It’s 21 December – which means in Australia, or at least certain sections of the internet in Australia, it’s Gravy Day.
That’s the day Joe, the anti-hero of the country’s most beloved and baffling Christmas classic, Paul Kelly’s How to Make Gravy, calls his family from prison (“it’s the 21st of December, and now they’re ringing the last bells”).
The song is a staple of holiday gatherings in Australia.
But which other modern songs should make the cut as you piece together your Christmas playlist this year?
Here, Guardian Australia staff make some suggestions – from the well-known to the obscure. Tell us your favourites in the comments below.
Fairytale of New York by the Pogues
Try as we might, Christmas isn’t all bells-a-ringing. Sometimes it’s lonely and sad. Sometimes it’s alone in a new place, eating with strangers, with loved ones only available in 2D.
It was that sort of Christmas for me when I first heard the Pogues’ Fairytale of New York. Sitting in a pub with expats from all over the world in Seoul on December 23rd, giddy and sad on soju, my melancholy suddenly had a tune. By the time Kirsty MacColl warns you the wind will go right through you, it’s no place for the old, I was in love. By the time tells her he kept her dreams with him and put them with his own, Christmas is once again hopeful. Even, when things are not. – Amy Remeikis
Macarena Christmas (Joy Mix) by Los Del Río
Like eating Christmas cake with sharp cheddar cheese, the combination of 1995’s breakout hit Macarena and a medley of festive jingles shouldn’t work, but it does.
I admire Los del Río for unashamedly milking every last drop from Macarena and this jolly incarnation is particularly glorious; the sprinkle of cat meows and the fact the Macarena dance is perfectly in sync with Auld Lang Syne. Ripe for a comeback at all office parties. – Kate Waldegrave
Christmas Song by Phoebe Bridgers
I am a Christmas idiot who loves the big classics (Bing is my boy), but I am also very partial to Bridgers’ doleful contributions to the genre.
Like Paul Kelly and the Pogues, indie rock’s most fun sad girl knows the primary emotion many grown-ups want their Christmas songs to evoke is not cheeriness but ruefulness. We want music that transports you to a wintery dive bar, not a bustling shopping mall. This song (a cover of a McCarthy Trenching track) is melodic and melancholic, with a big singalong chorus (“you don’t have to be alone, to be lonesome”) and just a hint of sleigh bells ringing over the slow drums. – Josephine Tovey
Santa’s Comin’ Down the Chimney by Confidence Man
Christmas mashups can be a fun way to liven up a festive playlist and get feasters up on their feet … but you only get one crack at mixing Mariah with Wap or Crank That before Auntie Iris arcs up.
If you’re craving beats, electro-popsters Confidence Man – Brisbane’s answer to Sofi Tukker – have gifted us this deadpan ode to being nice and naughty, with bonus sleigh bells. As they said when they dropped the track in 2018: “Unwrap yourself some sass and see what Santa’s really been up to.” – Nikki Marshall
Christmas TV by Slow Club
I don’t celebrate Christmas, so music this time of year – that jangle of jingles – tends to grate. This track offers something softer and tinged with longing. The urge to “just come on home” is a holiday feeling that’s relatable even when it isn’t your holiday. And unlike every other track with Christmas in the title, this one I can listen to on repeat. Especially the years I was in a long-distance relationship. – Alyx Gorman
8 days of Christmas by Destiny’s Child
When I worked at a clothes store as a student I dreaded the Christmas playlist. From 1 December until Boxing Day the same songs would excruciatingly play over and over and over again.
But there was one Christmas anthem I did love, and always will, no matter how many times it’s played: Eight Days of Christmas by Destiny’s Child. It was released 20 years ago, and in my opinion hearing Beyoncé, Kelly and Michelle sing about their boos gifting them Chloé shades and diamond belly rings for Christmas has only got better with age. – Jordyn Beazley
Just Like Christmas by Low
The beloved US indie rock band Low were torn in two in November by the death of singer and drummer Mimi Parker. This Christmas, Low fans might take a moment to remember Parker, who in this festive classic captures both the joy and disappointment of the season. Sleigh bells, warm guitars and rumbling drums race through the cold air as she sings of arriving in Oslo: “The snow was gone and we got lost. The beds were small but we felt so young. It was just like Christmas.” – Rick Goodman
Children, Go Where I Send Thee by the Seekers
The Seekers may not be known for their Christmas sound, but they were the soundtrack to putting up the tree in my household. Their cover of Children, Go Where I Send Thee, is perfect fodder for a singalong, momentum and cheer ramping up verse by verse and rhyme by rhyme. A fitting showcase of the magic of Judith Durham’s voice, it is a lesser known gem to jive to as you hang decorations. – Maddie Thomas
White Wine in the Sun by Tim Minchin
Most Christmas songs belong to the wintry world of the northern hemisphere. But Tim Minchin’s White Wine in the Sun captures the different tone our celebrations take. Instead of dreaming of a white Christmas, Minchin flips the script singing about what it is to be far away and yearn for the sunny home you left behind. He rejects the commercialisation of the holiday but homes in on the place Christmas has in anchoring you to the people who mean the most in your life. – Natasha May
Tell us your favourite Christmas songs in the comments below
