12 amazing alternative choices for your Christmas playlist

Christmas is coming, so prepare your aural senses for a bombardment of the same selection of Christmas songs we hear every year on repeat. If you want to mix things up a little this year, and have a party playlist that’s not exactly the same as everyone else’s, here are our top 12 choices.

R2D2 We Wish You a Merry Christmas – John Bongiovi

That’s not a typo, that’s the Bon Jovi front man actually performing under his real name before the days of rock stardom. It’s sappy and cheesy, which makes it the perfect Christmas song. Plus the fact that it’s all addressed to Star Wars’ R2D2 actually means it’s incredibly funny when you try and take it seriously.

Rudolph the Red Noised Reggae – Paul McCartney

This certainly isn’t one of Sir Paul’s better known works, heck it’s not even one of his best known Christmas songs. Still, there’s something a little bit heart-warming about an instrumental reggae-esque mix of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

Christmas is All Around – Bill Nighy

In all honesty I would be surprised if you didn’t know about this one, it did feature rather prominently in Love Actually after all. That being said this parody/cover of Wet Wet Wet’s Love is All Around probably isn’t a regular member of your Yuletide Spotify playlist, so you might as well stick it in there even if it’s just for nostalgia’s sake.

What’s This? – Flyleaf

Is The Nightmare Before Christmas a Christmas movie or a Halloween movie? I’d say it’s the former, just about, so it’s perfectly acceptable to play the soundtrack. If you’re tired of hearing the vocal talents of Jack Skellington, then you can always go for this cover version by Flyleaf. Fair warning, it’s a little less upbeat than the original.

I Want an Alien for Christmas – Fountains of Wayne

A lot of the usual yuletide songs take themselves too seriously, and often end up cringeworthy and cheesy in the process. Clearly asking for an alien for Christmas isn’t going to be one of those songs, and the amount of silliness this song contains makes it a very worthy tune to include. Even if it is better directed at your young kids rather than Grandma.

A Great Big Sled – The Killers

The Killers do a Christmas song every year, but one of the best is an older one hailing from 2009. It’s quintessentially Christmas, but still quite clearly The Killers. Christmas playlists tend to stick to the older classics everyone knows, but it’s about time some of the more recent stuff got a chance.

Goodbye England Covered in Snow – Laura Marling

This is less of a Christmas song and more Winter themed, but that doesn’t make it any less special. Most Christmas songs are very upbeat or rather sappy affairs, but after the high of presents, family, and turkey you could do with something to bring you back down to Earth and this song is perfect for it.

Christmas in the Hollis – Run DMC

Hip hop and Christmas aren’t exactly two things you’d normally put together, but here we are. A tale of the threesome spotting Santa climbing into someone’s house should be in your playlist for two reasons: it’s rather amusing, and it featured in the greatest Christmas movie of all time, Die Hard. It’s actually shocking this doesn’t get overplayed, but we should all be grateful for it.

Christmas All Over Again – Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers

Personally this is a song I’m a little sick of because my dad is a Tom Petty fan, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less of a great tune. Every occasion could do with some good old classic rock in the soundtrack, so why shouldn’t Christmas?

Christmas Was Better in the 80s – The Futureheads

Was Christmas actually better in the 80s? I wouldn’t know, but The Futureheads certainly seem to think it was. Since Christmas songs tend to be all joyous and happy things, but if you feel like embracing your inner scrooge then this musical complaint is right up your street.

Silent Night – Christopher Lee

Christopher Lee is more than just an amazing actor/wizard/Sith lord, he also happens to be a heavy metal vocalist and some of his work does include Christmas songs. Silent Night is one that many of you can enjoy, even if metal isn’t really in your musical palette. It’s not too heavy and it definitely mixes things up a bit.

Woody Allen Jesus – Tim Minchin

The modern Christmas has its roots in Christianity, so it makes sense to have a bit of Jesus-themed music playing during the period. If you’re not one for religious songs then Tim Minchin’s comedic ode to the Christian figure-head might make for some amusing Christmas sing-alongs.