List of best-selling Christmas singles in the United States
This page shows the best-selling Christmas singles in the United States. It includes artists from around the world, but it only reflects sales in the United States of America. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, "White Christmas" by Bing Crosby is not only the best-selling Christmas/holiday single in the United States, but also the best-selling single of all time, with estimated sales in excess of 50 million copies worldwide.
Prior to March 1, 1991, the only means of tracking sales figures for record albums and singles in the United States was via the certification system of the Recording Industry Association of America, based specifically on shipments on a long-term basis. From March 1, 1991, through the present day, the Nielsen SoundScan tracking system has been more widely used to accurately track sales of record albums and singles at the point of sale based on inventory bar code scans, as well as digital music download sales starting in 2003. As of November 25, 2016, the holiday single with the most digital downloads is Mariah Carey's 1994 track "All I Want for Christmas Is You", which SoundScan estimates as having sold 3,200,000 copies.
Best-selling Christmas/holiday singles by Nielsen SoundScan data
This is a list of the top ten best-selling Christmas singles of the SoundScan era in the United States according to the Nielsen Company, as last updated on November 25, 2016. Nielsen SoundScan began tracking digital download sales data at the end of June 2003.Best-selling Christmas singles
Rank | Title | Artist | Released | Label | Digital downloads |
1 | "All I Want for Christmas Is You" | 1994 | Columbia | 3,200,000 | |
2 | "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" | , Agatha Lee Monn & Katie Lopez | 2013 | Walt Disney | 1,600,000 |
3 | "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24" | Savatage | 1996 | Lava | 1,300,000 |
4 | "Mistletoe" | 2011 | Island | 1,100,000 | |
5 | "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" | 1958 | Decca | 1,000,000 | |
6 | "Where Are You Christmas?" | 2000 | Interscope | 977,000 | |
7 | "Christmas Canon" | Trans-Siberian Orchestra | 1998 | Lava | 918,000 |
8 | "Feliz Navidad" | 1970 | RCA | 808,000 | |
9 | "Jingle Bell Rock" | 1957 | Decca | 780,000 | |
10 | "Last Christmas" | Wham! | 1984 | Columbia | 751,000 |
Best-selling Christmas/holiday singles by RIAA certification
This is an incomplete list of the best-selling Christmas/holiday singles in the United States based on certification by the RIAA. This list provides a more complete representation of the best-selling Christmas/holiday albums in history, as it includes those released well before the Nielsen/SoundScan era of music sales.Digital singles
Year of release | Title | Artist | Label | Certification award | Certification date |
1994 | "All I Want for Christmas Is You" | Columbia | 6x Multi-Platinum | 2019-10-09 | |
2011 | "Mistletoe" | Island | 2x Multi-Platinum | 2015-02-27 | |
1984 | "Last Christmas" | Columbia | 2x Multi-Platinum | 2019-12-12 | |
2016 | "Hallelujah" | Pentatonix | RCA | Platinum | 2018-02-09 |
2014 | "Mary, Did You Know" | Pentatonix | RCA | Platinum | 2018-02-09 |
2013 | "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" | , Agatha Lee Monn & Katie Lopez | Walt Disney | Platinum | 2014-04-23 |
1965 | "Christmas Time Is Here" | Fantasy | Platinum | 2019-01-31 | |
2014 | "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" | Capitol | Gold | 2020-02-11 | |
2007 | "This Christmas" | RCA | Gold | 2017-11-22 | |
1996 | "Chanukah Song" | Warner Bros. | Gold | 2009-10-05 | |
1996 | "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24" | Trans-Siberian Orchestra | Lava | Gold | 2009-12-14 |
1994 | "Christmas " | Columbia | Gold | 2019-10-09 | |
1965 | "Linus and Lucy" | Fantasy | Gold | 2019-05-10 |
Cellular ringtones
Physical singles
According to the most recent record album certifications, the holiday single title with the highest RIAA certification is Elvis Presley's 1964 single "Blue Christmas", which is certified Platinum by the RIAA.Year of release | Title | Artist | Label | Certification award | Certification date |
1964 | "Blue Christmas"/ "Santa Claus Is Back in Town" | RCA Victor | Platinum | 1999-12-15 | |
1989 | "This One's for the Children"/ "Funky, Funky Xmas" | New Kids on the Block | Columbia | Gold | 1990-01-09 |
1984 | "Do They Know It's Christmas?"/ "Feed the World" | Band Aid | Columbia | Gold | 1984-12-19 |
1959 | "Alvin's Harmonica"/ "Mediocre" | The Chipmunks | Liberty | Gold | |
1958 | "The Chipmunk Song"/ "Almost Good" | The Chipmunks with the Music of David Seville | Liberty | Gold | |
1958 | "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree"/ "Papa Noël" | Decca | Gold | ||
1957 | "Jingle Bell Rock"/ "Captain Santa Claus " | Bobby Helms | Decca | Gold | |
1955 | "Nuttin' for Christmas"/ "Santa Claus Looks Just Like Daddy" | and His Orchestra Vocal by Barry Gordon | MGM | Gold | |
1952 | "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus"/ "Thumbelina" | Columbia | Gold | ||
1950 | "Frosty the Snow Man"/ "When Santa Claus Gets Your Letter" | and The Cass County Boys | Columbia | Gold | |
1949 | "I Yust Go Nuts at Christmas"/ "Yingle Bells" | Capitol | Gold | ||
1949 | "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer"/ "If It Doesn't Snow on Christmas" | & The Pinafores | Columbia | Gold | 1969-11-10 |
1948 | "All I Want for Christmas "/ "Happy New Year" | and his City Slickers | RCA Victor | Gold | |
1948 | "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm"/ "I'm A-Tellin' You, Sam" | and his Orchestra | Columbia | Gold | |
1947 | "Here Comes Santa Claus "/ "An Old-Fashioned Christmas" | Columbia | Gold | ||
1946 | "Christmas Island"/ "Winter Wonderland" | Andrews Sisters and Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians | Decca | Gold | |
1946 | "The Christmas Song "/ "In the Cool of Evening" | The King Cole Trio | Capitol | Gold | |
1944 | "White Christmas"/ "If You Are But a Dream" | Columbia | Gold | ||
1943 | "I'll Be Home for Christmas "/ "Danny Boy" | Decca | Gold | ||
1943 | "Jingle Bells"/ "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" | and the Andrews Sisters | Decca | Gold | |
1942 | "White Christmas"/ "Let's Start the New Year Right" | Decca | Gold | ||
1942 | "White Christmas"/ "Abraham" | and his Orchestra | Victor | Gold | |
1935 | "Silent Night"/ "Adeste Fideles " | Decca | Gold |