Our Festive Friends

Links to the best websites and blogs about Christmas music

The Big Four

Christmas a Go Go
Over the years, this prolific blog has become one of the leading lights promoting new and original Christmas music. Their self-proclaimed beat runs the gamut: Christmas music, winter hymns, and seasonal songs, the weird and wonderful, old and odd. And, be sure to set your calenders for their annual "Christmas In July." [christmasagogo.blogspot.com]

Christmas Underground
I find myself losing patience with the ever-burgeoning glut of Christmas music. Thank goodness there are people like Jim who possess a seemingly bottomless pit of attention. A lot of good, obscure music gets by me. Less so at his blog, Christmas Underground, with its admirably skewed aesthetic. Also active on Facebook and Twitter. [christmasunderground.com]

FaLaLaLaLa
The main website at FaLaLaLaLa (dot com) is closed for repairs. But, what really sets it apart is the forum, The Fireside. That's where obsessives like me swap stories, spread news, debate the merit of obscure records, and - most importantly - trade digital files of rare, out-of-print goodies. They also have a Facebook group. [tapatalk.com/groups/falalalala]

Mistletunes
Before the advent of the blogosphere, this nicely written website was my first indication that other people like me even existed. He's not as compulsive as I am (lucky guy), but he's a lot more focused on the stuff that got me into this mess in the first place - rock 'n' roll Christmas music. [mistletunes.com]

The Blogs

Most of the chatter on the web seems to revolve around Christmas music that, while often not very hip, is pretty cool - obscure, odd, weird, and fascinating. These blogs seek out - and often share - these treasures. Most of them peak around the holiday season, but some post new material all year 'round.

Bells Will Be Ringing!
This blog and it's, companion - Mark's Holiday Mix CD's - are, in some ways, the websites I'd like to have. Except I'm too obsessive. And Compulsive. Sorry about that. Anyway, I know you'll get a kick out of Mark's posts and - if you act quickly - his annual holiday mixes. [bellsrringing.blogspot.com]

Better Watch Out
The modest goal of blogger Jim Hoffman is to document 100 years of alternative Christmas music, which he defines as "a world outside the Mariah-Wham-Bing snowglobe." Started way back in 2010, Better Watch Out has been ramping up its campaign in recents years, but I suspect he won't run out of material anytime soon. Also active on YouTube Music, Spotify, and Soundcloud. [betterwatchout.tumblr.com]

Bootleg Xmas
The basis for this blog is the compilation CD he's been putting together for Christmas every year since 2000. But, it's for friends only, and a password is required. There's not a lot of other content, but he posts with regularity on Facebook. [bootlegxmas.hmcnally.com]

Festive!
Self-described "Christmas music geek" DJ El Toro posts all kinds of fascinating stuff - most of it about music, some it about knitting (and sex), and all of it pretty darn hip. [festivefanzine.blogspot.com]

The Groove Grotto
Their tag line is "Out-of-print musical esoterica for your aural pleasure!" and that about sums it up. The Groove Grotto is a sharity blog ( and Facebook group) focusing on exotica and easy listening, but, as promised, they frequently throw in some truly esoteric, bizarre choices. [thegroovegrotto.blogspot.com]

Merry & Bright
Follow the exploits of Der Bingle as he explores Christmas, holidays, books, music, and other mental ephemera. Also an active member of www.falalalala.com. [merryandbright.blogspot.com]

Mitchell's Merrymix
Sadly, Mitchell Kezin passed away in early 2024 after one last joyous Christmas. As you might guess, the foundation of Mitchell's blog was his annual mix - which he compiled for over 30 years from his vast collection of original, obscure, oddball Christmas music that he's unearthed since his obsession with holiday music began in 1990. However, his crowning achievement - at least in the world of record collecting - was Jingle Bell Rocks, a documentary he directed about Christmas geeks like us. [mitchellsmerrymix.com]

My Festive Fizzy Pop
This annual blog is an offshoot of My Fizzy Pop, which doesn't have a lot in common with my musical taste. He and I both say we like pop music, but lets just say his pop is a little sweeter than mine. Where I say Joan Jett, he says Britney Spears. But, I certainly admire his tenacity - posting 60 days every Christmas since 2013. [myfestivepop.blogspot.com]

