Winter Songs That Aren't Christmas Songs: A Checked List for School, Work and January

The short answer

These winter songs never say "Christmas", "Santa" or any other holiday in their original words. We checked each one against its lyrics; sources are in the table further down:

1. "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" (1945)
2. "Winter Wonderland" (1934)
3. "Sleigh Ride" (1948, words added 1950)
4. "A Marshmallow World" (1949)
5. "Jingle Bells" (1857)
6. "Frosty the Snowman" (1950, Gene Autry's original words)
7. "Happy Holiday" (1942, Irving Berlin)
8. "My Favorite Things" (1959)
9. "Jingle Bell Rock" (1957)
10. "Baby, It's Cold Outside" (1944), with a caution below
11. "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" (2013)
12. "Let It Go" (2013)

Then there are the traps. "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year", "Silver Bells", Sia's "Snowman", Jimmy Durante's "Frosty" and Andy Williams' "Happy Holiday" medley all sound like general winter songs, and all of them bring Christmas or Santa in. Details are further down.

This is for the teacher planning a December class party, the person running music at the office party, or anyone who wants winter music that still works in January.

Why "no Christmas in the words" is the test

There are good reasons to want December music without Christmas in it. Some schools keep class celebrations general. Some offices have staff who celebrate Hanukkah, Diwali, Kwanzaa or nothing at all. And some people just want snow music that doesn't expire on December 26.

The catch is that a song's reputation tells you very little. Almost everything on the list above sits on Christmas albums and Christmas radio, so people hear it as a Christmas song. But the words are about snow, sleighs and cold weather.

So we went by the original lyric. That is a clear test, and one you can explain if a parent or a coworker asks. If your group's rule is stricter, for example "nothing that plays on Christmas radio," cut the list down to the instrumentals and the Frozen songs.

The checked list: winter songs with no holiday in the lyrics

"Winter Wonderland" has two sets of words. In the original, the snowman in the meadow is "Parson Brown", a minister, and the couple plan to get married. A children's version printed in 1947 turns him into a circus clown and swaps the wedding verse for playing in the snow (Wikipedia). Neither mentions Christmas. For little kids, the circus-clown version makes more sense; listen for which one your recording uses.

"Frosty" depends on the singer. In the original words, Frosty promises he'll be "back again someday". In Jimmy Durante's version, he says he'll be back on Christmas Day (Wikipedia). If you need it Christmas-free, play Gene Autry's 1950 recording and listen to the last verse first.

"Jingle Bell Rock" passes the lyric test and fails the vibe test. Its words are about bells, a "jingle hop" and dancing. But it is one of the most-played Christmas records there is, so to most listeners it is a Christmas song. Leave it out if your rule is about what people hear rather than what the words say.

The famous "winter" songs that do mention Christmas

These are the ones that catch people out, because they are on every "winter" playlist and sound general until you listen to the words:

• "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" (Andy Williams, 1963). It sounds like a general holiday song, but the lyric includes Christmas carols and stories about Christmases past (Wikipedia).
• "Silver Bells" (1950). The chorus says "Christmas time" (lyric text).
• "Snowman" (Sia, 2017). The title says winter, but the lyric uses the word "Christmas" (lyric text), and it is the lead single from her Christmas album (Wikipedia).
• Jimmy Durante's "Frosty the Snowman". It has the Christmas Day line. Gene Autry's original doesn't.
• Andy Williams' "Happy Holiday / The Holiday Season". Irving Berlin's "Happy Holiday" on its own is fine, but Williams pairs it with Kay Thompson's "The Holiday Season", which names Santa, St. Nick and Christmas (lyric text). Look for a recording of "Happy Holiday" alone, such as Bing Crosby's.

A habit worth keeping: before a song goes on the playlist, pull up its lyrics on a lyrics site and use Find on Page for "Christmas", "Santa" and "Noel". It takes ten seconds and catches most of these.

Instrumentals: the safest choice

If the music is mostly in the background, at a class party, during an office lunch or in a waiting room, instrumentals avoid the question entirely. No words, nothing to check.

• "Winter" from Vivaldi's The Four Seasons (published 1725). The fast first movement sounds like a blizzard; the slow second movement is good background music.
• "Sleigh Ride", Leroy Anderson's original orchestral version. The trumpet's horse whinny at the end gets a laugh from kids every time.
• "Waltz of the Snowflakes" from Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker. The ballet's story is set on Christmas Eve, but this piece has no words; the chorus in it sings without lyrics.
• "Troika" from Prokofiev's Lieutenant Kijé, a sleigh ride in sound.
• "Skating" by the Vince Guaraldi Trio. A piano trio piece about ice skating. It is on the A Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack, so some people will recognise it from there.

