To celebrate “the most wonderful time of the year,” Atwood Magazine’s Mistletones features fresh holiday/wintertime tracks and exciting covers of beloved classics. December has a knack for bringing out some of the most poignant, tender, and celebratory music, and we want to highlight that excitement by showcasing new and alternative holiday greats! Spice up your holiday season with songs you can listen to now and cherish in the years to come.

listen to Mistletones on Spotify

❄️ discover more Mistletones here ❄️

* * *

The snow is falling
The season’s calling
It’s calling
I bet it’s cozy
At your apartment
So warm
You know I’m teeny
Fit in your stocking
I fit right in
Is that ‘Love Actually’
That you’re watching?

– “wishlist,” flowerovlove

* * *

The most wonderful time of year has come around once again, and we’re ready to ring in the festivities with a fresh batch of holiday songs and winter wonders!

This year’s holiday season is marked by a resounding sense of appreciation, hope, excitement, and longing: Many of our 2025 Mistletones picks capture what we might deem that “classic” holiday cheer – evoking feelings of togetherness, connection, and love – whilst just as many take on a more nostalgic or wistful tone, aching with those pangs of sorrow, grief, and loneliness that often accompany the holidays.

“Sittin’ by the fire, snow is gettin’ higher, lights a little brighter, everybody’s home,” Tiera Kennedy sings in “Christmas Feeling,” channeling the spirit of the holiday season and all the excitement that comes with it. “And I can hear the choir, streetlights all aglow. There’s some kind of magic in the air.”

Whether we’re basking in the nostalgic glow of Delacey and Maren Morris’ seductive “Christmas Angel,” soaking up the sweet harmonies of Teenage Dad’s “Alone Again for Christmas,” dreaming the day away with flowerovlove’s “wishlist,” basking in Lauren Spencer Smith’s young-adult love story “Last First Christmas,” or rocking out to BERENICE’s cheeky and charged “SANTA BROKE MY HEART IN 2,” all of this year’s Mistletones manage to embrace the spirit of this special season – lighting a fire deep inside us with captivating soundtracks and heartwarming reflections on life, happiness, and the people who matter most to us.

I won’t waste another second
Waiting by the tree
Don’t want your falala presents
Heard that you’ve been sliding down
Every chimney in this town
Go on find another lover
I won’t spend the night crying under covers
You can wrap your lies up real tight
Santa broke my heart in two

– “SANTA BROKE MY HEART IN 2,” BERENICE

We hope these songs help inspire a sense of community and connection, love and togetherness for all who listen. This year’s Mistletones submissions are so great in number, and these songs are so special, that we’ve chosen to split them up into multiple features. See below as artists from around the world share what the holiday season (and holiday music) means to them, and listen to our Mistletones Holiday Songs playlist on Spotify.

From our family to yours, happy holidays and happy new year!

With Love,

Mitch Mosk, Editor-in-Chief

* * *

I won’t ask for much this year
Just someone who won’t say
I love you just to disappear
I can’t deal with all the games
Just give me someone with a pulse
who texts back in day

I’m sick of situation-ships
who never say goodbye
So Santa won’t you
take me back in time?

– “old fashioned christmas,” Lyn Lapid

Featured here are Delacey, Teenage Dads, flowerovlove, Lauren Spencer Smith, Tyra Madison, BERENICE, MORGXN, Tiera Kennedy, Gina Zo, Honey Bxby, Joe Leone & Astyn Turr, sullvn, Sydney Rose, Toby Gad, Logan Richard, Home Counties, & aron!

Dive into these songs and our holiday interviews!

