The month of December has started and that means the holidays are around the corner. Every year, Christmas queen Mariah Carey ‘defrosts’ on December 1^st and kicks off the holiday season as she sings: ‘it’s timeee!’. But if you’d like to decorate this December with some alternative Christmas tunes, I’ve got just the list for you!

Ever since its release in 1994, Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’ is the yearly soundtrack for the holidays. Other classics are ‘Last Christmas’ by Wham!, ‘Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!’ by Dean Martin and ‘It’s beginning to Look a Lot like Christmas’ by Michael Bublé.

While those songs have proven to be phenomenal hits year after year, some people are tired of hearing the same couple of tracks on repeat. Those people long for a change, a breath of fresh air. This list is especially for them, for those who desire some atypical alternatives to the Christmassy classics.

1. Merry Christmas, Please Don’t Call – Bleachers

A fresher breath of air than this one is practically impossible. The song was released just last month and perfectly in time for the holiday season. Performed by the American rock band Bleachers and written by Jack Antonoff, mostly known for his work with popstar Taylor Swift and also the lead singer of the band.

Christmas is a festive and magical time and also the perfect period to reflect on the past year. It’s celebrated with friends and family in closeness and love. It’s with the holidays that you reach out to people whom you don’t really talk to (anymore). But sometimes, even Christmas isn’t an excuse to break no-contact.

Bleachers’ song highlights this situation: you wish them a merry Christmas, but hope they still don’t reach out because they broke every piece of your heart and soul.

2. A Nonsense Christmas – Sabrina Carpenter

This holiday tune from last year is a Christmas parody of Sabrina Carpenter’s original song ‘Nonsense’ that was the biggest hit of her 2022 ‘emails i can’t send’-album. The 25-year-old American singer released a holiday record last year called ‘fruitcake’ that featured six songs.

This year in December, Carpenter will release a holiday special: A Nonsense Christmas with Sabrina Carpenter, after the first track on her holiday EP. The movie will feature music duets with other artists, like Chappel Roan and Shania Twain, and special guests. A Nonsense Christmas with Sabrina Carpenter comes out December 6 on Netflix.

 

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3. Another Year – FINNEAS

This 2020 record is a track with soft melodies that compliment FINNEAS’ voice very well. He’s mostly known as American pop singer Billie Eilish’s big brother, but has proven himself to be an equally talented singer as his sister. With his latest album For Cryin’ Out Loud!, he’ll perform in Brussels’ La Madeleine next May.

The song is essentially a Christmas love song where he declares his love for his partner. He wants to be with them as he sings how he doesn’t belong without them. The main message of the song is that the singer hopes his relationship lasts another year.

4. So Much Wine – Phoebe Bridgers

Indie artist Phoebe Bridgers, a member of former band Boygenius, released this cover back in 2022. The original song was performed by The Handsome Family in the year 2000. Bridgers recorded the song and released it as part of an album with five other covers from different Christmas songs.

5. Christmas Tree Farm – Taylor Swift

Iconic American popstar released this record back in 2019. She wrote the song during Thanksgiving and recorded it just three days later at London Lane Studios. It’s her third Christmas song, after ‘Christmases When You Were Mine’ and ‘Christmas Must Be Something More’, both released in 2007.

The song is most likely heavily inspired by her childhood, as the singer grew up on a Christmas tree farm in Pennsylvania. Swift herself said in a video: ‘It’s about how you’re in the city and you’re stressed out and your life is feeling really, like, low, but in your heart it’s a Christmas tree farm.’

 

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Text: ©Elise-Charlotte Kindts
Image: ©Elise-Charlotte Kindts