This is the dead chart – it covers sales and streams from 19-25 December, but it’s not the Christmas Number One, because that was last week. So it’s pretty much just what people had on their Christmas playlists. The BBC don’t even broadcast the post-Christmas chart because it’s so irrelevant; they use the week to do the top 100 of the year instead, despite the minor technicality that the year hasn’t finished yet. So, now that I’ve really sold you on reading this…

1. Wham! – “Last Christmas” 

Returning to number 1 for its second week this year, and its twelfth week in total. We do have some entries at the lower end of the chart, though, as the Christmas also-rans make their big push to scrape above the number 40 mark.

29. Ed Sheeran & Elton John – “Merry Christmas”

This was number 1 for three weeks at Christmas 2021, although the actual Christmas number one that year was Ladbaby’s charity cover of the song. It passed its third anniversary during last year’s Christmas season, meaning that it went onto permanent ACR. Number 29 is where it ended up last year too.

31. Perry Como – “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas”

The Michael Bublé version does better, and lands at number 21 this year. The Perry Como original reached number 40 last year, which was its first appearance on the singles top 40.

33. Bing Crosby – “White Christmas” 

This hasn’t made the top 40 since 2023, when it reached number 38. Its digital-era peak is number 22 in 2017; its all time peak was number 5, with a reissue in 1977.

36. John Williams – “Carol of the Bells”

From the soundtrack of Home Alone 2, this charted for the first time last year, when it reached number 37.

37. Cher – “DJ Play a Christmas Song”

This is less than three years old, so its annual surge of Christmas sales ought to have given it an ACR reset. Which is to say, don’t expect to hear from it much once it’s on a level playing field with other Christmas back catalogue records. It reached number 39 last year, and number 18 on release the previous year.

38. Frank Sinatra – “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”

This has never actually charted before, and so it becomes Frank Sinatra’s 35th top 40 hit. Remarkably, it’s the first version of the song to make the top 40.

This week’s climbers – and be warned, this is mostly going to be me saying “roughly the same position as last year” – look like this:

• “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” by Brenda Lee climbs 4-3, which is a new all-time peak. It got to 4 last year. It’s now her joint-biggest UK hit – “Speak to me Pretty” reached number 3 in 1962.
• “Fairytale of New York” by the Pogues featuring Kirsty MacColl climbs 6-5. That’s one place higher than last year.
• “Step into Christmas” by Elton John climbs 9-7, which is another all-time peak. It previously peaked at number 8 in 2019 and 2020.
• “Jingle Bell Rock” by Bobby Helms climbs 10-8. That’s three places lower than last year.
• “Merry Christmas Everyone” by Shakin’ Stevens climbs 11-9 – its highest posiiton since 2021.
• “Driving Home for Christmas” by Chris Rea climbs 30-10. Obviously, this is a special case, because Rea died during the week. It now becomes his joint highest-placing single alongsde “The Road to Hell (Part 2)” from 1989.
• “Santa Tell Me” by Ariana Grande climbs 12-11. It reached number 8 in the last two years.
• “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” by Dean Martin climbs 17-12. That’s a new peak; it previously got to number 13 in 2023. He had plenty of bigger hits than this in the 1950s, including a number 1 with “Memories are Made of This” in 1956.
• “Do They Know It’s Christmas” by Band Aid climbs 15-13. It reached number 8 last year.
• “It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” by Andy Williams climbs 16-14. Its all time peak was number 9 two years ago, and it’s had slightly lower places two years in a row.
• “Wonderful Christmastime” by Paul McCartney climbs 18-15. Remarkably, this is its highest position of the digital age (beating last year’s number 16). Someone must like it. It reached number 6 on release in 1979.
• “Shake the Snow Globe” by Gwen Stefani gets a big push from Amazon this week and re-enters at number 16. That’s her highest chart position since “The Sweet Escape” reached number 2 in 2007.
• “Happy Xmas (War is Over)” by John & Yoko and the Plastic Ono Band climbs 22-17, another streaming-era peak – after a few years when it seemed to be tailing off. Its all time peak is number 2 on re-issue in 1980.
• “Feliz Navidad” by José Feliciano climbs 24-18, one place below last year’s peak.
• “Sleigh Ride” by the Ronettes climbs 21-19. It got to 15 last year.
• “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” by Darlene Love climbs 32-20. That’s an all-time peak; it previous got to number 22 in 2018 but hasn’t got close since.
• “The Christmas Song” by Nat King Cole climbs 31-21, and 31 was already its peak. It’s still far from being his biggest hit – he had 15 top ten hits.
• “Snowman” by Sia climbs 26-22. Last year it reached 18.
• “I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday” by Wizzard climbs 25-24, two places below last year (but slightly up on the year before that).
• “Holly Jolly Christmas” by Michael Bublé climbs 35-25, two places below last year.
• “Merry Xmas Everybody” by Slade climbs 36-26, matching last year.
• “Mistletoe” by Justin Bieber re-enters at 30, having reached 36 a few weeks ago. That’s its highest position in three years.
• “One More Sleep” by Leona Lewis climbs 38-32. That’s two places above last year, slightly down on the year before.

The six tracks leaving the top 40 (almost certainly just for seven days, because all the Christmas records will be gone next week) are:

• “Golden” by HUNTR/X
• “Phantom” by EsDeeKid & Rico Ace
• “Where is my Husband” by Raye
• “Die on This Hill” by Sienna Spiro
• “Century” by EsDeeKid
• “End of Beginning” by Djo

The top 10 non-Christmas singles are:

1. Dave & Tems – “Raindance” (number 27)
2. Sam Fender & Olivia Dean – “Rein Me In” (number 34)
3. Olivia Dean – “Man I Need” (number 35)
4. HAVEN. ft. Kaitlin Aragon – “I Run” (number 39)
5. Taylor Swift – “The Fate of Ophelia” (number 40)
6. HUNTR/X – “Golden” (number 42)
7. EsDeeKid & Rico Ace – “Phantom” (number 44)
8. Raye – “Where is My Husband” (number 48)
9. Zara Larsson – “Lush Life” (number 50)
10. Sienna Spiro – “Die on This Hill” (number 51)

The album chart, of course, is dead – aside from a Nat King Cole Christmas album re-entering at number 28, the only thing to note is that “Christmas” by Michael Bublé is number 1, just as it was in the three preceding years.