:: Delacey ::

Christmas Angel

Delacey: I want to start by sending so much love and sensitivity to anyone who struggles with the holiday season. I’m fully aware that, for many, this time of year can be painful for countless reasons, and not everyone feels the Christmas magic. Your feelings are completely valid. My own experience with the holidays actually carries a bit of sorrow, too. For most of my childhood, my dad was fighting cancer. Though he’s now in remission and perfectly healthy, there were many years when I lived with the fear of losing him. My dad loves Christmas—truly, wholeheartedly loves it. Some of my happiest childhood memories are wrapped up in that season: listening to Christmas music, decorating the tree together, helping him put up the lights. Christmas became a kind of escape for us, a time when we could pause the constant worry. I think that’s why, even now, the moment I see anything related to Christmas, I instantly feel this deep warmth. It might sound dramatic, but it’s hard to explain—those little moments became something safe for us, and that feeling has stayed with me ever since.

Delacey: Well I’m one of those awful people who starts listening to Christmas music on September 1st and obviously dedicating my life to Music gives some indication of how much it impacts me in general but Christmas music has a power over me like none other. [laughs]

Delacey: I’ve actually had this goal since I was 6 years old. It was a long time coming. It took me a while to pull the trigger because of various timing reasons but I was dead set on it this year. I called up one of my best friends and all time favorite collaborators Ido Zmishlany and we got to work. We wrote and recorded the whole album in exactly 2 weeks because I had a tight deadline due to an upcoming tour. As for making it my own- I knew I wanted this body of work to make me feel the same way the Christmas music growing up made me feel- so I knew it had to feel nostaglic. My music in general takes on a retro dusty sound, but I went almost full derivative with this album and I loved every minute of it. We used Phil Spector’s Christmas album as our North Star basically. We recorded a lot of live and in through takes – drunk off whiskey and little sleep – imagining we were back in the ’60s.

Delacey: I think me having a “sexy” Christmas song just makes sense [laughs]. It was actually the first song we recorded for the album. We weren’t even tryin to write an original that day but we picked up the guitar and it poured out. I kind of barely remember writing it truly. I was possessed by Christmas Angels.

Delacey: You’re not mistaken! Thanks for noticing 🙂 “Christmas Angel” – the first one we wrote– I think I had that title in my back pocket for a while but it took on a life of its own right when we picked up the guitar and when we were done writing it we looked at each other kind of like “ this is really good right?” Haha.

“Christmas in California” is my favorite song on the album. You wouldn’t know it to hear it but it’s the song on the album that makes me the most emotional. It’s this fun retro surf rock song you can dance to but I cried recording the vocal! Haha. it’s just about my childhood and how dearly I hold on to those memories and is really just about my Family and where I come from. You can have your white Christmas but for me the OC will always be home. I’ll be in my bikini blasting Christmas music, haha.

“Happy New Year” is another emotional one but truly the message puts me at peace. I personally have a hard time with change and get very sad worrying the future, about me and my loved ones getting older, longing for “what’s next.” I really try and snap out of that when I can and tell myself “you’re missing it all! You’re missing the whole thing” Happiness is in the details – the little things, the now.

Delacey: What I love about Christmas music is how much room there is for all of it. No one just listens to one artist during this season. Im just happy to contribute and happy to bring the world a retro dusty version of some of the more modern hits like Ariana Grande’s “Santa Tell me” or one of my all time favorites “Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays” by N*Sync. I think that was something no one was expecting.

:: Teenage Dads ::

“Alone Again for Christmas”

Teenage Dads: Honestly, I just associate the holidays with being around my family and feeling connected to each other. Favorites include Santa Claus is comin’ – Hi-5. Alone on Christmas Day – Phoenix. Carol of the Bells – John Williams.

Teenage Dads: My family has this tradition of driving around to look at the Christmas lights while blasting Christmas songs. My dad loved doing it, and those nights in the car stuck with me.

Teenage Dads: My dad always wanted us to make a Christmas song, and I also realised you don’t really hear many original Christmas songs from bands anymore. It felt like a fun challenge and something special to play at the shows coming up.

Teenage Dads: There were a few Christmases where I was going through a breakup, and it’s rough seeing everyone else in “Love Actually” mode. With the song, I wanted to tap into that feeling but also give people something that makes them feel understood.

