Posted by: jonwardeleven | November 25, 2007

Worst Christmas Carol Ever?

I’ve been inspired by Sufjan’s good Christmas music to hold a contest to find out what the worst Christmas songs are.

So Ali, Jeth and I are now accepting nominations–this is your opportunity to not only nominate the hokiest, cheesiest, most suffocatingly annoying Christmas songs (the Chipmunks come immediately to mind), but also to let out all the rage that’s been percolating inside you as you try to escape from the pervasive creep of awful Christmas carols. They are everywhere you go (the radio, department stores, cell phone rings, the doctor’s office, when you call the dentist and are put on hold, etc.).

Leave your nomination in the comments section. Please include the name of the song AND the artist. Also feel free to describe WHY it is so bad, as that will influence which songs get into the final voting. Only one nomination per person. A week or two before Christmas, I will create an online poll with the top five nominations. Voting will then begin and last through Christmas Eve. The person who’s nomination gets the most votes will win a $10 Starbucks card. Winner to be announced on Christmas day!

Let the nominating begin!


Responses

  1. Yippie! Yay!

  2. i saw mommy kissing santa klaus

    …runner up, santa baby sung by madonna

  3. This contest is a holiday buzz-kill. I enjoy each and every Christmas jingle. So, I say NO to your attempt to rank terrible carols and only leave you with this thought: Have a holly, jolly Christmas, it’s the best time of the year ;)

  4. this question is like the question, “How much money does it take to raise a kid?”… the answer of course is, “all of it.”

    ALL OF THEM. (this includes Sufjan’s mediocre Christmas)

  5. missy – bah humbug
    kerrin – grow a heart

  6. definitely a tie between “Santa baby” by Madonna and “I saw Mommy kissing Santa claus”

    Only need to listen once to understand why they are such bad Christmas songs…

    anyway, cheers

  7. melanie you get “santa baby” by madonna, since will put “mommy kissing santa claus” first

  8. thanks jon, i donated *it* to science… i found little use for *it*.

  9. On behalf of my grinchish husband, Josh, we offer the following nominations. His first thought was Fum, Fum, Fum. But since most of us don’t know that one, he decided to nominate “We Wish you a Merry Christmas” mainly because the demand for figgie pudding is ridiculous and rude. Who eats figgie pudding anyway?

  10. I agree with will in that “I saw mommy kissing santa claus.” I don’t know the artist and I don’t care. Also, I think Kerrin wrote them all.

  11. Oh wait. I’m changing my nomination. It is “Christmas in D.C.” I’ll have to hear it to get the artist and I will. But my guess is that it was Ted Kennedy.

  12. I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas Lyrics

  13. The worst Christmas song ever is “The Christmas Shoes” by NewSong. Not only does this song glorify sappiness it also led to the eventual Lifetime Original t.v. movie starring the king of cheese Rob Lowe, need I say more.

  14. Oh yes, Christmas Shoes! That song is the worst because the subject isn’t particularily trite (death is hardly cliche). BUT the idea that they just want to evoke emotion by telling you some poor kid bought shoes for his dying mom is a little ridiculous. It’s like they just thought of everything that tugs on people’s heart strings (Jesus, heaven, love, death, children, and poverty) and just threw it all into one song. But you feel guilty hating the song. How could you hate a kid trying to buy his dying mom shoes? You want to hate him but you can’t. Not to mention I have some strong theological objections to the song Matthew 6:19-20 :)

  15. I like Madonna and shoe shopping at Christmas.

  16. “all i want for christmas is my 2 front teeth” that song is downright annoying and whiney…and has nothing to do with christmas

  17. oh yeah AND….”grandma got run over by a reindeer” morbid and hickish…it cannot get much worse

  18. I can’t believe I’m gonna be the one to nominate the obvious winner “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire” that song makes me want to eat a shotgun shell….

  19. Two terrible Christmas songs:
    “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.” I lived in Miami for a few years, and Christmas did not look a lot different from the rest of the year, except there many sightings of those cheesy lawn reindeer, you know the ones that graze and then lift their heads to look at you.

    But the worst of all is “Little St. Nick” by the Beach Boys. That’s the one with the Hook “Christmas comes this time each year.” How profound.

  20. Dude, I think this contest is ruining Christmas Carols for me. I am listening to a bunch on the radio, and pretty much all of them stink. I think a rule should be that if you were a cool pop star in the 70s or 80s, you shouldn’t sing Christmas songs. I am ready to jump off a bridge after hearing Hall and Oates sing “Jingle Bell Rock”? Just terrible.

