Key findings
- G and C tie for the top key. 5 of 38 verified Billboard Holiday 100 recordings (13%) are in each of G and C major; next are D (4), Db (4), A (4).
- Christmas hits are major-key songs. 36 of 38 (95%) are in a major key; only 2 are in a minor key.
- Guitar-friendly, but not always. 18 of 38 (47%) are in C, G, D, A or E; the other 20 need a capo (or a transposed chart) to use open chords.
- Flat keys are common. 11 of 38 recordings (29%) are in a flat key such as Db, Eb or Ab, which take a capo on fret 1 to play with open shapes.
- Key changes: 6 of 38 TheoryTabs list more than one key or mode across sections (shown as “Other keys” in the table).
Key distribution
Every song: key and guitar capo
Download the full data as CSV. To play a song in a different key, paste the chords into the chord transposer.
| Holiday 100 # | Song | Artist | Key | Other keys | Guitar | Key source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | All I Want For Christmas Is You | Mariah Carey | G | – | No capo, G shapes | Hooktheory |
| 2 | Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree | Brenda Lee | Ab | – | Capo 1, G shapes | Hooktheory |
| 3 | Jingle Bell Rock | Bobby Helms | D | – | No capo, D shapes | Hooktheory |
| 4 | Last Christmas | Wham! | D | – | No capo, D shapes | Hooktheory |
| 5 | Santa Tell Me | Ariana Grande | G | – | No capo, G shapes | Hooktheory |
| 6 | The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You) | Nat "King" Cole | Db | – | Capo 1, C shapes | Hooktheory |
| 8 | Underneath The Tree | Kelly Clarkson | Eb | – | Capo 1, D shapes | Hooktheory |
| 9 | It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year | Andy Williams | D | – | No capo, D shapes | Hooktheory |
| 11 | Feliz Navidad | Jose Feliciano | D | – | No capo, D shapes | Hooktheory |
| 12 | A Holly Jolly Christmas | Burl Ives | C | – | No capo, C shapes | Hooktheory |
| 14 | Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) | Darlene Love | Eb | – | Capo 1, D shapes | Hooktheory |
| 16 | White Christmas (1947) | Bing Crosby With Ken Darby Singers & John Scott Trotter & His Orchestra | A | – | No capo, A shapes | Hooktheory |
| 18 | It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas | Perry Como And The Fontane Sisters With Mitchell Ayres And His Orchestra | G | – | No capo, G shapes | Hooktheory |
| 19 | Santa Baby | Eartha Kitt With Henri Rene And His Orchestra | Db | – | Capo 1, C shapes | Hooktheory |
| 22 | Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane) | Gene Autry | Db | Ab | Capo 1, C shapes | Hooktheory |
| 23 | Christmastime Is Here | Vince Guaraldi Trio | F | Ab | Capo 1, E shapes | Hooktheory |
| 24 | Please Come Home For Christmas | Eagles | A | – | No capo, A shapes | Hooktheory |
| 25 | Wonderful Christmastime | Paul McCartney | B | – | Capo 2, A shapes | Hooktheory |
| 26 | Like It's Christmas | Jonas Brothers | F# | – | Capo 2, E shapes | Hooktheory |
| 27 | Mistletoe | Justin Bieber | A | – | No capo, A shapes | Hooktheory |
| 30 | Little Saint Nick | The Beach Boys | F# | B mixolydian | Capo 2, E shapes | Hooktheory |
| 32 | You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch | Thurl Ravenscroft | Gm | – | Capo 3, Em shapes | Hooktheory |
| 34 | Merry Christmas | Ed Sheeran & Elton John | C | – | No capo, C shapes | Hooktheory |
| 36 | This Christmas | Donny Hathaway | F | – | Capo 1, E shapes | Hooktheory |
| 38 | Snowman | Sia | Db | – | Capo 1, C shapes | Hooktheory |
| 41 | I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus | Jackson 5 | Eb | – | Capo 1, D shapes | Hooktheory |
| 43 | You Make It Feel Like Christmas | Gwen Stefani Featuring Blake Shelton | C | – | No capo, C shapes | Hooktheory |
| 44 | Linus And Lucy (Peanuts Theme) | Vince Guaraldi Trio | Ab | – | Capo 1, G shapes | Hooktheory |
| 54 | Cozy Little Christmas | Katy Perry | G | – | No capo, G shapes | Hooktheory |
| 55 | Someday At Christmas | Stevie Wonder | A | Bb | No capo, A shapes | Hooktheory |