Teenage Dads: We wanted the song to feel festive without being boxed (lol) into the Christmas season only. “Last Christmas” feels like a song you could play at any time, so that’s what we were trying to achieve.

:: flowerovlove ::

“wishlist”

flowerovlove: Christmas is my favourite holiday season, hands down. I love the lights, the festive spirit, everyone together coming together and people feeling more gratitude for their family and friends this resonates with me deeply.

flowerovlove: Some of the best music ever made is Xmas music. It has such a joy to it sonically and lyrically that just makes me feel like a little kid again by the fireplace.

flowerovlove: I actually had no intention of making a Christmas song as I believe it to be the greatest challenge, but I have always wanted to try. ‘wishlist’ came out super naturally and it was the funniest experience!

flowerovlove: I always feel very lovey dovey around the festive season and yeah, I do want a little kiss on Christmas so singing it in ‘wishlist’ was just a higher manifestation.

flowerovlove: “Wishlist” brings a new gen sound and a quirky fun twist to the classic Christmas song. My reference was one of the best songs ever written which happens to be a Christmas song “Last Christmas” by Wham! It is my modern spin on it.

:: Lauren Spencer Smith ::

“Last First Christmas”

Lauren Spencer Smith: I love the holidays! Christmas is my favorite holiday of them all. My favorite Christmas songs are “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” and pretty much anything from the Justin Bieber Christmas album.

Lauren Spencer Smith: I feel like music is essential for a true holiday experience. Nothing gets you into the Christmas spirit more than a good holiday song. Music is a must when decorating the tree, baking, or doing pretty much any holiday activity.

Lauren Spencer Smith: Funny enough, I wrote “Last First Christmas” in August of 2024. I love Christmas music, so I’ve always wanted to write some of my own. I remember having a brief conversation with a friend about Christmas on the way to my session, so I walked in and asked if we could write a Christmas song that day. I’ve been in a relationship for four years now, so a Christmas love song felt like the perfect idea!

Lauren Spencer Smith: One thing I love about the holidays is spending them with the person I love most. “Last First Christmas” captures the holiday spirit perfectly for me because it feels festive, of course, but it’s also about my boyfriend. Wanting someone to be your last “first Christmas” is such a genuine feeling.

Lauren Spencer Smith: Even though the Christmas music space can feel oversaturated, “Last First Christmas” fills a lane that isn’t overcrowded yet. Most Christmas songs are super joyful, lonely/sad, or nostalgic, whereas my song brings a romantic, emotional, and heartfelt perspective from a modern young-adult love story. It blends the sweetness of falling in love for the first time with the bittersweet hope that it’s the last “first Christmas” you’ll ever have.

:: Tyra Madison ::

“Santa, Can You Fix a Broken Heart?”

Tyra Madison: I love the holidays! It’s the time of year to be with your loved ones and I love doing that. My favorite holiday songs are “All I Want For Christmas Is You” (which I released my own cover of), “Last Christmas,” “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” and so many more! I love Christmas music.

Tyra Madison: Christmas music is how people get in the spirit of the holiday! I am a girl who believes you can listen to Christmas music year-round and, of course, in the beginning of November.

Tyra Madison: This year I knew I wanted to write my own Christmas song. The thing about that was, I had to write it in July in order to get it recorded and out in time to release in November. I feel like when you think about Christmas music, you think happy and joyful mostly. I knew I wanted to write a sad girl Christmas song, and that’s how “Santa, Can You Fix a Broken Heart?” came to be.

Tyra Madison: The song has a lot of different Christmas references, but my favorite that I feel answers this question is when it says “I don’t need diamonds or a shiny new car, but Santa, can you fix a broken heart?” Meaning there is so much more to the holiday than the material things. It’s about love.

Tyra Madison: This song is real, vulnerable and raw. It came from a place of the times where I have felt like I had to be the life of the party when I was really not okay inside. I wrote this song for the people that are feeling heartbreak during what is supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year.