Santas Working Overtime
In 2007, the blogger behind Senses Working Overtime (and several others) dove headlong into the deep end with this all-Christmas, all-the-time forum. [santasworkingovertime.blogspot.com]

Snowflake Christmas Singles
This is both an amazing blog about Christmas singles and a record label. They release several eclectic holiday pop singles every year - vinyl sold through through Big Cartel, downloads through Amazon and iTunes. [snowflakes-christmas-singles.blogspot.com]

Stubby's House Of Christmas
Well, good news - sort of. He took down his legendary blog after 2020 and spent a full year offline, but Stubby is back - sort of. He reposted some old content and began compiling another epic list of new releases. As for the future, we shall see. To quote the man himself, "I'm old enough to know better." Anyway, Stubby is a major music fiend, a good friend of this website, and a major contributor over at The FaLaLaLaLa Fireside. For many years, he led the annual online charge into holiday music mayhem, posting with such fervor and frequency that his blog became a primary destintion for me and, I suspect, many other enthusiasts. [stubbyschristmas.weebly.com]

The Websites

Christmas Every Minute
This expansive website covers almost everything about Christmas - music, of course, but also movies, decorations, food, and tourism, plus all the latest news about the holiday season. To quote webmaster Chris LaFontaine, "For those who want to celebrate Christmas a little longer, a little earlier, or every day, Christmas Every Minute was created just for you." [christmaseveryminute.com]

Christmas Music
As you might guess from their name, this Facebook group is broadly targeted. Yes, it's only about Christmas music, but they encourage their members to share anything and everything - any genre, any era, and not just the usual standards and hits. It's a private group, but it's a large, inclusive group - just ask to join! [facebook.com]

Jeffco Productions
Sort of a blog, kind of a website, not really a corporation. Jeffco shares some really fun stuff about Christmas music and the holidays in general. After all, their company (sic) slogan is "We're Fun People." [www.jeffco.ca/christmas]

Jingle Bell Rocks!
Not a website, but a movie. Canadian director Mitchell Kezin created a documentary about (gulp!) Christmas music and the geeks who collect it. The film is a hoot, as it features such notable holiday enthusiasts as El Vez, Dr. Demento, and Andy Cirzan - though, I hasten to add, not me. [jinglebellrocks.oscilloscope.net]

Merry Christmas Baby
In many ways, this Japanese fansite is the equal of "the big three" listed above. The only problem is, it's of very limited use to people (like me) who don't speak Japanese... Loads of pictures, though the quality is inconsistent. [www.ne.jp/asahi/mcb/shiga]

The Punk Rock Advent Calendar
Musician Jimmy Severe and his band the Blue Christmas Boys share a tasty musical morsel every day during December. You even get rapped on the knuckles when you open the doors too soon! [punxmas.co.uk]

Snow In Southtown
This is a podcast about holiday TV specials, movies, music, and more by Mike and Rusty from the Christmas-friendly universe of Vista Blue and Radiant Radish Records. In addition to the podcast itself - available most anywhere podcasts are, er, sold - there's a Facebook page to help you keep up with all the activity.

Sounds of Christmas
This Christmas-only streaming service got their start as a Christmas-only record label in 2009. That didn't last long, but founder Ken Kessler's enthusiasm for holiday music remains undimmed a decade hence. The service is ad-supported, so it's free for listeners. [soundsofchristmas.com]

Totally Rad Christmas
One of my favorite songs is "Christmas Was Better In The 80's" by The Futureheads. Totally Rad Christmas clearly agrees. It's a podcast about "the raddest time of year in the baddest decade ever!" They talk a lot about music, but they also cover toys, movies, TV specials, and much more. Or, in their words, "If it was gnarly during Christmas in the 80's, we got it covered!" Also active on Facebook and other social media. [totallyradchristmas.com]

The Yule Log
Not so much a blog, or any normal thing, the Yule Log is a place for legendary Christmas fanatic Lawrence "Chip" Arcuri to perpetuate his happy, hypermelodious vision of the holiday - and promote the annual TV broadcast that lends the site its name. There's also a message board that includes his crowning achievement, his Top 500 Christmas Albums. [theyulelog.com]

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