| 58 | White Christmas | The Drifters Featuring Clyde McPhatter And Bill Pinkney | Ab | – | Capo 1, G shapes | Hooktheory |
| 60 | Carol Of The Bells | John Williams | G#m | – | Capo 4, Em shapes | Hooktheory |
| 61 | Do They Know It's Christmas? | Band Aid | C | – | No capo, C shapes | Hooktheory |
| 62 | Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays | *NSYNC | F | – | Capo 1, E shapes | Hooktheory |
| 68 | Christmas Tree Farm | Taylor Swift | G | G mixolydian | No capo, G shapes | Hooktheory |
| 72 | Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) | Michael Buble | F# | – | Capo 2, E shapes | Hooktheory |
| 86 | Santa Claus Is Coming To Town | Frank Sinatra | Bb | B | Capo 1, A shapes | Hooktheory |
| 96 | My Only Wish (This Year) | Britney Spears | C | – | No capo, C shapes | Hooktheory |
Method
- Song list: the Billboard Holiday 100 chart dated January 3, 2026 (the last chart of the 2025 holiday season). Each chart entry is one specific recording, so a song can appear more than once (for example, three versions of “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas”).
- Keys: for each recording we looked up the Hooktheory TheoryTab for that exact artist and song, and recorded the key Hooktheory lists for the song (“About the Key”). Other keys listed on the same TheoryTab are shown as “Other keys”.
- 38 of 100 recordings had a TheoryTab that covers a verse, chorus or intro. The other 62 were left out rather than guessed: 60 have no TheoryTab and 2 have a TheoryTab covering only a short fragment (such as an outro). They are listed below.
- Guitar capo is calculated, not looked up: the smallest capo fret that turns a C, G, D, A or E shape (Am, Em or Dm for minor) into the song’s key.
- Limits: TheoryTabs are community transcriptions reviewed by Hooktheory; older recordings sometimes run slightly sharp or flat, and transcribers name the nearest key.
Recordings left out (62)
#7 Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! (Dean Martin); #10 Sleigh Ride (The Ronettes); #13 It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas (Michael Buble); #15 Run Rudolph Run (Chuck Berry); #17 Jingle Bells (Frank Sinatra With The Orchestra & Chorus Of Gordon Jenkins); #20 Deck The Halls (Nat King Cole); #21 Blue Christmas (Elvis Presley); #28 Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer (Gene Autry & The Pinafores); #29 Santa, Can't You Hear Me (Kelly Clarkson & Ariana Grande); #31 Holly Jolly Christmas (Michael Buble); #33 Baby It's Cold Outside (Dean Martin); #35 (There's No Place Like) Home For The Holidays (1959) (Perry Como With Mitchell Ayers And His Orchestra); #37 Winter Wonderland (Darlene Love); #39 Happy Holiday / The Holiday Season (Andy Williams); #40 Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town (Jackson 5); #42 Happy Xmas (War Is Over) (John & Yoko/The Plastic Ono Band With The Harlem Community Choir); #45 Mele Kalikimaka (Merry Christmas) (Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters); #46 I'll Be Home For Christmas (Bing Crosby With John Scott Trotter And His Orchestra); #47 Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24) (Trans-Siberian Orchestra); #48 Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas (Frank Sinatra With The Ken Lane Singers / Axel Stordahl); #49 Step Into Christmas (Elton John); #50 Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer (Burl Ives); #51 What Christmas Means To Me (Stevie Wonder); #52 Hallelujah (Pentatonix); #53 Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town (Bruce Springsteen); #56 O Come All Ye Faithful (Nat King Cole); #57 O Tannenbaum (Vince Guaraldi Trio); #59 Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas (Michael Buble); #63 What Christmas Means To Me (John Legend Featuring Stevie Wonder); #64 Shake The Snow Globe (Gwen Stefani); #65 Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! (Frank Sinatra With The B. Swanson Quartet / Alex Stordahl); #66 Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) (Mariah Carey); #67 Mary, Did You