Christmas presents that are about them

• Midnight Magic

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  PopPlayful female vocalsChristmas bedtime

  We want a Christmas Eve song for our kids Ivy, six, and Noah, four. It's for the last hour before bed: new pyjamas, carrot out for Rudolph, Noah asking if Santa can see him 'right now' (unsettling), Ivy patrolling the fireplace. Something magical with their names in it that ends with two children actually going to sleep. A big ask. We know.

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  Verse 1

  New pyjamas, fresh and snug and tight,Ivy counting stars outside tonight,Noah's got a carrot in his hand,"This one's the crunchiest in the land."

  Pre-Chorus

  The clock's so slow, the tree lights glow,Two little hearts don't want to go,But Mummy says, and Daddy too,Santa's got a job to do.

  Chorus

  So close your eyes, Ivy and Noah,Let the sleepy magic softly grow,Rudolph's coming, snow is falling slow,Close your eyes, it's time to go.

  Verse 2

  Ivy's on patrol beside the grate,"I'll guard the fireplace, I'll stay up late,"Noah whispers, "Can he see me now?"Mum says, "Only if you're sleeping, somehow."

  Pre-Chorus

  The clock's so slow, the tree lights glow,Two little hearts don't want to go,But Mummy says, and Daddy too,Santa's got a job to do.

  Chorus

  So close your eyes, Ivy and Noah,Let the sleepy magic softly grow,Rudolph's coming, snow is falling slow,Close your eyes, it's time to go.

  Bridge

  The carrot's out, the milk is poured,The stockings hang, the hush is soft,Somewhere high above the town,A sleigh bell jingles, drifting down.

  Outro

  Hush now, Ivy, hush now, Noah,Dream of reindeer, dream of snow,Morning's coming soft and slow,Sleep now, darlings, off you go.Ivy's still... and Noah's still...Both asleep upon the hill of dreams.

• Hartley's Holiday

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  Acoustic popWarm family vocalsChristmas

  We're the Hartleys: two parents, three kids, one grandma upstairs, and this year we agreed no presents over a tenner, so I'm cheating with a song about us. The Boxing Day walk nobody wants and everyone loves, the annual Monopoly ban, Grandma's sherry measures, Dad's gravy pride. Our ordinary, brilliant Christmas, in a song.

  Read the words

  Verse 1

  Two parents, three kids and a house full of noiseGrandma's up the stairs with her Christmas playlist voiceWe said no presents this year, over a tenner's the ruleSo here's a song instead, cheaper and truer

  Verse 2

  Dad's basting that gravy like it's a national testGuarding the pan like it's the only one he'll ever make best"Just needs one more stir" he says, every single yearWe nod and we let him, we let him, my dear

  Chorus

  This is us, the ordinary, brilliant kindSherry measures from Grandma that'll blow your mindMonopoly's banned again before it can start a warThat's the Hartleys, that's Christmas, that's what we're for

  Verse 3

  Boxing Day walk, nobody wants to goBoots by the door, moaning out in the coldBut we always end up laughing halfway round the greenBest part of the whole day, best thing we've seen

  Chorus

  This is us, the ordinary, brilliant kindSherry measures from Grandma that'll blow your mindMonopoly's banned again before it can start a warThat's the Hartleys, that's Christmas, that's what we're for

  Bridge

  No fortunes wrapped in paper, no bows on topJust Grandma's laugh and Dad's proud gravy potJust cold hands warming after that same old walkJust us, all together, that's worth more than gold

  Chorus

  This is us, the ordinary, brilliant kindSherry measures from Grandma that'll blow your mindMonopoly's banned again before it can start a warThat's the Hartleys, that's Christmas, that's what we're for

  Outro

  So here's to the Hartleys, whatever this year bringsGrandma's sherry, Dad's gravy, all our ordinary thingsNo tenner could buy this, no bow could tie it rightMerry Christmas, Hartleys, sleep tight

• Dad's Christmas Crown

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  Acoustic popWarm male vocalsChristmas

  A Christmas song for Dad: the man who unravels the lights swearing every year, carves the turkey wearing the cracker crown like a king, and falls asleep during the film he insisted we watch. He does the Santa plate crumbs still, and the youngest grandchild is eleven. Christmas is Dad-shaped in this house. The song should be too.

