I'll start off with casting my vote split between Phil Spector's Xmas Album and The Pogues.

Roll up, roll up, cast yours below!

THE best Christmas track ever!

Don't forget dear old UK Records star (and regular visitor to this board) JONA LEWIE and his wonderful Stop The Cavalry.

"He's the little boy that Santa Claus forgot
And goodness knows, he didn't want a lot..."

Christmas for me is spelt Nat King Cole.

Wizzard - I wish it could be Christmas Everyday.

Great fun!! Wouldn't be Christmas without it.

SLADE for me......

Jona gets it for me, (sussed your postings matey!), but I do have to say, even though I have a general dislike for the artiste I will nominate....

.. Mariah Carey`s "All I Want for Christmas",....

as my alternative fave Xmas track. I played the Darkness one last night, and it sounded tired, this should not happen to an xmas hit.
Bing and Bowie`s "Drummer Boy" is simply divine, but strangely rather on the fringe I feel.

And let's be honest, in the overall scheme of things can anything ever beat White Christmas?

Indeed, "White Christmas" began an industry for this time of year.
When Jona charted, my then bosses secretery came downstairs and asked me what was going to be the Xmas number one.
I said "Stop the Cavalry", and Rita , bless her, said "it will never be a Christmas song with a title like that!"
Of course in no way would I be tempting John to spill the beans that it wasn`t originally one!
It summed up a topic that at my age, which was then 17 was nicely hammered onto the Xmas dinner table, and of course Jona was an honarary punk because he was signed to Stiff, so he had the respect of the teen movement and the ears of every generation, and we felt very smug because he was one of us!
Slade is such a boring one now, I hope to not hear it this year.
Best Christmas films of all time?
Love Actually for me. A modern classic.

Apart from the ones mentioned above (including the one from Mariah Carey, the only good song she ever had):

Rocking Around The Christmas Tree Brenda Lee (and Kim Wilde)

and

Lonely This Christmas Mud


IT'S QUIIIZ TIIIIIIIMMEEEEEE!!!:

Who recommended the use of a harmonium(?) on "Merry X-Mas Everybody?

I saw the end of Love Actually on TV this week, so I might get round to watching the whole thing one day. It did have a very Christmassy feel to it, and Thomas Sangster is a fine actor.

As for Christmas songs. There are so many which capture the season for me. Slade's Merry Christmas is still good (sorry Martin) and Jethro Tull's Ring Out Solstice Bells, but an obscure one which I always dig out this time of year is Sheri Dean's Make Some Happy (This Christmas).

Sleigh bells anyone?

Has to be Wham + Last Xmas for me

Depends on what sort of Christmas song... Boney M to get your Aunt Doris dancing about, Johnny Mathis for maudlin and White Christmas, by anyone but especially Bing, when you want me to go home

Did anyone know I did When A Child Is Born before Mathis (German song) and sat on it waiting for the Christmas season?
Mathis recorded it and rushed it out first.
The rest, as they say between clenched teeth, is history.

As my dear friend told me "you can`t copyright an idea", so you probably whispered that you had recorded it to the wrong person J.
"Last Christmas" by Wham is excellent, and teaches so much about songwriting around a single chord sequence to any young writers who give it an ear.
"Solstice Bells", Cat, love it, and still have my picture cover vinyl copy.
The worst Xmas track I own is "Silent Night" by the Dickies, a punk gimmick too far methinks.
Harmonium on the Slade track, had to have been played by Jimmy, as he is one of those people that can apparently play any instrument, much like Phil Collins.
Watch the whole film Cat, and you will need comfort food to go with it, just when you think there are no more heart warming Xmas stories in it, you get another one.

a tip:
Merry X-Mas Everybody was recorded at the Record Plant (NY) in the summer of 1973 ...

Aha! Im going Mr D Bowie Mr D Jones!
A dab hand at the harmonium.

I think that 'Blue Christmas' by Elvis is still a terrific Christmas record. Kirsty and the Pogues is a stand-out and, of course, the Phil Spector Christmas Album - there's not a bad track on it.

Pipes Of Peace by Paul Mcartney but can you classify it has a christmas song ?

Almost right, Martin.

JOHN LENNON recommened the harmonium (don't know if he played it)