Know? (Pentatonix); #69 God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (Pentatonix); #70 Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas (Judy Garland With Georgie Stoll & His Orchestra); #71 Frosty The Snowman (Jimmy Durante); #73 The First Noel (Andy Williams); #74 Do You Hear What I Hear? (Bing Crosby With Ralph Carmichael Orchestra & Chorus); #75 Joy To The World (Nat King Cole); #76 The Little Drummer Boy (Bing Crosby); #77 Winter Wonderland (Bing Crosby); #78 Sleigh Ride (Ella Fitzgerald); #79 A Nonsense Christmas (Sabrina Carpenter); #80 It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas (Johnny Mathis); #81 Up On The Housetop (Ho! Ho! Ho!) (Gene Autry With Carl Conter's Orchestra); #82 Jingle Bell Rock (Daryl Hall John Oates); #83 I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas (Gayla Peevey / Orchestra Under Direction Of Norman Leyden); #84 It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas (Bing Crosby With Jud Conlon's Rhythmaires & John Scott Trotter & His Orchestra); #85 Frosty The Snow Man (Gene Autry & The Cass Country Boys / Carl Cotner); #87 Christmas Canon (Trans-Siberian Orchestra); #88 Merry Christmas, Darling (Carpenters); #89 I'll Be Home For Christmas (Michael Buble); #90 Where Are You Christmas? (Faith Hill); #91 Winter Wonderland (Laufey); #92 Merry Christmas Baby (Otis Redding); #93 Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane) (Elvis Presley); #94 Carol Of The Bells (David Foster); #95 The Christmas Waltz (Frank Sinatra); #97 Silver Bells (Dean Martin); #98 My Favorite Things (Tony Bennett); #99 Caroling, Caroling (Nat King Cole); #100 Do You Hear What I Hear? (Andy Williams)
Sources
- Billboard Holiday 100, chart dated January 3, 2026: billboard.com/charts/hot-holiday-songs
- Hooktheory TheoryTab song pages (key of each recording; link per song in the table and CSV): hooktheory.com/theorytab
Cite this study
Sandy Music Lab, “Christmas Song Key Study: 38 Billboard Holiday 100 Hits Analyzed,” https://sandymusiclab.com/christmas-song-keys-study/
Use this chart on your site
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Related tools and guides
- Chord transposer and capo finder
- Worship song key study
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- Best key for congregational singing
- Worship chord progressions
FAQ
What is the most common key for Christmas songs?
In this study, G and C major tied as the most common keys, with 5 of 38 verified Billboard Holiday 100 recordings (13%) each. Full counts: G 5, C 5, D 4, Db 4, A 4, Ab 3, Eb 3, F 3, F# 3, B 1, Gm 1, G#m 1, Bb 1.
Are most Christmas songs in a major key?
Yes. 36 of 38 recordings (95%) are in a major key, 2 are in a minor key.
Which Christmas songs are in the key of C?
In this data: A Holly Jolly Christmas (Burl Ives), Merry Christmas (Ed Sheeran & Elton John), You Make It Feel Like Christmas (Gwen Stefani Featuring Blake Shelton), Do They Know It's Christmas? (Band Aid), My Only Wish (This Year) (Britney Spears).
Which Christmas songs are in G?
In this data: All I Want For Christmas Is You (Mariah Carey), Santa Tell Me (Ariana Grande), It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas (Perry Como And The Fontane Sisters With Mitchell Ayres And His Orchestra), Cozy Little Christmas (Katy Perry), Christmas Tree Farm (Taylor Swift).
Can I play Christmas songs on guitar without a capo?
18 of 38 recordings (47%) are in C, G, D, A or E, so you can play them in the original key with open chords. For the rest, the table lists the lowest capo position that lets you use open shapes, or use our chord transposer to move a song to an easier key.
Where do the keys come from?
The song list is the Billboard Holiday 100 chart dated January 3, 2026. Each key is the key listed on the Hooktheory TheoryTab for that exact recording. Songs without a TheoryTab were left out, not guessed.
Can I use this data?
Yes. The data and charts are free to use under CC BY 4.0. Please credit and link to Sandy Music Lab's Christmas Song Key Study.