:: BERENICE ::

“SANTA BROKE MY HEART IN 2 (Merry Christmas Harry)”

BERENICE: I’m a December 20th baby, which basically means I grew up feeling like the holidays were my own personal month. Everyone jokes that I’m a Christmas baby, and I pretend to complain, but honestly I love it. It’s this long stretch of celebrations where my birthday blends straight into Christmas, and the whole thing just feels like one big warm blur.

Music is a huge part of that. I grew up in a very music-filled household, and December is no exception. We just switch the soundtrack and add a few sleigh bells to the mix. I’m obsessed with the Justin Bieber Mistletoe album. I force my family to play it every single year around the house. I love the Home Alone 2 soundtrack, “All Alone On Christmas” is the moment when the season officially begins for me.

BERENICE: Music sets the tone for the entire month. One song and suddenly I’m eight years old again decorating the tree. Another one and I’m running around my house like I’m in a Christmas rom-com. It just makes everything feel bigger and softer at the same time.

BERENICE: This song arrived in a moment where I was feeling pretty lost creatively. Nothing felt right and I was doubting everything. Then this idea appeared out of nowhere and made me laugh, so I followed that feeling. Half the vocals were recorded on my phone under a blanket on a toilet seat. My house became a Christmas workshop with lights hanging everywhere and my friends wrapped in ribbons. It was chaotic and silly in the best possible way, which is exactly why it feels like mine.

BERENICE: Christmas gets portrayed like one long romantic moment under the mistletoe. Meanwhile I’ve spent more Christmases single and mildly heartbroken than anything else. And yet those were some of my happiest ones, because I could go home to my best friends and my family. There is something really grounding about the way even the smallest traditions feel like a warm reset button. Even when everything else in the year felt chaotic, that part never changed.

So the song sits right there. It has the sparkle and the drama, but underneath it there’s this idea that even if you don’t have a you in a romantic sense (sorry Mariah), you’re still surrounded by the people who actually hold you together.

BERENICE: It’s a Christmas song for anyone who feels a little out of place in the rom-com version of December. It’s sparkly, a bit unhinged, slightly petty, and still warm underneath. It’s for the people who laugh through their heartbreak and still show up for the party because that’s what the season is about. Basically the emotional equivalent of someone handing you prosecco and saying, “ok, heartbreak later, panettone now.”

:: MORGXN ::

“EVERY SEASON”

MORGXN: I’ve always had a complicated but beautiful relationship with the holidays. Especially right now it’s a reminder of my dad’s birthday (who is no longer here) and it’s my first holiday without my dog Stevie. It’s this mix of nostalgia and longing. Growing up, I remember how music always filled that space. But I also remember feeling like every song was about Christmas and I wanted to have more songs that FELT like Christmas but didn’t exclude a listener who say – is Jewish (like me) or celebrates a different holiday tradition.

MORGXN: Music is the holiday experience for me. The right song can pull you back into your mom’s kitchen or forward into a future you’re still dreaming of. Every year, I build little playlists that hold all those feelings — joy, grief, gratitude — like ornaments you keep unwrapping.

MORGXN: I wanted to make a holiday song like “Let it Snow” that felt like Christmas but didn’t say the word Christmas. I remember I wrote to the mayor of nashville when I was in 2nd grade because I wanted to have more all season songs on the holiday playlists at the mall. To my surprise he wrote me back with a handwritten note and said they would add more songs but that they are hard to find. He even suggested that I write one because it is music city. “EVERY SEASON” came from wanting to write about how love doesn’t just show up in December lights; it shows up in the quiet mornings, the heartbreaks, and the healing too. It shows up in every season. When I was recording it, I wanted it to feel timeless but still human — like it could sit next to a Christmas song but also feel cozy if you listened to it in July.

MORGXN: For me, “EVERY SEASON” is about love that lasts through all the changes — not just snow and lights, but rain and bloom and everything in between. It’s a reminder that the spirit we chase during the holidays — togetherness, reflection, hope — is something we can carry all year long.

