Since I did a top 10 favorites and top 5 least favorites, I decided I should do a top 10 list of funny Christmas songs and Christmas song parodies. This one's pretty eclectic...I have a pretty weird sense of humor!
10. I Tawt I Taw Ol’ Santy Claws” (Tweety and Sylvester)Back in the early 90’s, Looney Tunes had a resurgence in popularity they hadn’t seen in years. The only problem was, their principal voice artist, Mel Blanc, passed away in 1989. They found replacements, but it took an army of voice actors to do what Blanc had once done all by himself. Nevertheless, a Christmas album was released with the new actors. This track from it managed to get some radio airplay, and rightly so…it’s hilarious, and it’s so well-voiced by Bob Bergen and Joe Alaskey, you’d swear it was Blanc himself. Sorry about the weird video, all I could find on the internet was a video of 2 little kids dancing to it.
9. Jingle Bells, Batman Smells (Unknown)
This is one of those silly parodies we all sang as kids, making up variations and just being silly. I don’t think anyone knows who first came up with it, but the folks who made the classic Batman Animated Series remembered it and did as good a tribute to it as any. By the way, the Joker’s voice is done by Mark Hamill. That’s right kids, Luke Skywalker was playing the Joker long before Heath Ledger came along.
8. Walkin’ Round in Women’s Underwear” (Bob Rivers)
Some of the funniest Christmas parody songs of all time were done by Bob Rivers, a West Coast DJ and song parodist. This combines two things you wouldn’t think to combine: “Walking in a Winter Wonderland” and cross-dressing. It’s sick, wrong, messed up, but incredibly funny.
7. 12 Pains of Christmas (Bob Rivers)
Again, Bob Rivers takes a Christmas song and turns it on its ear. This time, “The 12 Days of Christmas” takes a turn for the worse as various people in the song air their grievances with the Yuletide. A frustrated light-rigger, an effeminate Christmas card writer, an Archie Bunker-type drunk and a nervous woman scared to death of her mother-in-law, among others, make this a fun and funny listen.
6. Cat Hair Balls (Ren and Stimpy)
So nasty. So weird. So twisted. That’s Ren and Stimpy for you. After their original creator, John Kricfalusi (a pretty sick and twisted guy in his own right) was fired from his own show, that didn’t stop Nickelodeon from continuing without him, and merchandising it like crazy. There were several albums of songs and skits released featuring voice actor Billy West, including this one. It’s hard to imagine a Christmas album this nasty aimed at kids today. Still, this particular song sort of sticks with you.
5. The Hat I Got For Christmas Is Too Big (Mel Blanc)
Mel Blanc, the voice of the Looney Tunes, spins the tale of a Mexican (His “Speedy Gonzales” voice) who gets a sombrero for Christmas that is so big, it blocks his vision. Why he didn’t just take the sombrero off is anybody’s guess, but it’s a genuinely hilarious vocal performance by one of the greatest actors to ever work in film and radio.
4. The Night Santa Went Crazy (Weird Al Yankovic)
This original song by Weird Al tells of what happens one night when Santa Claus turns into a homicidal maniac. It’s not one of those “nice”, “warm fuzzy” Christmas stories. In fact it’s extremely violent! However, what makes it work is Al’s clever lyrics. The cartoon someone did to accompany it is a little on the bloody side, but it, too, is pretty funny.
3. Jingle Dogs (Jingle Dogs)
Now here’s an idea that’s so crazy it works…Christmas songs performed by pets! Back in the mid 90’s, somebody got the idea to record various dog barks and cat meows and string them together to create “Jingle Dogs” and “Jingle Cats”. Though not really something you want to listen to over and over again, when one of these pops up on a Christmas radio station, it can catch you off guard!
2. Twelve Days of Christmas (John Denver and the Muppets)
Another “12 Days” variation, but this is probably the best one ever recorded, even though it’s meant to be funny. John Denver sings the song in his trademark warm, clear voice, with different Muppets characters chiming in for each “gift”. Jim Henson and John Denver are both gone now, but this song and the album it came from have been charming listeners for 30 years
1.Merry Christmas From the Family (Robert Earl Keen)
Texas singer-songwriter Robert Earl Keen scored one of his biggest hits with this yarn about a redneck family Christmas. As distinctly white-trash as it is, it’s also surprisingly universal. We all have those eccentric relatives who get together at Christmas, and everything that comes with them. Keen brilliantly illustrates a scene filled with drunk parents, a sister with a Mexican boyfriend, a cousin who shows up in a trailer, and a growing grocery list of humorous items. Feliz Navidad!
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