Get a Music Exec’s Recommendations for Creating the Ultimate Holiday Playlist

Your annual holiday party and cookie exchange may be canceled, but there’s no reason you still can’t still create a festive atmosphere for your nearest and dearest at home this year. Even if you’re just celebrating with immediate family, all you really need to set the mood is a merry little Christmas playlist.

Although 2020 has been challenging, to say the least, you can still make the most of the holiday season by curating the perfect playlist to accompany your scaled-down family dinner. Not only will holiday-themed tunes help set the mood, but they might even help recapture some of the holiday magic you’re missing due to COVID-19 safety restrictions.

“Music helps me take my mind off of what is going on in the world,” says Ayelet Shiffman, Senior Vice President and Head of Promotions at Island Records. “It helps me smile. I love holiday songs, the classics as well as new ones from artists doing their own renditions. A good holiday playlist needs to be fun, uplifting, but also festive.”

Schiffman has several favorite tricks for creating the ultimate Christmas playlist. “I like to put a good mix of songs and artists I love,” she says. “It needs to have up and downtempo elements so the order of the playlist is extremely important to me. It has to play in my order, not on shuffle! For me, it’s about making it fun and thinking about what can be played during a holiday dinner.” Read on for the top 10 songs she has in constant rotation this year:

“All I Want For Christmas Is You” Mariah Carey

 

“Baby, It’s Cold Outside” John Legend with Kelly Clarkson

 

“Jingle Bell Rock” Bobby Helms

“Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” Kacey Musgraves

“Do They Know It’s Christmas?” Band Aid

“Mistletoe” Justin Bieber

“Last Christmas” Wham!

“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” Sam Smith

“It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” Michael Buble

“The Christmas Song” Shawn Mendez and Camila Cabello

 

What’s on your Christmas playlist? Tell us in the comments–and shop Holiday styles to wear through the festive season!