A playlist of six or seven of these lasts about half an hour.

Think twice about these

• "Baby, It's Cold Outside". No holiday in it, but the lyric is a man pressing a woman to stay the night, and several radio stations pulled it in 2018 over how that sounds today (Wikipedia). Fine for some rooms. Wrong for a classroom, and a gamble at work.
• Covers and "holiday" compilations. A newer cover can add a verse or change the words. Play the exact recording you added all the way through before the party, not just the first chorus.
• Explicit versions. A search can turn up a remix or a live version you didn't mean to add. Check before playing it to a room of kids.

Two playlists you can copy

For a classroom (K–5), about 30 minutes:

"Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" · "Let It Go" · "Frosty the Snowman" (Gene Autry) · "Winter Wonderland" (a circus-clown version) · "Jingle Bells" · "Sleigh Ride" (Leroy Anderson orchestra) · "A Marshmallow World" · "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" · "My Favorite Things"

If you are also teaching the songs for a concert, our guide to helping kids learn their winter concert songs explains why the class arrangement matters more than the famous recording.

For an office party or a December lunch, about 45 minutes:

"Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" · "Happy Holiday" (Bing Crosby, on its own) · "A Marshmallow World" · "Sleigh Ride" · "Winter Wonderland" · "My Favorite Things" · "Skating" · "Winter" (Vivaldi) · "Waltz of the Snowflakes" · "Jingle Bell Rock", only if your rule is about the words rather than the vibe

Keep it going into January. Every song on the classroom list still makes sense after the holidays, when Christmas music sounds stale and there's still snow on the ground.

Setting it up in Trending Music

Trending Music is our app, so weigh this section accordingly. It is free, and it plays the songs above.

1. Make the playlist. Find each song, tap •••, then Add to Playlist. Our playlist guide walks through it.
2. Check the version. Search often shows several recordings of a standard. Play the start of each one and pick the one you mean, especially for "Frosty" and "Happy Holiday".
3. Read the words. Open the Lyrics tab in the player and read the whole song through, watching for "Christmas", "Santa" and "Noel".
4. Explicit labels are a hint, not a filter. Search marks explicit tracks with an E where that information is available. There is no setting that hides them, and no badge doesn't guarantee a clean song.
5. Set repeat to Repeat all so the music doesn't stop halfway through the party.

One honest catch: the free version shows an occasional full-screen ad between songs, and the music pauses while the ad is up. During a class party that's a short pause; during a quiet moment at work it's more noticeable. Premium removes the ads. If your school or office already uses Spotify or Apple Music, the same list works there.

If you're picking music for customers in a shop, café or waiting room, a personal music app is the wrong tool. Business music services handle the licensing that public spaces need.

Is "Jingle Bells" a Christmas song?

Not originally. James Lord Pierpont published it in 1857 as "The One Horse Open Sleigh", and the words are about a sleigh ride in the snow. It became tied to Christmas over the following decades (Wikipedia). By the lyric test it's a winter song. By what most people hear, it's a Christmas one, so make the call for your own group.

Is "Let It Snow" a Christmas song?

No. Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne wrote it in July 1945 during a Hollywood heat wave, while imagining cooler weather, and the lyric never mentions the holiday (Wikipedia). It became linked with Christmas because Vaughn Monroe's recording was released just after Thanksgiving and was a hit by Christmas.

What can I play at a school winter party instead of Christmas songs?

The two Frozen songs, Gene Autry's "Frosty the Snowman", "Sleigh Ride", "Let It Snow!" and "A Marshmallow World" all have winter words with no holiday in them, and kids know most of them. For background music, use instrumentals: Vivaldi's "Winter", Leroy Anderson's orchestral "Sleigh Ride", or Vince Guaraldi's "Skating". Your school may have its own rule, so check with the office first if you aren't sure.

The rest of December

If the room does want Christmas, the best Christmas songs is sorted by moment, from party songs to quiet dinner music. For a Hanukkah party, Hanukkah songs for the candle lighting and the party has songs that aren't an afterthought. And if the office party has a gift swap, musical white elephant gets 25 people through it in about fifteen minutes.

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