Is There A Right Time to Listen To Christmas Music?

The question of when to start playing Christmas music is one that comes about year-on-year. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

When I heard Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You last week, I was quite surprised. We hadn’t even reached mid November and the soundtrack to everyone’s Christmas was already reverberating off the walls at work. 

However, hearing her infamous track got me thinking… Is there a right time to listen to Christmas music?

My tree is already up in my room; but that’s because everywhere I look seems to have had some festive magic sprinkled on it. Shopping centers are winter wonderlands, cafes replace pumpkin spice lattes with black forest hot chocolates, and plastic snowflakes settle on rows of buildings. Of course, people are already frantically raiding stores to get ahead of the December rush (forgetting Black Friday is in two weeks). 

So it seems socially acceptable to start decorating for the holidays in November. Can the same be said for playing Christmas music?

Spotify has already dug up its “Happy Christmas" discovery section from the archives. Likewise, Apple Music has jumped the gun with the yearly roundup: “The Best of 2025”. Even radio stations have been dripfeeding listeners with festive tunes. Is it too early?

In reality, there is no right or wrong answer but there are some unspoken rules about this widely contested topic. In the USA, the social norm is after Thanksgiving (27 November this year) because the holiday marks the transition from fall (autumn for us Brits) and winter. Many radio stations will switch to playing yuletide melodies, an overt cue to get the sleigh bells ringing.

Across the Atlantic, it’s less straightforward. According to a YouGov survey conducted in 2021, nearly a third of Brits believe November is an acceptable time to play Christmas music in shops and on the radio. On the flip side, almost half say playing Christmas music in public is okay from the beginning of December. Some even play merry tunes year-round whenever they need an uplift. Thus, is it ever “too early” to put on some Mariah Carey?

The answer: there is no answer. The choice is down to personal preference. Some people wait until it's closer to the holidays to make the season more special. Others listen all year round to feel good. That’s the beauty of the diverse society we live in. All that matters is that we enjoy this truly wonderful time of year.