MORGXN: I think “EVERY SEASON” brings a kind of quiet truth — that the holidays don’t have to be picture-perfect to be meaningful. You can also celebrate the holidays no matter your chosen traditions. It’s not about glitter or grandeur; it’s about the little human moments that remind us we’re still here, still feeling, still connected. It’s a love song, a gratitude song, and a reminder that every season has something sacred in it.

:: Tiera Kennedy ::

“Christmas Feeling”

Tiera Kennedy: Christmas has always felt magical to me. My mom would turn on the Christmas playlist while we put up the tree, and now that my husband and I are creating our own traditions, I love continuing that moment in our home. We’re one of those families that waits until after Thanksgiving to start playing Christmas music, so when the time finally comes we take full advantage.
“This Christmas” – Chris Brown’s version – is one of my mom’s favorites, so we listen to it a lot during the season. I also really love the songs that remind me of the true meaning of Christmas and celebrating the birth of Jesus. “Mary Did You Know” has always been special to me and one I’ve covered since I was young. It just makes the whole season feel even more meaningful.

Tiera Kennedy: The winter season can be pretty dreary, but as I’ve gotten older I’ve learned to embrace it and make my days as cozy as possible. Christmas music instantly makes everything feel magical. I’m always turning on the old, jazzy Christmas songs – add some hot chocolate and a good Christmas movie (I’m partial to The Polar Express) and suddenly the gloomy days feel like cozy ones.

Tiera Kennedy: We wrote “Christmas Feeling” on a writer’s retreat, and we were talking about how fun it would be to write an R&B-country love song for Christmas. Spending time with my husband always feels special, no matter the season, and I know a lot of couples feel that way about their person. I really wanted to put that feeling into a song.

Tiera Kennedy: For me, “Christmas Feeling” captures the joy of making the season your own with the person you love. It’s about the little moments – being together, slowing down, and feeling that cozy magic that comes with the holidays.

Tiera Kennedy: My favorite thing about “Christmas Feeling” is that it low-key works any time of the year. Sometimes Christmas songs can feel a little too Christmasy, especially when you’re hearing them nonstop during one or two months. I love creating holiday music that still fits in the same vibe as any other song I’d release – warm, soulful, and something you can come back to even outside the season.

:: Gina Zo ::

“Santa, do you know?”

Gina Zo: I am a Holiday addict… I love cooking and decorating; it has been ingrained in me by my Mother since I was a little girl. We always had multiple trees, stuffed stockings, homemade cookies, and dinners—literally pasta from scratch. So now, I like to do the same thing. Well, not the pasta from scratch unless I’m with my mom. As I type this, I am game-planning how I will set up my outdoor Christmas lights. I want to make my home feel super cozy – I am fortunate enough to have an actual home that I rent with my roommates in LA, so I am requiring this to be a massive endeavor this year. As for my favorite Holiday songs… I would say that “What Christmas Means To Me” by Stevie Wonder is probably my all-time favorite Christmas song. Next up would be Kelly Clarkson’s “Underneath the Tree.”

Gina Zo: I mean, literally, the feeling you get walking around a mall in LA while you Holiday shop and hear “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” is the most special feeling I have ever felt. When you hear Holiday music, you cannot help but smile. I don’t know the science behind that… but it is a fact that sleigh bells bring joy.

Gina Zo: Writing a Holiday song has been a dream of mine since I began writing music. There would be no greater accomplishment than me getting to do what I do best in a way that brings joy to everyone during most people’s favorite time of the year! I also wanted to test whether I could write a Holiday song that was catchy and not corny as heck. I wrote this by bringing a few songs to my producer and co-writer, Tim Sonnefeld. To make it my own, I focused on writing songs that felt like they could have actually just been straight on my album. Songs that felt like they could be played all year long, but were truly Holiday songs at the core.

