Scotland’s favourite – and least favourite – Christmas songs

Scotland has spoken - these are our most loved and most loathed festive hits.

Scotland’s favourite – and least favourite – Christmas songs iStock

Scotland has spoken – these are our most loved and most loathed Christmas songs.

500 Scottish adults were asked for the festive tunes they adore and the ones they can’t stand hearing pop up on the radio.

‘Fairytale of New York’ by The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl has topped the rankings with 15% of recipients choosing the 1987 hit as their favourite.

On the other hand, Cliff Richard’s 1988 hit ‘Mistletoe and Wine’ is the least favourite of Scots with 9% of those polled selecting it.

It’s clear that we’re nostalgic for the 1970s and 80s when it comes to our favourite festive pop songs – with six of the top ten being from one of these two decades.

Our two next favourites are Wham’s Last Christmas and Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You – but the latter also took second spot in our least-liked tunes, with a number of songs appearing in both lists.

Take a look at the full lists, compiled by 56 Degree Insight, below.

Scotland’s top 10 favourite Christmas songs

  • Fairytale Of New York (1987) – The Pogues & Kirsty MacColl – 15%
  • Last Christmas (1984) – Wham – 8%
  • All I Want For Christmas Is You – (1994) – Mariah Carey – 8%
  • White Christmas (1952) – Frank Sinatra/Bing Crosby – 7%
  • Merry Christmas Everybody (1973) – Slade – 5%
  • I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday – (1973) Wizard – 4%
  • Merry Christmas Everyone – (1985) Shakin’ Stevens – 3%
  • Merry Christmas (2021) – Elton John & Ed Sheeran – 3%
  • Jingle Bells (1857) – Traditional – 2%
  • Do They Know It’s Christmas? – (1984) Band Aid – 2%

Scotland’s top 10 least favourite Christmas songs

  • Mistletoe And Wine (1988) – Cliff Richard – 9%
  • All I Want For Christmas Is You – (1994) – Mariah Carey – 7%
  • Merry Christmas Everybody – (1973) – Slade – 6%
  • Last Christmas (1984) – Wham – 4%
  • Jingle Bells (1857) – Traditional – 3%
  • Do They Know It’s Christmas? – (1984) – Band Aid – 3%
  • Fairytale Of New York – (1987) – The Pogues & Kirsty McCall – 3%
  • Little Drummer Boy – (1958) – Various releases – 2%
  • Wonderful Christmastime – (1979) – Paul McCartney – 2%
  • ‘All of them’ – 2%

You can find more information on the survey here.

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