  Read the words

  Verse 1

  Down from the attic, the lights come outTangled again, no doubt about itRay rolls his sleeves up, mutters a curseSame three words every single yearSays this time they'll behave

  Pre-Chorus

  But it isn't Christmas, not the sameTill we've heard him swear at the fairy lights again

  Chorus

  Cause Christmas is Dad shaped in this housePaper crown, king at the head of the table nowCarving the turkey like it's his throneStill gets it wrong but he calls it his ownThat's how we know we're home

  Verse 2

  He picks the film that we all must watchThen he's asleep before the clock strikes halfThere's crumbs again on the Santa plateEleven years old is our youngest oneStill believes because of what he's done

  Chorus

  Cause Christmas is Dad shaped in this housePaper crown, king at the head of the table nowFalling asleep in the same old chairWaking up to say he wasn't thereThat's how we know we're home

  Bridge

  Every year the very same sceneEvery year it means everythingRay, you're the thread through all our yearsThe lights, the crown, the crumbs, the cheer

  Final Chorus

  Cause Christmas is Dad shaped in this houseAlways will be, however things turn outSo keep swearing softly at the string of lightsKeep falling asleep on Christmas nightThat's how we'll always knowThat's how we'll always know we're home

• Gareth's Christmas Light

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  PopWarm male vocalsChristmas

  A Christmas song for my husband Gareth, the biggest Christmas kid in this house, and we have actual children. He starts the countdown in October, owns nine festive jumpers, and does a full light display 'for the street', the street has mixed views. Under all the tinsel: he does it because his childhood had none. The song can say both.

  Read the words

  Verse 1

  October first and the countdown startsGareth's got lights strung across his heartNine jumpers hanging, ready to wearReindeer, robins, tinsel in his hairHe climbs the ladder like it's opening nightSays every house on this street needs lightThe neighbours mutter, roll their eyes a bitBut nobody's turning that switch off it

  Pre-Chorus

  And I know why you do itI've seen it, I understandThere's a boy who got no lights back thenNow he's lighting up the land

  Chorus

  Oh Gareth, my Christmas kidBigger than the kids we hadBuilding magic out of what you never hadEvery bulb, every silly jumper you ownIs a little boy saying I'm not aloneShine on, Gareth, shine on

  Verse 2

  Number four's a jumper with a bellThat actually rings, he'll swear so wellHe tells the kids "the elves ring twice for good"They believe him more than kids probably shouldThe street's got mixed views, that's putting it mildBut somewhere out there's a lonely childWho'll pass our house and stop and stareAnd feel, just for a second, someone cares

  Pre-Chorus

  And I know why you do itEvery year I understandThere's a boy who got no lights back thenNow he's lighting up the land

  Chorus

  Oh Gareth, my Christmas kidBigger than the kids we hadBuilding magic out of what you never hadEvery bulb, every silly jumper you ownIs a little boy saying I'm not aloneShine on, Gareth, shine on

  Bridge

  So keep the countdown coming, loveKeep October in your eyesWear all nine before December's doneLet the whole street roll their eyesBecause under all that tinsel brightIs the softest kind of fightAgainst a Christmas you once missedYou gave us the one that never existed

  Final Chorus

  Oh Gareth, my Christmas kidBiggest heart this house has hadTurning old December into something gladEvery bulb, every silly jumper you ownTells that boy he was never aloneShine on, Gareth, shine onShine on, my love, shine on

• Christmas in Her Hands

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  AcousticWarm female vocalsFestive

  A Christmas song for Mum, who IS Christmas in this family: the woman who starts the present cupboard in July, makes three kinds of stuffing because we can't agree, and still hangs the terrible salt-dough ornaments we made in the 90s, pride of place. This year we're all home for the first time in ages. The song goes under the tree.

  Read the words

  Verse 1

  Since July there's been a cupboard full of secrets,Wrapping paper crinkling when you think we can't hear,Wendy, you've been planning this since summer,Because for you it's always nearly Christmas time of year.

  Verse 2

  Three kinds of stuffing lined along the counter,Since we never could agree on only one,You just made them all and called it settled,That's the kind of peace that Wendy's kitchen's always won.

  Chorus

  You are Christmas, Mum, you always have been,Not the tinsel or the lights upon the tree,It's the salt dough hanging crooked from the 90s,Pride of place, right where the whole world sees.

  Verse 3

  Little lopsided stars we made as children,Cracked and painted, but you'd never let them go,Every year you find the perfect branches,Hang our clumsy hands where all the shiny ornaments won't go.

  Chorus

  You are Christmas, Mum, you always have been,Not the tinsel or the lights upon the tree,It's the salt dough hanging crooked from the 90s,Pride of place, right where the whole world sees.

