Christmas and rap have been friends since 1979, when Kurtis Blow put out a holiday single before most people had heard the word hip-hop. The pairing still works. A carol asks you to sing softly. A Christmas rap lets you stand up at dinner and announce, with full confidence, that Uncle Dave burned the rolls again.
Below are 26 original, clean Christmas rap lyrics grouped by who you're rapping to, a 12 days of Christmas remix, the classic Christmas rap songs, and how to turn your bars into a video.
For the whole family
-
The whole crew's home and the kitchen's on fire,
well, not on fire, but the smoke alarm's the choir. -
We pass the potatoes like a relay race,
Grandpa gets the gravy with a smile on his face. -
Mom's been cooking since the sun came around,
so we do the dishes and we don't make a sound. -
Same old stockings with our names in red,
same old fight about who gets the couch for a bed. -
We're loud, we're late, and we talk too much,
but this house in December has the warmest touch.
For kids
-
Cookies on the plate and a carrot for the deer,
I left a little note saying "Santa, I was here." -
I was good all year, okay, mostly good,
I cleaned up my room like a good kid should. -
Snow on the ground and my boots by the door,
I made a snowman taller than I was before. -
Jingle bells ringing, I can't fall asleep,
I'm listening for reindeer, not counting sheep. -
Wrapping paper flying like a blizzard inside,
the cat's in a box and she's taking a ride.
Funny bars
-
Pulled the lights from the attic, one giant knot,
an hour later I've untangled one spot. -
Plugged in the string and the whole row blinked,
then the fuse went out and the whole street winked. -
Got an ugly sweater with a reindeer that glows,
it plays "Jingle Bells" every time I blow my nose. -
Aunt Linda gave me a candle, I'm touched, I swear,
it's the same one I gave her, I can see the tag there. -
The in-laws are coming, so I vacuumed the cat,
I fluffed every pillow and I hid the old mat. -
Said I'd eat light, just a little bit of pie,
four pieces later, now I'm too full to lie. -
Dad's on the ladder with the lights in his teeth,
Mom's holding the bottom, the dog's underneath.
Secret Santa and the office party
-
Drew a name for Secret Santa, it's my boss, oh no,
twenty dollars to impress, so it's socks with a bow. -
Office party playlist, same five songs on a loop,
Karen's on the mic and she's leading the group. -
Got a mug that says "World's Okayest Coworker,"
I'll take it, it's fair, I'm a meeting-shirker. -
The printer still jammed but the cookies came through,
happy holidays, team, from the fourth-floor crew.
For your partner
-
First Christmas together and the tree came out crooked,
but you're under the lights and I'm completely hooked. -
Matching pajamas, you said "never," I know,
now look at us dancing in the plaid by the glow. -
You hog all the blankets, you steal the last treat,
and I'd wrap up the world just to sit in your seat. -
Hot cocoa, two mugs, and a movie we've seen,
my favorite gift is the quiet in between.
A 12 days of Christmas rap remix
The carol itself is centuries old and in the public domain, so you can borrow its countdown. Here are new lines on top of it, built for a family that forgets everything:
On the first day of Christmas my family gave to me:
a fruitcake nobody's eating, sitting by the tree.
Second day: two dead batteries, toys that won't play,
third day: three cousins asking "what's the Wi-Fi?" all day.
Fourth day: four burnt cookies, Dad says "they're fine,"
fifth day: five group-chat photos, all of them mine.
Sixth day: six socks with no partners in the drawer,
seventh day: seven boxes we don't need anymore.
Eighth day: eight leftovers wrapped in foil in a row,
ninth day: nine "who ate my pie?" and nobody knows.
Tenth day: ten lights blinking, two of them gone,
eleventh day: eleven naps on the living-room lawn.
Twelfth day: twelve hugs at the door when we part,
and the fruitcake's still there, but it's warm in my heart.
Let the whole table shout the numbers.
A New Year closer
- The tree's coming down and the year's nearly done,
we'll pack up the lights, but we're keeping the fun.
Save it for the last toast, or the video you send on December 31.
