The 10 worst Christmas songs of all time

EDITOR’S NOTE: We wrote this back in 2021, but with the holiday season back once again we felt like it was the perfect time to update it.

It's the holiday season and you know what that means? It's time to break out the Christmas songs!

From the classics and the songs we grew up listening to throughout our childhood to more modern songs that have been accepted into the Christmas music lexicon, listening to holiday tunes always feels like putting on a cozy sweater with a hot cup of tea and watching a snowstorm. Well... mostly.

For all the great Christmas songs there are out there, there are some really, truly awful ones. Whether they're bad from a pure musical standpoint or they just really get on your nerves for some reason or another, I get it completely.

And that's why I've put together this list of the top 10 worst Christmas songs ever created, so you too can feel validated in your music taste! Or you can be upset that one of your favorite songs of all time, that you've cherished since childhood, is actually bad. Let's dive in!

Be sure to check out our other lists: 

• The 10 best Christmas songs of all time

• Ranking the only 12 Christmas songs that aren't terrible

• 25 best Christmas movies of all time (and where to watch them)

• The 14 best Christmas movies that aren't actually Christmas movies

10. You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch - Thurl Ravenscroft

"You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch" is a great lesson in descriptors and adjectives, but it does not inspire the Christmas spirit in me one bit.

9. Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer - Elmo & Patsy

A funny tale of a grandma getting drunk on eggnog turns horrific after being run over by a reindeer. Not only that, the song goes into pretty graphic detail of the aftermath of grandma getting run over by said reindeer. But hey, at least the song sounds Christmas-y!

8. Christmas Tree - Lady Gaga

I love Lady Gaga, don't get me wrong, but this song is just... terrible. It sounds like a very bad SNL parody -- from its grating instrumentals and not-very-subtle innuendo -- but no, it's real! Anyway, here's a palate cleanser of Lady Gaga absolutely killing this Sound of Music tribute.

7. Do They Know It's Christmas? - Band Aid

I know this song was made to raise money for the famine in Ethiopia in 1984 -- which is good! -- but the lyrics are, uh, condescending at best and offensive at worst.

6. Wonderful Christmastime - Paul McCartney

Much like "It's a Small World" once "Wonderful Christmastime" gets stuck in your head, it's there forever. And I mean forever. At least the jokes surrounding the song make it just a little more tolerable, but it's still a very trite tune.

5. The Chipmunk Song - The Chipmunks

Who wanted this collaboration? Why did this come into creation? Just to make my ears bleed? If so, you did a great job. Otherwise, what are we even doing here?

4. I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas - Gayla Peevey

This and "All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth" are in the same vein of kids singing about what they want for Christmas and... that's just not for me! I get that they're classics, but it's time to retire this genre of Christmas song.

3. Santa Baby - Michael Bublé

Michael Bublé is a coward for changing the lyrics to "Santa buddy"-- among other modifications -- and I cannot be convinced otherwise. If you're going to cover this song, lean into it or don't do it at all.

2. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus - Jackson 5

Sure, you probably chuckled once you realized the Santa described in "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" is the kid's father, but the song loses any of the minuscule charm it has once you do.

1. The Christmas Shoes - NewSong

No... just no.

For this holiday playlist and more, follow For The Win on Spotify: 

List

The 6 best holiday songs that you can actually play all year round

This article originally appeared on For The Win: The 10 worst Christmas songs of all time