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What to sing Christmas and office party karaoke songs

December karaoke is a Christmas party and a work party in the same room. Pick a Christmas song the bar will carry, or one with no tinsel on it at all that you won't regret in front of the office.

The Christmas crowd is easy: the room already knows every word, so it carries you through the parts you're unsure of. The office crowd is harder. Most of them sing once a year, plenty won't touch a carol, and everyone will be at their desks on Monday.

At a work party, pick something short that you've heard a hundred times, and read the words before you sign up. A song you've only half-listened to can hold a line you'd rather not say in front of your manager. And get your name down early — every Christmas song gets sung a lot in December, and the popular ones go first.

Christmas

The Christmas songs the room joins

Every bar sings these in December, so the room carries you through any part you're unsure of.

  • All I Want for Christmas Is You

    Mariah Carey

    The slow opening is the hard part; once the bells kick in, the whole room is singing with you.

  • Feliz Navidad

    José Feliciano

    The Spanish half is one phrase on repeat and the English half barely changes — the easiest Christmas song in the book.

  • Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

    Brenda Lee

    About two minutes and bouncy, so it's over before the nerves have time to arrive.

  • Jingle Bell Rock

    Bobby Helms

    Barely two minutes and it stays in one place — and if there are four of you, someone will suggest the Mean Girls routine.

  • Wonderful Christmastime

    Paul McCartney

    It repeats itself so much that you'll know it by the second chorus, even if you've never sung it before.

  • Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer

    Elmo & Patsy

    A novelty song that sounds better a little ragged, with a chorus the bar joins without being asked.

  • A Holly Jolly Christmas

    Burl Ives

    Cheerful, steady and about two minutes long; it asks nothing of you but a smile.

  • Fairytale of New York

    The Pogues & Kirsty MacColl

    A drunken argument set to a pub band, so rough, tired voices suit it better than pretty ones.

    two voices: one rough, one sharp, trading verses and then insults

Slow and low

Slow Christmas songs for crooning

No shouting and no big finish — just a microphone and a bit of nerve.

  • White Christmas

    Bing Crosby

    Slow and low, and Crosby barely raises his voice once, so you won't need to either.

  • Blue Christmas

    Elvis Presley

    Sits low and unhurried, and a table of friends can do the backing oohs for you.

  • The Christmas Song

    Nat King Cole

    Soft and never loud; the trap is that the tune wanders, so keep your eyes on the screen.

  • Santa Baby

    Eartha Kitt

    Purred, not sung, so timing and a raised eyebrow count for more than a big voice.

  • It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

    Michael Bublé

    Easygoing and swung at a steady walking pace — sounding relaxed is the whole trick.

Not Christmas

Office party songs that aren't Christmas songs

For colleagues who won't sing a carol: well known, easy to join, and nothing in the words to regret on Monday.

  • Sweet Caroline

    Neil Diamond

    The verses sit low and easy, and the room shouts the horn parts — your manager included.

  • Friends in Low Places

    Garth Brooks

    Sits low, and by the chorus the whole party is singing louder than you are.

  • Build Me Up Buttercup

    The Foundations

    Bouncy and clean, and the chorus comes round so often that people join in by the second one.

  • I'm a Believer

    The Monkees

    Under three minutes, cheerful, and there's nothing in the words to explain to anyone on Monday.

  • Dancing Queen

    ABBA

    It sits a little high, but the room sings it with you, and there isn't a line in it HR would blink at.

  • I Want It That Way

    Backstreet Boys

    If the office has seen the Brooklyn Nine-Nine line-up scene, you already have your group.

    a group: split the verses, everyone on the chorus

  • Love Shack

    The B-52's

    Built for trading shouted lines, and whoever does the shouting doesn't need to sing at all.

    two or more: one shouts the talky lines, the rest sing the answers

  • Don't Stop Believin'

    Journey

    Everyone in the building knows it, but it sits high — do it as a table, not alone.

    a table: whoever goes highest takes the verses, everyone takes the chorus

Know your song before the party

A work party is where a lot of people sing once a year, which is exactly why a list of what you can pull off is worth having before the night rather than after. KaraokeList keeps that list: every song you've sung, tagged Skill if you can really sing it and Fun if the room enjoys it either way.

After each turn, answer one question — Too high, Just right or Too low — and give it a star rating. Over a December of parties that adds up to a clear picture of what suits you, without anyone having to talk about music.

When you want something new for next year's party, ask the crystal ball for a reading. It suggests songs you don't already have, each with a line on why it should suit you, and it never offers back a song you've marked Not again.

Questions

What are the best Christmas karaoke songs?

All I Want for Christmas Is You, Feliz Navidad, Jingle Bell Rock and Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree are the ones every bar joins. For something slower, Blue Christmas and White Christmas sit low and never get loud.

What should I sing at an office Christmas party?

Something short, well known and clean, like Sweet Caroline, Build Me Up Buttercup or I'm a Believer. If you only half-know a song, read the words before you sign up, because a work crowd hears every line.

What is an easy Christmas song for karaoke?

Feliz Navidad barely changes from start to finish. Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree and A Holly Jolly Christmas are both about two minutes long and stay comfortable all the way through.

What is a good group karaoke song for a work party?

I Want It That Way splits well across a table, and Love Shack works with one person shouting and the rest answering. Sweet Caroline needs no planning at all, because the room joins in on its own.

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