Every December, Australia falls into a familiar rhythm. Shopping centres swell with carols, radios turn nostalgic, and families gather – from hot suburban barbecues to breezy beachside picnics – while the soundtrack to an Australian Christmas plays on repeat.
Some songs are international staples. Others are uniquely local. And a few have become Australian traditions simply because they capture exactly what the season feels like here: hot weather, long distances, big emotions, and the quirks of families coming together.
Below is a celebration of Australia’s 35 most loved Christmas songs – woven together with candid quotes from the artists who created the ones that mean the most to us.
Songs with a Story: What the Songwriters Said
Paul Kelly – “How to Make Gravy”
Paul Kelly’s 1996 ballad has grown into one of the great Australian Christmas classics – a song about longing, regret and family, set not in snow but in a prison cell in midsummer.
Kelly explained the unusual idea behind it:
“I started thinking … maybe I’ll write it from the point of view of somebody who’s missing Christmas, who can’t get there. Why can’t they get there? Maybe they’re overseas … then I thought, oh – he’s in prison.”
He joked about how unlikely a Christmas hit it was:
“I have a Christmas song, but it doesn’t have a chorus – and it’s set in prison.”
Yet he also admitted the feeling behind it was sincere: it was meant to sound like a real person writing home, right down to the gravy recipe borrowed from a family member. That mix of raw tenderness and everyday detail has made Gravy Day (December 21) an unofficial national event.
Shane MacGowan (The Pogues) – Fairytale of New York
A fixture on Australian playlists and end-of-year gatherings, this gritty, heartbreaking, strangely hopeful song wasn’t written to be a typical Christmas hit.
Shane MacGowan recalled the moment he forced himself into the right mood:
“I sat down, opened the sherry, got the peanuts out, and pretended it was Christmas.”
Co-writer Jem Finer once said the song transformed when they abandoned an early “corny” idea about a sailor and instead created a story about two flawed dreamers trying to survive New York. And MacGowan, always honest, described how easily he related to both characters:
“I identified with the man because I was a hustler – and I identified with the woman because I was a heavy drinker and a singer.”
That authenticity is exactly why Australians – and the world – still lean into it every December.
Mariah Carey – All I Want for Christmas Is You
Whether you hear it in an RSL, on the radio, or in a shopping centre, Australia is as powerless to resist Mariah’s modern classic as the rest of the world.
Mariah has often spoken about how she wrote it while thinking about the joy and glamour of the holidays she adored as a child:
“I just wanted it to be a love song that felt like Christmas – the kind of Christmas I always dreamed of.”
She wrote it largely on a keyboard in her early twenties, imagining festive cheer and romance. That fantasy – the dream of a warm, loving Christmas – resonates across oceans and climates, including Australia’s dry heat.
Wham! – Last Christmas
George Michael wrote the entire song alone, playing every instrument on the recording. What makes it last is the emotion he poured into it.
George once said: “It was about that feeling of heartbreak that can happen at Christmas – when everything around you says you’re supposed to be joyful.”
It’s a sentiment Australians know well: Christmas is joyful, yes, but it can be reflective too. That’s why the song still charts here almost every year.
Chris Rea – Driving Home for Christmas
This gentle favourite plays every December in Australia, especially among those hitting the road to see family.
Chris Rea wrote it during a cold, slow journey home, watching people trapped in traffic. He said: “Everyone was stuck. Everyone wanted to get home. I remember thinking: this is what Christmas is – the journey, the hope of getting back to the people you love.”
It’s no wonder it’s embraced wholeheartedly in Australia, a country built around long drives and long distances.
Band Aid Do They Know It’s Christmas?
Bob Geldof, co-writer of the 1984 charity single, once spoke of how the project came together in urgency during the Ethiopian famine: “We didn’t think we were making a hit. We thought we were raising money.”
Australians, generous in crisis, embraced the song’s mission and its message.
Bing Crosby – White Christmas
The best-selling Christmas song of all time still plays widely in Australia. Irving Berlin, who wrote it, reportedly called it:
“The best song I ever wrote – or ever will write.”
For Australians who will probably never see snow in December – the imagery still conjures nostalgia and warmth.
Australia’s 35 Most Loved Christmas Songs (based on sales and radio play)
A mix of beloved carols, modern classics, and uniquely Australian favourites:
White Christmas – Bing Crosby
All I Want for Christmas Is You – Mariah Carey
Last Christmas – Wham!
Fairytale of New York – The Pogues & Kirsty MacColl
It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas – Michael Bublé
Jingle Bell Rock – Bobby Helms
Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree – Brenda Lee
Silent Night – Various
Feliz Navidad – José Feliciano
The Christmas Song – Nat King Cole
Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town – Bruce Springsteen / Various
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas – Various
It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year – Andy Williams
Do They Know It’s Christmas? – Band Aid
Let It Snow – Dean Martin
Driving Home for Christmas – Chris Rea
Sleigh Ride – Various
Blue Christmas – Elvis Presley
Happy Xmas (War Is Over) – John Lennon & Yoko Ono
Wonderful Christmastime – Paul McCartney
O Holy Night – Various
Jingle Bells – Various
I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus – Jackson 5
Mary’s Boy Child – Boney M
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer – Gene Autry
How to Make Gravy – Paul Kelly
Six White Boomers – Australian traditional
Aussie Jingle Bells – Bucko & Champs
Carol of the Bells – Various
O Come All Ye Faithful – Various
Winter Wonderland – Various
Little Drummer Boy – Various
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing – Various
Silver Bells – Various
We Wish You a Merry Christmas – Various
Why These Songs Endure
Because Christmas in Australia isn’t defined by snow – it’s defined by memory.
By who we gather with, who we miss, what we hope for, and the rituals we repeat every year.
Some songs make us laugh. Some make us cry. Some remind us of childhood.
Some – especially the Australian originals – remind us who we are.
But together, they create a soundtrack that turns every December into something warm, familiar and deeply ours.