In this first post, I will give you, dear reader, a short overview of the new Christmas singles that so far have been announced. For those who doubt the fact the traditional Christmas 7" single has made a strong comeback - just look at which big names have announced a new 7" Christmas single this year: Olivia Rodrigo, Sam Fender, Jason Mraz, Cynthia Erivo, Sufjan Stevens and good old Elton John.
Olivia Rodrigo is one of the many young women scoring pop hit after pop hit. She has even managed to appeal to the alternative music crowd, thanks to her collaborations with alternative music icons such as David Byrne from Talking Heads, Robert Smith from The Cure and Rivers Cuomo from Weezer. Today, Olivia has released her Christmas single, "Take Me Home (4 Christmas)", with another original, "Miss This Christmas", on the B-side. A red vinyl version is available to buy through her official store in the USA (and through local Universal Music dealers elsewhere), while a green vinyl version with alternative artwork is exclusively on sale at Target in the USA, HMV in the UK, and HHV in the European Union. This is a very welcome gesture from Olivia and her label in these times of tariffs on imports.
Another Christmas record released today is Sufjan Stevens' compilation album, Worst Christmas Ever, which includes highlights from his many Christmas records released over the years. If you bought the album from the Asthmatic Kitty website, you could order a special edition that came with a 7" single. Unlike the album, the single features two previously unreleased and most likely recently recorded songs: an original Sufjan song called "On This Christmas (It Only Gets Better)" and a cover of Vince Guaraldi's "Christmas Time Is Here". Unfortunately, the special edition with the 7" single has now sold out.
Then we head over to Sweden, where the post-punk band Hurula released a one-sided Christmas single on translucent red vinyl today. Hurula is the project of Robert Hurula Petterson, who has played in several Swedish punk bands, including The Dead Ones, The Lost Patrol Band and Regulations. The single is titled "December Kom Igen" (December, Come On Then) and is an adaptation of Wham!'s "Last Christmas". I don't speak Swedish, but judging by the title, I'd say the lyrics aren't a translation of Wham!'s hit, but are completely new. You can buy the single at Bengans.
Neither of the two songs on Jason Mraz's seasonal single, which will be released on Friday 13 November, has "Christmas" in the title. However, both "Snow In San Diego" and "Money!" are Christmas-themed songs. "Snow In San Diego" is a piano ballad, while "Money!" has a swing feel. The single will be available to purchase through Jason's webshop, and will also be available soon through Rough Trade for people in the UK or the European Union — although it cannot be ordered yet.
English singer Sam Fender had several big hits in the UK this year and won the Ivor Novello Award for Songwriter of the Year in May. He recorded a cover of the Rolling Stones' "You Can't Always Get What You Want" which Mick Jagger seems to really like (or perhaps he is just being nice). Although the song is not a Christmas song, it has been used in this year's John Lewis Christmas advert. With a little imagination, you could interpret it as a message to people who ask for too many presents at Christmas. The B-side features Sam Fender's 2020 cover of Lindisfarne's "Winter Song", which, despite its title, is a Christmas song. It is perhaps disappointing that the winner of the Award for Songwriter of the Year has not recorded a self-penned Christmas song, but the single will still be a hit. However, I am pretty sure the single will be a hit anyway. It will be released on 13 November on black vinyl and can be ordered through Sam's website.
Cynthia Erivo was one of the stars of the musical Wicked. On 4 December, she will release a Christmas single featuring the original song "Spending My Christmas With You" and a cover of the classic "The Christmas Song" by Nat King Cole. For "Spending My Christmas With You", she is joined by talk show host Jimmy Fallon. The single is pressed on green vinyl and is signed by Cynthia. It can only be bought through her webshop.
Another Christmas record to be released on 4 December is a double 7" EP by Chapel Hill, North Carolina-based indie rock veterans Superchunk. They have just announced that they will release a winter-themed EP titled Winter Mix, featuring four original songs and a cover of Wham!'s "Last Christmas". All the others songs are winter- or snow-themed - one original and covers of The Magnetic Fields and Galaxy 500. You can purchase the EP from the band's Bandcamp page.
Buddy Miller, a veteran of the Americana and country rock scene, teams up with his wife Julie to bring us two songs: "Nothing But A Child", a Steve Earle song that they sing together, and "On The Road To Bethlehem", written by Julie and performed by Buddy and country singer Sarah Buxton. The single is pressed on red vinyl and will be available from 27 November, although I can already see it being sold by two sellers on Discogs. You can purchase it from the official New West website or order it from your local record store.
