The Twelve Posts of Christmas 2025 is my festive wander through memories, history, traditions, mishaps and moments — from childhood Christmases of the 60s and 70s to the quirks of celebrating today. Think nostalgia sprinkled with humour, a pinch of honesty, and the occasional whiff of Brussels sprouts.
Let’s unwrap the season, one story at a time.
There was a time in Britain when it was big, and it mattered to a lot of people. It was a national, glittering piece of pop-culture theatre we all gathered around the radio to hear. And, of course, it all happened long before you could tap your phone and know instantly who was selling what.
There was a time when you had to wait. And wait. And wait.
In the 1960s, 70s and well into the 80s, the race for the Christmas Number One was a proper competition. And there was an annual battle between many artists, bands, and singers every year to produce a Christmas single and be in the top spot.
The Sunday Before Christmas Countdown
We would find out who was number one with the ‘official’ chart show on the Sunday before Christmas. The ritual was always the same. Early evening, Christmas holidays ahead, or if you had finished school, celebrating already, BBC Radio One, then the countdown would begin. The chart rundown — 40, 39, 38 — each one bringing us closer to the big announcement.
Who was in the top spot? Who had missed out? Which act, for better or worse, would forever be remembered as the Christmas Number One? Their name etched into British pop-culture immortality.
The Giants of Christmas Past
Everyone has a favourite Christmas Number One.
For some of a certain age, it might be Cliff Richard. He seemed to always have a Christmas single out, and often still does. In 1960, with The Shadows, he was number one with I Love You. As a solo artist, he had to wait until 1988, when Mistletoe and Wine hit the top spot. This year, glam rockers The Darkness have covered it, hoping to hit the top spot.
Is it possible that in the 1950s, the first Christmas-type song to top the charts was Winifred Atwell, with Let’s Have Another Party in 1954? The next year, it was definitely a Christmas song, Christmas Alphabet, by Dickie Valentine.
The sixties mainly stuck with convention. Traditional, non-Christmassy songs, and The Beatles dominated the charts, having four Christmas number ones between 1963 and 1967.
But it was the seventies when the novelty Christmas record took off. There was Benny Hill’s bit of fun with Ernie (The Fastest Milkman In The West) and Jimmy Osmond as the Long Haired Lover From Liverpool in 1971.
Then there was Slade, blasting through the speakers with Merry Xmas Everybody — a song that sounded like the official announcement that Christmas had arrived. It was 1973 when it hit the top, and it’s been played, and often been a hit, every Christmas ever since. Slade had six number ones in the 1970s, but none were bigger.
Singer and guitarist Noddy Holder has in the past described this song as “his pension”, and one web source estimates the royalties each year are now around a million pounds, fifty million since it was first released.
Then there were the curveballs. The ones nobody would have predicted, but everyone remembered. The artist that would never repeat had their moment in the top spot — a brief moment of fame. Christmas 1980 and St Winifred’s School Choir with There’s No One Quite Like Grandma.
On Christmas compilation albums and supermarket playlists, Slade are joined by all the other Christmas hits, like Mud and Lonely This Christmas. Roy Wood’s Wizard with I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day, and many others. The big Christmas hit record lives on, and the chances are you will hear them all while you do your Christmas shopping.
We groaned, laughed, and sometimes rolled our eyes — but secretly, there was the weirdness to it all. Anything could happen. That was the charm. The Christmas charts were not just about the songs; they were about the stories.
Now vs Then: A Different Sort of Magic
Is it still the same? There is still a Christmas number one, and the chart at Christmas is often dominated by the songs of yesteryear. It's just that now, you get them via digital download, listen on Spotify, or if you are old school, try to find a vinyl copy.
Here are the Christmas hits of the past that were successful again in the 2024 chart — just before Christmas Day.
At number one — Last Christmas — Wham (number one in 2023 as well)
3. All I Want For Christmas Is You — Maria Carey
5. Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree — Brenda Lee
8. Fairytale Of New York — Pogues/Kirsty MacColl
13. It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of Year — Andy Williams
14. Do They Know It’s Christmas — Band Aid
15. Step Into Christmas — Elton John
21. Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow — Dean Martin
28. Wonderful Christmastime — Paul McCartney
33. I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day — Wizard
34. Driving Home For Christmas — Chris Rea
And at 43?
Merry Xmas, everybody — Slade
I expected it to be a little higher than that, but even at 43, it’s adding to Noddy’s pension pot.
Photo by Mick Haupt on Unsplash
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