October has barely arrived, but Christmas music already has a place in the listening queue, according to new Spotify data released Oct. 1.
“Now that Labor Day is over, it’s kind of slow, and so for retailers to have buzzy decor in the windows and sales and excitement, it kind of makes sense,” retail expert Trae Bodge told TODAY last month about early holiday displays.
Bodge was talking about store promotions, not explaining Spotify’s streaming figures. Still, her observation offers some context for the familiar experience of encountering Christmas reminders while the calendar still says fall.
Spotify reported an average of 36.2 million holiday streams a day, though the company did not specify the averaging period or geographic scope, and streams do not represent unique people.
The picture also looks different from country to country. Spotify said festive music accounted for 1.3% of total streams in the Philippines in September, more than twice the share in Colombia, the next-highest market in that comparison.
“Nearly 100,000 holiday playlists were created by Spotify users in September, while its Christmas Hits playlist rose to No. 64 on playlist charts back on Sept. 25,” TODAY reported.
Related: Michael Bublé’s Hot Take on When You Should Start Listening to Christmas Music
The most-streamed holiday songs so far?
- “Merry Christmas, Please Don’t Call” by Bleachers
- “Merry Christmas, i miss you” by Alex Crichton
- “Snowman” by Sia
- “Last Christmas” by Wham!
- “All I Want For Christmas Is You” by Mariah Carey
For listeners choosing their own seasonal soundtrack, familiar recordings remain part of the mix. Spotify pointed to singer Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” and singer Dean Martin’s “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” among the older favorites that featured prominently in American holiday listening December 2025.
There is room for newer interpretations, too. A October 16, 2025 collection brought fresh approaches to traditional carols, including country singer Jordan Davis’s version of “O Come, All Ye Faithful “and singer Ravyn Lenae’s rendition of “O Holy Night.”
For Movieguide® families, those carols offer an option for keeping Christ’s birth at the center of a seasonal playlist alongside the lighter favorites. Parents can choose the recordings that suit their household, and let children help pick songs they look forward to hearing together.
Spotify plans to share the songs, artists and albums that defined holiday listening in 2026 at the end of the season. For now, the early report offers a small glimpse of listeners getting a head start, without setting a Christmas countdown for everyone else.
If your family prefers to wait, the music will still be there when you are ready. And if a carol has already slipped into the afternoon routine, you have some company.
Read Next: Brenda Lee’s ‘Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree’ Hits No. 1 for the First Time
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