to hang ornaments from my ears and ice skate in Central Park. These songs adorn the soundtrack of every Christmas movie from our childhoods, and will never fail to play on your grandma’s stereo. Peak Christmas spirit.
Anything that Michael Bublé has ever sung is a holiday classic that transcends time and space. It doesn’t even have to be seasonal. But luckily, he has an entire Christmas-themed album to give you over an hour’s worth of merry-making music. From “It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas” to “Santa Baby” and “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,” Bublé is sure to inspire enough holiday cheer to have the mirth coming out of your ears. As it turns out, all we want for Christmas is Bublé.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyKMPXqKlFk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IiyzNdxxjg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCZdNzTyVTw
“Baby It’s Cold Outside” is the ultimate holiday duet. Whether you want to sing this song with a loved one or let Lady Gaga and Joseph Gordon Levitt do the singing for you, a little romantic spirit during the holidays goes a long way. We’d also be remiss if we didn’t mention the cover by Zooey Deschanel and Will Ferrell in Elf (2003).
A little something extra
When I think of the Jingle Bell Rock, I think of red latex and hear that signature thigh slap from Mean Girls (2004). Was there ever a Jingle Bell Rock before this? Probably not. While many other renditions of this song exist, I can’t ever seem to get Tina Fey’s impromptu piano performance and Lindsay Lohan’s sharp voice out of my head.
And finally, just in case you forgot, Snoop Dogg’s “Snoop Dogg Presents Christmas in tha Dogg House” is the gift that keeps on giving. Released in 2008, this joyful rap album helps broaden the genres that holiday music can manifest as, and we’re ecstatic about it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZCdLFf28GU&list=PL5867973CDD4F1C22
Happy listening!
