Not Maria again! New music playlists for the Christmas party season | music

Music for festive house parties

Let’s face it: When everyone’s drunk two impromptu cocktails deep, they’ll be shouting out the Pink Pony Club, and after two more, they’ll be doing Fairytale of New York in a male-on-female karaoke showdown. But for the first part of the party, here’s some 2025 pop, dance and rap music to keep the mood upbeat.

Jim Lexici – Father
Cardi B – The Boss (with Janet Jackson)
Dexter at the newsagent – I told you
Tate McRae – One Tit for One
Addison Rae – Hexagon fame
PinkPantheress – Illegal
Tila – Chanel
Jorja Smith – The Way I Love You
MK – Dior (with crystal)
Confidence Man – I Love You (with Eliza Rose)
Sami Verjee – Cops & Robbers (with Skepta)
Nouveau Covenant – Picture Perfect
Lady Gaga – Zombie Boy
Leon Thomas – As You Are
Dijon – Yamaha
Somber – from 12 to 12
MØ – lose yourself
Avalon Emerson – Don’t Be Seen With Me
Jelly Haha – Bounce House
Jesse Lanza – I slapped my life

Music for festive dinner parties

Avoid the spiritually empty music that fills so many of the “chill tunes” or “downtempo vibes” playlists you see on streaming services: Your dinner party needs a little more bite and humanity. Spanning hip-hop, alt-pop, indie, R&B, jazz and more, here’s a selection of 2025’s standout favorites that won’t dominate, but won’t just melt into the background.

Oklou – Take Me By The Hand (ft. Bladee)
Banks – DeLullo
John Glacier – Ocean Steppin’ (with Sampha)
Olivia Deen – The man I need
Durand Jones and the Pointers – Moonflower
Night Moves – Wait tonight
Geese – pairs
Cass McCombs – Peace
Jordana – like that
Alex G – Afterlife
Fontaines DC – It’s amazing to be young
Akobia – stumbles
Erika de Casser – Phantom
US Girls – Running Errands (Yesterday)
Saba & No ID – head.rap (with Madison McFerrin, Auggie & Jordan Ward)
Yaya Bey – A cycle that revolves
Adi Suleiman – I Never Meant to Hurt You (ft. Kofi Stone)
Justin Bieber – Yukon
Makaya McRaven – Imavan
Oren Ambarchi, Johan Berthling, Andreas Verlein-Chahar

Music for the next morning

When the next morning comes, and all you can think about is the kind of stuffed pizza that could reincarnate you, you need to calm down as you pour little puddles of ash-filled beer from nearly empty cans. Here are some of the best dream pop songs, acoustic songwriting, and more to make everything better.

Joan Robertson – Always Were (with Oliver Coates)
Mark William Lewis – Tomorrow is Perfect
Maria Somerville – Garden
Eiko Ishibashi – Zombie
Kate Le Bon – Mothers of Riches
Jasmine.4.t – Elephant
Big Thief – Granny (with Laraji)
Adventure – faith
Caroline – complete ecstasy
Leah Sin – Level 1 – Home Alone
Lowell Carner – On My Mind
Earl Sweatshirt – Exhaust
O’Deal – Miami (with Leon Thomas)
Feeds over time – tossed away
Nilufer Yanya – Betrayal
Cass McCombs – The Missionary Bell
Celestial – Mermaid Boulevard (ft. Romance)
Purelink – The Rookie (with Lauren James)
Steve Hochelt – Dividua
Burial – Comafields

Music for cooking

You don’t want anything to raise stress levels in the kitchen, but you don’t want emotions to be so subdued that you end up overcooking everything in a hurry. You can access this mix of upbeat funk, classic soul, folk rock, and heartfelt songs from across the years to keep your mood on the down-low.

Evans Pyramid – I’ll Never Leave You
Usui Inoue – Bi Bu Ba
Fuchsia – still present
Jeff Parker – Build a Nest (with Robbie Parker)
Eddie Chacon – My mind is out of his mind
Erykah Badu – Gone, baby, don’t be late
Syl Johnson – Concrete Reservation
Lambchop – what could it be
Willie Wright – Nantucket Island
Terry Caller – Average Joe
Van Morrison – Natalia
Sea and cake – very strong
Laura Allan – Opening Up to You
Judy Sell – Jesus was a cross maker
Arthur Russell – No one wants a lonely heart
Laura Nyro and LaBelle – We Will Create a Miracle
Sachiko Kanenobu – Anata Kara Toko-e (Far From You)
Joan Shelley – Fade
Sam Dees – Out of Reach
The Supreme Jubilee – Standing in Need of Prayer