  Bridge

  This year we're all home, under one roof again,Round the table, all the chairs are filled,And I know that somewhere you're just quietly smiling,Watching all the noise you always willed.

  Verse 4

  So here's a song to go beneath the branches,Next to gifts you started buying in July,Wendy, this is us all saying thank you,For every single Christmas you would never let slide by.

  Final Chorus

  You are Christmas, Mum, you always have been,Not the tinsel or the lights upon the tree,It's the salt dough hanging crooked from the 90s,Pride of place, right where the whole world sees.

  Outro

  So hang the crooked stars up one more time,Make all three stuffings, we'll clear every plate,Wendy, you're the heart of every Christmas,The reason coming home has never had to wait.

• Mrs Lane's Holiday Cheer

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  AcousticWarm female vocalsChristmas

  End of term Christmas present for Mrs Lane, our daughter's Year 2 teacher, from the whole class. She's spent a term glueing, glittering and gently herding thirty small people, learned every name by day two, and does register in a different accent on Fridays. Thirty families chipped in. She can only drink so many mugs of 'Best Teacher'. This year: a song.

  Read the words

  Verse 1

  September came with thirty little strangers,Coats on backwards, shoelaces undone,By day two you knew every single name there,Called each one like they'd already won.

  Verse 2

  Glue on the tables, glitter in the carpet,Tinsel stuck to jumpers, stars in your hair,You herded thirty small and shining comets,Somehow got them all to sit still on a chair.

  Chorus

  Oh, Mrs Lane, Mrs Lane,Thank you for the patience, thank you for the calm,For every gentle "well done" and every quiet balm,Thirty families raise a glass to say,You made this term feel like Christmas Day.

  Verse 3

  On Fridays you'd take the register singing,A different voice for every roll you'd call,Posh one week, then pirate the next week,You made the mornings magic for them all.

  Chorus

  Oh, Mrs Lane, Mrs Lane,Thank you for the patience, thank you for the calm,For every gentle "well done" and every quiet balm,Thirty families raise a glass to say,You made this term feel like Christmas Day.

  Bridge

  We know you've mugs enough to fill a shelf,"Best Teacher" printed on every one,So this year we wrote it out ourselves,A song to say what all of them have done.

  Final Chorus

  Oh, Mrs Lane, Mrs Lane,From thirty little voices, one thank you the same,For the glue and the glitter, the gentle refrain,Merry Christmas, Mrs Lane.

• Midnight Lights

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  PopWarm female vocalsChristmas

  A Christmas song for my wife Donna. She makes the magic in this house: the elf nonsense, the midnight wrapping, the stockings done to a system I'm not cleared to know. Every Christmas Eve, when the kids are finally down, we have a slow dance in the kitchen by the tree lights. This year I want us dancing to her song.

  Read the words

  Verse 1

  There's a system to the stockings, top secret, classifiedShe won't show me how she does it, I've stopped asking whyElf on a shelf gets moved at midnight, mischief in her eyesDonna makes the magic happen while the whole house sleeps outside

  Verse 2

  Wrapping paper past midnight, ribbons cut just rightEvery gift a little poem she's written out of sightThe kids believe in something bigger cause of what she's builtDonna turns December into everything it could

  Chorus

  So come here by the tree lights, kitchen floor, just us twoKids are down, the house is quiet, it's just me and youSlow dance in the glow of all the magic that you madeDonna, this is your song now, this is our Christmas Eve

  Verse 3

  Nobody sees the hours, the tape and the stringThe way she hides the big one till the morning bringsBut I see it, I see all of it, every year the sameDonna, you're the reason that this house knows Christmas Day

  Chorus

  So come here by the tree lights, kitchen floor, just us twoKids are down, the house is quiet, it's just me and youSlow dance in the glow of all the magic that you madeDonna, this is your song now, this is our Christmas Eve

  Bridge

  No one claps for stockings done just soNo one sees you sneaking round at midnight, soft and slowBut I do, love, I see you, every single yearSo tonight the dance is yours, come here

  Final Chorus

  Come here by the tree lights, kitchen floor, just us twoHouse is finally quiet, it's just me and youSlow dance in the glow of all the magic that you madeDonna, this is your song now, my Christmas Eve

  Outro

  Every year you make it magicEvery year I fall againDonna, dance with me a little longerLet the tree lights never end

Hear each one with its full story: Christmas Eve song for children · Christmas gift song · Christmas song for Dad · Christmas song for husband · Christmas song for Mum · Christmas song for teacher · Christmas song for wife