The Mullinax Holiday Music Playlist
What’s more exciting than seeing the holiday season arrive?
If you answered hearing the holiday season arrive, you’ve come to the right place.
Whether you’re a Frank Sinatra-loving traditionalist or you’ve had Mariah Carey on repeat since September, you can’t deny that listening to holiday tunes is the fastest way to spread seasonal cheer.
Next time you’re in your car, cursing holiday traffic and thinking over your gift budget? Just throw on our holiday playlist. Let Michael Bublé’s voice carry you to a warm hearth with a mug of cocoa. We’re right there with you.
Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow! -- Dean Martin
Whether your Christmas is looking green or white, you have no excuse not to have this feel-good ‘59 earworm on your holiday playlist rotation. After all, Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne wrote the track in sunny California on America’s hottest day of 1945. If they can find snowy holiday spirit in a heat wave, so can you. Get that corn popping.
Santa Tell Me -- Ariana Grande
Sure, this flirty pop number was released in 2014 -- making it at least 50 years younger than many entries on this list. But as far as 21st-century holiday hits go, this one is the cream of the wintertime crop. An impossibly catchy chorus? A girl fending off holiday heartbreak? A jingle-bell-infused instrumental? It may not be Sinatra, but it’s got all the makings of a modern classic.
Last Christmas -- Wham!
Taylor Swift. Ariana Grande. Backstreet Boys. Artists have bravely attempted to release their own twist on this ‘84 holiday classic for decades, but none have touched the charm of the original. The way George Michael croons “soul of i-i-ice” earns him a permanent spot on our nice list.
Baby It’s Cold Outside -- Idina Menzel and Michael Bublé
She’s the ice queen of Arundel. He’s the modern King of Christmas. Combine their powers and you get a track with charm levels that can only be described as holiday-tastic. We have yet to be able to listen to the whole track without smiling.
Sleigh Ride -- The Ronettes
You may not get the chance to snuggle up comfy-cozy in a horse-drawn sleigh this year, but you can turn the heat up in your Ford, play this track and sing along to the iconic “ring-a-ling-a-ling-ding-dong-ding” background vocals. That’s kind of the same thing, right?
Winter Wonderland/Don’t Worry Be Happy -- The Pentatonix
This bouncy acapella pop track may not be the mashup you expected, but it’s the one you needed. Go ahead and reach for those high notes while you’re singing along -- it’ll be like your holiday gift to the loved ones in the car with you.
All I Want for Christmas Is You -- Mariah Carey
This song has to be on every holiday playlist, right? It’s a universally understood rule of Christmas -- right up there with “children have to receive at least one pair of socks” and “the present-opening has to wait until everyone is awake.”
(There’s No Place Like) Home for the Holidays -- Perry Como
Gee! We hope listening to this nostalgic track brings you terrific traffic and the sunshine of a friendly gaze and all the good holiday vibes.
Linus and Lucy -- Vince Guaraldi Trio
Okay, so this instrumental Charlie Brown Christmas track isn’t necessarily a sing-along. But you can’t say the sound of that jazzy piano doesn’t make you want to get up and dance, decorate a dog house with holiday lights or wrap a blanket around a scrawny Christmas tree. And to quote Linus, that’s what Christmas is all about.
What Christmas Means to Me -- Stevie Wonder
To Stevie Wonder, Christmas means candles burnin’ low and lots of mistletoe. To us, Christmas means Stevie Wonder. The R&B legend’s powerhouse vocals and Motown rhythms keep us coming back to this certified holiday banger.