Gina Zo: This time of year, most people are often reminded that they are single as hell. Most people want Santa to bring them their true love. They want gifts, sure, but I think most people would give up just about anything to find “their person.” This song captures that exact feeling in the line “I need you to bring me a love that’s guaranteed.” Oh, and it is absolutely scream singable, if that was a word, and that also makes a Holiday song shine.

Gina Zo: This song is not a copy-and-paste with different words from any other Christmas song out there. It is catchy, it’s fun, and honestly, it’s not cheesy at all. So many original Christmas songs sound like every other song that is on the Spotify Christmas Playlist, but I can confidently say I have never heard anything like it. It makes me want to ride a dog sled across the North Pole in the middle of the worst snowstorm the world has ever seen to find my true love. Name another song that does that?

:: Honey Bxby ::

“All I Want”

Honey Bxby: I love the holidays! It’s really a time for family and giving, two things I love. The energy screams bliss. Over the years, I’ve really been falling in love with old Christmas music, those Frank Sinatra vibes. But “Mistletoe” by Justin Bieber! It takes me back, nostalgia at its finest when I hear it.

Honey Bxby: Music is different; it can shift your mood. Those holiday songs can uplift your spirit and make you feel hella jolly! So the impact it has on me is all emotion related.

Honey Bxby: My team and I thought releasing a holiday song would be a great idea, seeing artists like Mariah Carey and Ariana Grande have amazing holiday songs that lock in the season. I took inspo from them a smidge in my process.

Honey Bxby: In the song I mention that all I want for Christmas is my man and that I’ll do anything to make him feel good. For the holidays everyone wants someone to make them feel THAT way. That’s what the holiday season is about.

Honey Bxby: Lovely, sexy, blissful feeling!

:: Joe Leone & Astyn Turr ::

“The Gift”

Joe Leone: I love this time of year because as a collective we all choose to slow down and create more time for each other. It’s a great reminder of our need to connect with the community around us. Christmas doesn’t start for me until I hear a song by Bing Crosby.

Joe Leone: Since I’m a live musician professionally, Christmas music reminds me every year that I need to practice all these jazz chords more often. The songs are so easy to listen to, and have been around for so long, that I forget just how difficult the musicality is.

Joe Leone: I wanted to write a Christmas song that felt classic and timeless. I played an emotional piano part, added strings for the romance, xylophone/ bells for the joy, and had a friend play woodwinds on it for that extra Christmas magic.

Joe Leone: “The Gift” is a song about heartbreak and learning to love yourself again during the holidays. Often times people deal with a seasonal depression, and real life doesn’t always let you have a holly jolly time. I think the music captured the Christmas nostalgia, while the lyrics offer some hope for change.

Joe Leone: I don’t think there are any other Christmas songs with live orchestration, as well as big fat 808s on the low end. It’s got a nice RnB feel, but with all the classic sounds you want in your Christmas music. Also Astyn Turr has one of the most heartwarming voices you’ll ever hear

:: sullvn ::

“Seasons”

sullvn: I have great memories of the holidays with my family. My favorite holiday songs are “Please Come Home for Christmas” by The Eagles or “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” by Andy Williams because they remind me of my childhood.

sullvn: It’s an integral part of the Christmas magic, as long as it doesn’t start until AFTER the day after Thanksgiving.

sullvn: I got an opportunity to write several songs with Rome Ramirez (Sublime with Rome). He talked about his busy family life and how crazy it is during the holidays, and I realized my daughters are grown and flown, so it looks a little different for me now.

sullvn: This is a romantic time of year and I wanted to capture that.

sullvn: I don’t think there are other Christmas songs about empty nesters. Whether you’re an empty nester or in the honeymoon phase of a relationship, this song is for you.

:: Sydney Rose ::

“The Holiday”

Sydney Rose: The holidays are something I always look forward to. It’s nice to be surrounded with so much warmth and love when times seem so dark and bleak. I’ve always loved holiday songs whether they were religious or simply Christmas jingles. One of my favorites is “Snow” by Sleeping at Last, a song I always revisit during this season. These songs always give me a sense of nostalgia, like a warm hug. It makes things happier.