Elton John's "Step Into Christmas" has been re-released in the last two years, and now sees another re-release in the form of a re-recording. Elton is joined by Irish indie country singer CMAT, and I have to say, they both sound inspired. The song has been released on a crystal-clear 7" single, with CMAT's reinterpretation of the song on the B-side. The single will be available through the Elton John website, that will direct you to your local Universal Music webstore. Be patient, though — the single is released on 11 December.
11 December is also the release date for this year's edition of the Snowflakes Christmas Singles Club. This is the 13th edition, featuring singles #40 to #43. I am really happy with the artists who have recorded two songs for their single: the indie/twee pop band Josie from Copenhagen, Denmark; the singer-songwriter Eva May from Brighton, England; the indie pop rock band Amelia and The Housewives from Brighton, England; and the ska/rocksteady singers Donnoya Drake and Junior Dell, who are originally from Jamaica and were produced by the English producer and Original Gravity label owner, Neil Anderson. You can purchase the full set at a great price through the Snowflakes Big Cartel website. The songs will be available online on the Snowflakes Bandcamp site from 20 November.
You have to wait another two weeks before the Snowflakes' singles are available online. In the meantime, you can enjoy the original version of the song that Josie covered.
Swedish musician Johan Agebjörn recorded the Christmas song "Will You Be Home For Christmas" with Dana Jean Phoenix on vocals. Originally recorded for a soundtrack, the song sounds as if it came straight from the 1980s synthpop era. It is pressed on white vinyl and available through Johan's Bandcamp page.
And least two Japanese Christmas singles are set to be released in the 2026 Christmas season. The first is by Dexied The Emons and appears to feature two original songs: "Goodbye Christmas Day! (I Wish She)" and "All My Christmas (I Wish He)". The second is by Minami Kitasono and features a Christmas song called "Hisanna Christmas" on the A-side and a song called "Contrition" on the B-side. Currently, I have no further information about these singles other than that they can be pre-ordered from Juno Records in the UK and HHV in Germany, among others.
Apart from those 7"s with newly recorded Christmas songs, there are a few 7" Christmas singles, and also a few 4" singles (so-called Tiny Vinyl, mostly Target exclusives only available in the US, unfortunately), with previously released songs.
The single I'm most excited about is a 7" release of Dido's 2000 Christmas song, "Christmas Day" — a song that has never been released on vinyl before. The B-side is "Here With Me" — not a Christmas song, but featured in the film Love Actually. You can buy it from Dido's official UK store. It is also available from the German mail order company JPC in the EU. In the EU, the single is also being released in a 12" version.
In 1976, Dutch Schlager singer André Hazes released his debut single, "Eenzame Kerst" (Lonely Christmas). This marked the beginning of a career that would make him one of the most popular Dutch singers ever. To celebrate the song's 40th anniversary, it is being re-released as a black sparkle vinyl single with the original version on the A-side and a re-recorded version from 1992 on the B-side. It is available to purchase from the official Dutch Universal Music store, Platenzaak.nl.
Two Christmas singles that have recently been re-released will be re-released again this year: Modern Talking's 1987 synthpop classic "It's Christmas", which will be released on white vinyl for the first time, and Sean Price's 2012 hip-hop track "How Sean P! Stole Christmas", which will be released on green-and-red splatter vinyl this year.
The Official UK Elvis Presley Fan Club released an Elvis Christmas single last year and is releasing another one this year. The A-side features "If Everyday Was Like Christmas" and the B-side features "Silent Night". You can purchase it from their website.
ABBA's "Happy New Year", which is re-released every year, is now getting a tiny 4" vinyl release, as is their Christmas single "Little Things". Both are available to buy from the official ABBA shop and from your local Universal Music dealer — a company that seems to have monopolised the music industry.
More Tiny Vinyl releases, all exclusively for sale at Target in the US:
Brenda Lee: "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree" b/w "Papa Noël"
Kelly Clarkson: "Underneath The Tree" b/w "Run Rudolph Run"
Mariah Carey: "All I Want For Christmas Is You" b/w "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)"
Michael Bublé: "It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas" b/w "Holly Jolly Christmas"
Sabrina Carpenter: "Buy Me Presents" b/w "Santa Doesn't".