  21. I like ‘chestnuts roasting on an open fi…’ and i also like the beach boys ‘little saint ni…’ but i’m probably all alone on that one.

  22. “Christmas Eve in Washington”. the end. That one will make you want to put a gun barrel in your mouth.

    And I happen to love “Little St. Nick.”

  23. oh and “Feliz Navidad.” and Josh would like to add, “anything by Barbra Streisand.”

  24. [...] Thank you Mark and Ryan for responding to my request for some more intensity in these proceedings. I did some more field research just [...]

  25. A couple book-keeping notes, for the record. If a song has already been nominated, then that song cannot be nominated a second time. And, there is only one nomination allowed per person.

    So for example, Mark nominated “Little St. Nick,” and mentioned “Jingle Bell Rock,” by Hall and Oates. But the second song is still up for grabs to anyone who has not nominated yet. In the same way, Erin nominated “All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth,” and also mentioned “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer,” so the grandma song is also still available.

    One caveat is that you can change your nomination if your new pick has not already been chosen by someone else.

    So Travis picked “Christmas Eve in Washington,” and then Kelley did as well. Because Travis was first, Kelley will get Josh’s pick of “Feliz Navidad.”

    The only problem with Travis’ pick is that my own Mom meant, I think, to pick that song, but she didn’t get the title right. Can I get some opinions on who should get that song (based on reading what my Mom wrote above)?

  26. “SILVER BELLS” is the worst!!! It’s sappy and senseless, and it gets stuck in your head for days.

    Actually, “Christmas Eve in Washington” is really the worst–already taken, so I’ll go with my second choice.

    :)

    Amy

  27. by the way, the Christmas Eve in Washington was the song I nominated, I didn’t know the official name. I said it first.

  28. Diane gets the nod for christmas eve in washington…I can verify that she mentioned that to me immediately and that is the song she intended. For myself i almost went with Santa Baby by the Marilyn Monroe wanna-be but I nominate “Santa Clause is Coming To Town” by the Jackson Five. It is absolutely grating…like listening to fingernails on a chalkboard!

  29. great choice Dad! i agree – that one’s pretty awful

  30. your mom should get the christmas eve in washington song…i knew what she was talking about when i read her comment. : )

  31. Mrs. Ward gets “Christmas Eve in Washington”.

    What we should really talk about is “that song makes me want to eat a shotgun shell…”, “make you want to put a gun barrel in your mouth”, and “I am ready to jump off a bridge”. Perhaps not the best way of conveying dislike for a Christmas Carol. Go see a shrink.

    Ali, you are not alone…”Chestnuts” and “Little Saint Nick” are classics. And, “Silver Bells?” really?

  32. I vote for the Christmas Shoes song… not to make light of death but lets just focus in on the chorus:
    ….
    “Daddy says there’s not much time
    You see she’s been sick for quite a while
    And I know these shoes would make her smile
    And I want her to look beautiful
    If Mama meets Jesus tonight”

    eek.

  33. kiara that’s already been nominated. voting will begin later

  34. eek

  35. I like ‘chestnuts roasting on an open fire’ very much. I sing it to myself often

    aol just reminded me of a terrible band aid song from the 80s: ‘do they know its christmas’ with lyrics like: “Tonight thank God it’s them, instead of you”

    pretty bad…so does aol get the nomination or is it up for grabs? If so, evie nominates it.

  36. Well now that there is nothing left to nominate I guess I can’t win. Hippopatamus (sp?) is absolutely horrible, but I think Erin got it. I’m already tired of Christmas carols, I started listening to them before Thanksgiving so I’m all caroled out!

  37. well cat, we (and when i say we i mean jon) start listening to christmas carols in august, so imagine how we (and when i say we i mean i) must feel!

    ok so to be fair, it’s usually a sufjan song and it usually just comes on when the ipod is on random….but we do love christmas carols in this family! especially ones by WHAM!!!!

  38. I’m sorry, but if I hear Band Aid one more time, chunks will be hurled. Yes, I know it was a great cause, but…seriously, “There won’t be snow in Africa this Christmas???”

  39. [...] In an effort to weaken the enemy’s morale he very tactfully posed the question: “What are the Worst Christmas Songs?” A wise and strategic move indeed, for the enemy hold so dearly their precious, sappy, [...]


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