Sydney Rose: Sometimes going back to your hometown means facing things you don’t want to face. I was really afraid of running into someone I was once close to. I wanted to incorporate that feeling into the holidays. Like the anxiety you feel when driving down your old friend’s street. But there’s also Christmas light?

Sydney Rose: I think the Holidays are a time to be happy, but also so many people carry a lot of hurt with them during the holiday season. It’s not always so bright and merry. I wanted to make a song that encapsulates the feeling of going back to your hometown during the holidays, but also keeping your head on a swivel.

Sydney Rose: Most holiday songs talk about Christmas or Santa or friends and family. I wanted to dig into my own holiday experiences. I know a lot of college kids might relate to this song since so many of their friends will be back in their hometown at the same time.

:: Toby Gad ::

Piano Diaries – Christmas

Toby Gad: I used to be the Christmas Grinch, seeing the Holidays just as an inconvenient interruption of my ambitions work, but recently I felt I owe it to my two daughters to relent and celebrate the holidays. I love classics like “silent night” or “amazing grace” which isnt really a Christmas song but fits perfectly into the season.

Toby Gad: Music conveys memories like nothing else, so many holiday songs have a childhood memory attached to it, and to me it’s all about singing together at the holidays.

Toby Gad: With John Legend and Carrie Underwood’s “Hallelujah” and Kelly Clarkson’s “Blessed,” I already had a track record of writing holiday songs, so in March this year I called many of my artist friends and asked if they would like to write a Christmas song with my for my Christmas album. I am so happy that artists like Jordin Sparks, Victoria Justice, Huntley, Sam Ryder, Megan Mc Kenna, Louisa Johnson and so many more appear on this very special album.

Toby Gad: Each of the twelve songs on my album tell an individual story about a particular Christmas memory of the artist. Jordin Sparks sings about her childhood Christmas merry that comes full circle now that she is a mom herself. Anthony Gargiula sings about how falling in love around Christmas made him fall in love with Christmas. Amy Winehouse’s god-daughter Dionne Bromfield sings in “Christmas For One” about her empowering experience of the last Christmas she spent all by herself. Megan Mc Kenna found the love of her life at Christmas and now even has a baby, and all that is in the song she sings.

Toby Gad: “Kiss Me For Christmas” has a nostalgic seductive Marilyn Monroe feel to it that gets to me, but the song that makes me cry is Gavin James’ “Really Loved Someone,” which we wrote about memory loss and two lovers getting old together, eventually even forgetting each others name but remembering the love that bonded them together.

Toby Gad: My hits have never been the trendy kind, instead I am aiming for timeless evergreens, and Piano Diaries – Christmas isn’t your average holiday spin – it’s a stripped-down, soulful advent calendar of original Christmas music with intimate stories behind every door. The album trades jingle bells for raw emotion, pairing timeless piano-vocal-orchestra arrangements with the unmistakable warmth of personal storytelling.

:: Logan Richard ::

“Stay in the Moment”

Logan Richard: I have always loved the holidays. Of course, you start to love them for different reasons over the years, but lately I have just been looking forward to relaxing with friends and family, and enjoying some good food and drinks. I also now have 4 young nieces and nephews, so it is cool to see them experience the holiday magic.

Some of my favourite holiday songs are “Christmas Don’t Let Me Down” by Jamie Cullum, “The Gift” by David Myles, and “This Christmas” by Donny Hathaway.

Logan Richard: It sets the mood so perfectly, and gets me in the holiday spirit. Whenever I see that first snowfall, I am throwing on my Christmas playlist and it gets me in the holiday spirit.

Logan Richard: The song was written for the screen, actually. I wrote it with the goal of having it placed in a Hallmark TV series called ‘Mistletoe Murders.’ It got the placement, but then I realized how much I resonated with the song and quite liked it, so I decided to release it and share it with the world.

