Christmas Karaoke: the best songs to sing with the family

Why karaoke has become the best part of a family Christmas

Every Christmas get together follows the same script: everyone arrives, eats far too much, opens presents and then, somewhere between the turkey and the pudding, the room goes quiet and people drift off to their phones. Karaoke fills exactly that gap. It brings the generations together (grandma who knows every word of Bing Crosby, the uncle who still thinks he is Freddie Mercury, the cousins who only sing Ariana) and turns the post dinner slump into a show.

You do not need to buy a karaoke machine or a microphone. With Karaoque, the living room TV becomes the stage and everyone's phone becomes the mic, free and with nothing to install.

The most sung Christmas songs in the US and the UK

These are the songs the whole family knows at least the chorus of, from the modern pop staples to the British Christmas number ones. Start the night with them and nobody will be left out.

• All I Want for Christmas Is You · Mariah Carey
• Last Christmas · Wham!
• Fairytale of New York · The Pogues feat. Kirsty MacColl
• Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree · Brenda Lee
• Jingle Bell Rock · Bobby Helms
• Merry Xmas Everybody · Slade
• I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday · Wizzard
• Merry Christmas Everyone · Shakin' Stevens
• Driving Home for Christmas · Chris Rea
• Underneath the Tree · Kelly Clarkson
• Santa Tell Me · Ariana Grande
• Mistletoe · Justin Bieber
• It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas · Michael Bublé
• Step Into Christmas · Elton John

Want something on in the background while you build the queue? Hit play on Deezer's "Christmas Hits" playlist:

Timeless classics everyone can have a go at

The crooner era is karaoke gold: slow tempos, simple melodies and lyrics that everyone half remembers. Perfect for grandparents, nervous first timers and big group sing alongs.

• White Christmas · Bing Crosby
• The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You) · Nat King Cole
• Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! · Dean Martin
• It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year · Andy Williams
• Feliz Navidad · José Feliciano
• A Holly Jolly Christmas · Burl Ives
• Blue Christmas · Elvis Presley
• Santa Baby · Eartha Kitt
• Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer · Gene Autry
• Sleigh Ride · The Ronettes
• Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) · Darlene Love

To finish the night: the non Christmas songs that always turn up

Once the presents are open, the queue changes. In come the anthems every family sings at every party: "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Don't Stop Believin'", "Sweet Caroline", "Mr. Brightside" and that one ABBA song your aunt requests every single year. If you run out of ideas, use our list of 50 karaoke songs everyone knows. For the shy ones, start with easy karaoke songs for beginners.

How to set up Christmas karaoke with Karaoque

1. Open karaoque.com/tv in the TV's browser. A Smart TV, a Chromecast, a laptop plugged in over HDMI or even a tablet will do. If you are not sure where to start, see how to play karaoke on your TV.
2. Keep the QR code on screen. Each relative points their phone camera at it, types a name and they are in. No app to download and no account to create.
3. Everyone picks their own song. Search happens on the phone. Songs go into a queue that rotates fairly, so nobody hogs the mic.
4. The phone becomes the microphone. Your voice comes out of the TV live, together with the lyrics and the video.
5. The family keeps score. Whoever is on the sofa reacts from their phone and the audience score shows up at the end of the song. Instant competition.

5 games to liven up Christmas

• Secret Santa, sung: before revealing who they got, each person sings a bit of a song that hints at their Secret Santa match.
• Battle of the generations: grandparents against grandkids. Each team picks a classic and the audience score decides the winner.
• The grand finale: save "All I Want for Christmas Is You" for the end of the night and get everyone on their feet to sing the last chorus together.
• Unlikely duets: draw pairs who would never sing together, like the mother in law and the son in law, and give them "Fairytale of New York" or "Baby, It's Cold Outside". It works every time.
• Ugly sweater round: whoever is wearing the loudest Christmas jumper has to sing next, and the family picks the song for them.

Some of the family far away?

Got relatives spending Christmas in another city or another country? You can start an online party and sing with people who are far away, each from their own home, taking turns at the mic.

Christmas karaoke checklist

• TV or laptop on, with Karaoque open before the family arrives.
• The Wi-Fi password handy for guests.
• Phones charged (leave a charger by the sofa).
• A starter queue of three or four songs everyone knows, so nobody has to wait for the first brave volunteer.
• Volume agreed with the neighbours: it is Christmas, but their dinner is too.