Classic Christmas rap songs
These are the songs people come back to every December. We describe them in our own words; listen on the official releases.
| Song | Artist | Year | Why it's a classic |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Christmas Rappin'" | Kurtis Blow | 1979 | His first single, and one of the first rap records on a major label. A story-rap about a holiday run-in with Santa. |
| "Xmas Rap" (also listed as "Santa's Rap") | Treacherous Three with Doug E. Fresh | 1984 | A Christmas party scene from the film Beat Street, released on its soundtrack. |
| "Christmas in Hollis" | Run-DMC | 1987 | Recorded for the A Very Special Christmas charity album. A story about finding Santa's wallet in the park and a big family dinner in Queens. |
| "Santa Claus Goes Straight to the Ghetto" | Snoop Doggy Dogg ft. Daz Dillinger, Nate Dogg, Tray Deee & Bad Azz | 1996 | The single from Death Row's Christmas on Death Row, named after a James Brown holiday song. |
| "Christmas in Harlem" | Kanye West ft. Teyana Taylor & Cyhi the Prynce | 2010 | A GOOD Fridays release about the holidays in New York. A longer cut has more guests. |
| Merry Christmas Lil' Mama (mixtape) | Chance the Rapper & Jeremih | 2016 | A free holiday project of original songs from the two Chicago artists. |
| "I Am the Grinch" | Tyler, the Creator ft. Fletcher Jones | 2018 | An original song from the Dr. Seuss' The Grinch soundtrack, which Tyler curated. |
Nearly all of them tell a small story about real people in a real place. Copy that.
How to write your own Christmas rap
Start with one memory from this year. "Christmas is great" gives you nothing to rhyme. "The year the dog ate the ham" gives you a verse.
Use names. A bar about "Aunt Linda" gets a bigger laugh than one about "my aunt", and it feels like a gift instead of a card.
Put the punchline on the rhyme. Write line one straight and save the surprise for the last word of line two, the way the candle in bar 14 turns on its tag.
Keep it kind. This rap gets performed in front of Grandma. Tease the burnt cookies, never the person.
Say it out loud first. If a line trips you up at the kitchen counter, it will trip you up at dinner. Trim until both lines feel the same length.
Make a Christmas rap video
Bars performed by two faces from the family are what get shared in the group chat. There are two ways to do it.
For a rap, open the RapVideo AI generator and add two photos, one person in each, or one photo of the two of you. For one performer, pick Solo and use a single photo. Choose a stage (Hotel Lobby, the orange booth, or Luxury Lobby or Studio Booth) and type a topic in 120 characters or fewer. The AI writes a brand-new rap from that topic and produces the AI voices and the beat in the same pass. Nothing is cloned, so neither voice will sound like you or like a famous rapper.
Christmas topics that work well:
- "Grandpa Joe and me, the year we set off the smoke alarm cooking Christmas dinner"
- "Mia and Leo, first Christmas in our tiny apartment with a tree that leans left"
- "Secret Santa at the office: I drew my boss and panicked"
- "The Parker cousins, 12 days of Christmas and nobody ate the fruitcake"
Write the topic in the language you want the rap to come out in.
Choose the New song style when you want your own Christmas topic. Original remake drops two faces into the original "Hotel Lobby" clip with the real song, and in that style whatever you typed as a topic is not used.
For a sung version by the tree, the personalized Christmas song page sets up a lit tree and a fireplace and turns your names and one memory of the year into a cheerful holiday song that two of you sing. It's sung rather than rapped, which suits grandparents who'd rather hear a melody. And if someone can't be home this year, the AI family video page can put the two of you in one hug from separate photos.
Either way, expect to wait 2 to 3 minutes. A standard render (Standard, 720p, 12 seconds, 9:16) uses 10 credits. You can buy 12 credits for $9.99 as a single pack, or take the Basic plan at $29.90 a month for 100 credits, which works out to about $2.99 per song. If a render fails, the credits come back on their own. Full details are on the pricing page, and the step-by-step guide covers which photos work best.
FAQ
What are some good Christmas rap lyrics?
The 26 original, clean bars above. Swap in real names and one memory from your year.
What was the first Christmas rap song?
Kurtis Blow's "Christmas Rappin'" from 1979 is usually named as the first.
What is the most famous Christmas rap song?
Run-DMC's "Christmas in Hollis" (1987) is the one most people know.
Are there clean Christmas rap songs for kids?
The bars in the "For kids" section above were written for that. For a full song, Tyler, the Creator's "I Am the Grinch" from the 2018 animated film is a popular family pick.
How do you write a 12 days of Christmas rap?
Keep the countdown from the carol, which is public domain, and write one new line per day about your family. End on day twelve with something warm, as in the remix above.
Can I use lyrics from famous Christmas rap songs in my video?
Better not. Song lyrics are copyrighted. RapVideo AI writes original lyrics from your topic, so you don't need anyone else's words.
More ideas
For bars that work any time of year, see our funny rap lyrics. If the family enjoys a friendly burn, try the rap battle roasts for the post-dinner showdown.
RapVideo AI is independent and not affiliated with any artist or song mentioned on this page.