Logan Richard: When I was young, two of my brothers lived in Montreal and would come home for the holiday season. I remember each year sitting by the Christmas tree, looking out the window, waiting to see their headlights in the driveway. When I listen back to this song, it takes me back there. My childhood home with my folks and my brothers, catching up and simply being together.

Logan Richard: I think “Stay in This Moment” is a cheeky Christmas song in the sense that it isn’t too on-the-nose, so to speak. It takes place at Christmas, and is all about the holidays, but the main hook of the song makes it a bit more universal and ambiguous.

:: Home Counties ::

“Better Last Year”

Home Counties: We love the festive season, perfect excuse to spend the day in the pub with friends! Top Christmas songs include: “Fairytale of New York,” “Stop the Cavalry,” and “Merry Xmas Everybody.”

Home Counties: It’s huge part of the holidays for us. Every Christmas we head back to our parents houses, dig out old amps from when we were teenagers and set up in the local pub, The Red Lion of Longwick, and spend the evening butchering Christmas songs with all our beautiful friends and family in tow. It’s now Christmas tradition, the HC Christmas Eve set, and we are always as unprepared for it as we were the year before and it’s the best night of the year.

Home Counties: “Fairytale of New York” has been something Lois and Will have been singing together since school Christmas assembly in Year 8. We knew we wanted our Christmas to have this feeling of melancholy, mixed with risky lyrics but with an added sprinkle of HC fun. Essentially we just tried to include all of our favourite bits to belt out in the pub – most importantly a long, repeated gang vocal at the end that the whole room can join in on.

Home Counties: The record explores this feeling that every year Christmas doesn’t quite hit the spot like it did the year before. Returning home becomes tedious, bumping into lots of people you haven’t seen in years – usually lovely but inevitably it’s someone you’d really rather not catch up with. In the end it becomes a plea to rally our friends and family to stay out just for one last pint and let go of trying to ‘beat’ the fun we had last year and enjoy the here and now.

Home Counties: “Better Last Year” offers up all our favourite aspects of a Christmas song rolled into one. We dream of it becoming the kind of Christmas song everyones swaying along to at the end of the Christmas party.

:: aron! ::

a cozy christmas

aron!: I’ve always loved the holidays because my two parents and I would sit around the tree and play with this Thomas the Tank Engine remote controlled train. I think we will do that again this year.

Some of my favorite holiday songs are “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” “Simply Having a Wonderful Christmas Time,” and “Christmas Time Is Here” from Charlie Brown. The holidays are an excuse to listen to amazing music with beautiful arrangements and cool harmonies. Music is so central to my idea of the holidays.

aron!: I wrote “Mother I’ll Be Late” last year during Christmastime about not being with my family for Christmas. This year, I will be! In order to have this music out in time, I had to record it in May 2025 with musicians from my school and record it at the school recording studio.

aron!: Rerecording “Cozy You (Christmas)” was very fun because I wanted to rewrite all the words. I’ve never rewritten words to a song of mine before, so it was fun making it as Christmassy as possible. I had to pull out some lyric tricks to find lines like “take my hand, and we’ll see just how cozy could a Christmas be.” It is fun and silly.

aron!: One of my favorite aspects of Christmas music is the beautiful orchestrations. I love the orchestras in the music of Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald, and I wanted to capture my love for arrangers like Nelson Riddle in this EP.

aron!: I think in the modern music scene there’s not too much Christmas music that sounds like it was from the ’40s era, but I wanted to see if I can do that as a 22-year-old in 2025.

listen to Mistletones 2025 on Spotify

❄️ discover more Mistletones here ❄️

⛄️ listen to all Mistletones songs here ⛄️

Connect to us on
Facebook, 𝕏, Instagram

Discover new music on Atwood Magazine

📸 © Annie Spratt [CC]
art © Markus Spiske [CC]

Mistletones

listen to MISTLETONES on Spotify