As I write this, it’s Dec. 26 — and I heartily endorse a new track from the Old Crow Medicine Show called “December 26,” which might summarize the way you’re feeling about the holiday season just about now.

It could be that you still have plenty of holiday cheer remaining on this weekend between Christmas and New Year’s Day; if so, good for you. It also could be that your supply of cheer was exhausted by Thanksgiving. In either event, we have one more bit of business remaining before we set aside our stash of holiday music until November 2026, and so — what’s that? You are saying that you have no intention of setting aside the holiday music — that you might need a little Christmas in February. Or May? Or October?

I understand that sentiment. It’s been a rough year, and 2026 might not be much, if any, better. But regardless of whether you plan to slide the CDs under the bed on Jan. 2 or proudly plan to blast “Oh Santa!” deep into 2026 (and you could do worse), it’s still time to reveal the 2025 inductees into our Holiday Music Hall of Fame.

One of this year’s inductees is a holiday favorite that never once actually mentions Christmas or any other holiday by name. The other inductee this year is the sound of a rock ‘n’ roll pioneer essentially inventing rock ‘n’ roll holiday songs but not really getting much credit for it.

By now, you know how the Hall of Fame works: The idea is to enshrine those recordings of holiday-themed songs that are definitive — that is, the chances are slim to none that no one could ever record a better version of that song. In a better world, it would be illegal for anyone to try to record it — but a bill to that effect (we call it the “Protecting Christmas from Pentatonix Act” — remains stuck in Congress. Under the terms of the act, artists still could perform the songs in concert, but not in the studio — because we want to be sure that musicians still can make a buck or two off the holidays. It’s a holiday tradition. Just ask Pentatonix.

So, let’s turn our attention now to one of this year’s inductees: “Winter Wonderland” — considered a holiday song only in the Northern Hemisphere for reasons you probably can guess — was written in 1934 by Felix Bernard and Richard Bernhard Smith. Smith, inspired by a snowfall at a Pennsylvania park, wrote the lyrics to while being treated for tuberculosis, a disease that killed him a year later — which explains why there are no other Bernard-Smith collaborations on anyone’s holiday playlist.

Nevertheless, the song has been recorded more than 200 artists, so that begs the question: Which of those recordings is the definitive version? Richard Himber and the Ritz-Carlton Orchestra were the first to record it in 1934 (as a foxtrot) but it was Guy Lombardo and the Royal Canadians who had the bigger hit that year with the tune.

Now, nearly a century later, it’s time to determine the definitive cover version of “Winter Wonderland.”

I went through nearly 100 version of the song on iTunes (all right, I only listened to the previews, but it’s not like I’m getting paid for any of this) and identified a handful of finalists. Johnny Mathis had a big hit with the song — and his version includes the rarely heard introduction, which Mathis places in the middle of his version. Still, it’s a bit syrupy for my taste. Tony Bennett had three separate “Winter Wonderland” versions hit the charts — including one with Lady Gaga that’s quite good. Darlene Love has a terrific version, but she’s already in the Hall for “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home).” Bing Crosby had a hit with it — but he also already is in the Hall for another song. Eurythmics had a quite good cover in the 1980s that almost slid into the Hall. Laufey, the young Icelandic singer everyone’s parents like (and I mean that as a compliment), had a very nice rendition a couple of years ago,

But this is why I get paid the big bucks to run the Holiday Music Hall of Fame: I’m going with Tony Bennett’s original 1968 recording of the song, off his “Snowfall” album. The track zips along and swings — but not too fast or hard — and it ends exactly the way you would want Bennett to wrap it up. Tony Bennett, welcome to the Holiday Music Hall of Fame.

Our other selection this year zips along and swings as well, but in a different genre: It’s Chuck Berry’s seminal 1958 track “Run Rudolph Run.” This one comes with a nasty little backstory that isn’t really unique to the cutthroat world of holiday music. Berry apparently wrote the song, and then learned that although Rudolph was the mastermind among the reindeers, Berry still had something to learn about trademark law: Johnny Marks, who wrote “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” among other holiday classics, owned the trademark to the name “Rudolph.” But surely, you say, Marks appreciated the work that Berry had done to pull Rudolph into the rock era. Oh, goodness — you ARE filled with the holiday spirit! What actually happened was this: Marks sued and won publishing rights and songwriting credit. Regardless, anyone who listens to this song will immediately understand that it’s Berry through and through.

Over in the Modern Wing, dedicated to holiday songs written during the 21st century, the newest honoree is Laufey’s “Christmas Magic,” a song that wouldn’t have sounded out of place on Tony Bennett’s “Snowfall” — or, for that matter, the 2035 Pentatonix album.

Thanks for coming to the Holiday Music Hall of Fame’s 2025 induction ceremony. Our sleighs — all pulled by reindeer that definitely are not named Rudolph — will be arriving shortly to take you back to the parking lot at the base of Mount Crumpit.

Here’s a list (completely with a playlist) of all the tracks in the Hall of Fame. Until next year, remember: “Christmas comes this time each year.”

Holiday Music Hall of Fame

• Darlene Love, “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”
• Elvis Presley, “Blue Christmas”
• Nat King Cole, “The Christmas Song”
• Bing Crosby, “White Christmas” (with honorable mentions going to the covers by Otis Redding and The Platters)
• Eartha Kitt, “Santa Baby”
• The Beach Boys, “Little Saint Nick”
• Judy Garland, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”
• Brenda Lee, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”
• Charles Brown, “Merry Christmas Baby”
• Tyler Ravenscroft, “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch”
• Vince Guaraldi Trio, “Christmas Time is Here”
• Joni Mitchell, “River”
• Billie Holiday, “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm”
• Diana Krall, “Jingle Bells”
• Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”
• Ukrainian Chorus Dumka NY and others, “Shchedryk (Carol of the Bells”)
• John Lennon, Plastic Ono Band and Yoko Ono, “Happy Christmas (War is Over)”
• Mariah Carey, “All I Want for Christmas is You”
• Ella Fitzgerald, “Sleigh Ride”
• Tony Bennett, “Winter Wonderland”
• Chuck Berry, “Run Rudolph Run”

Honorary mentions

• The Platters, “White Christmas”
• Otis Redding, “White Christmas”
• Leonard Cohen, “Hallelujah”
• Bing Crosby and David Bowie, “The Little Drummer Boy”
• Debbie Gibson, “Sleigh Ride”
• Eurhythmics, “Winter Wonderland”

The Modern Wing

• Sia, “Snowman”
• Sia, “Santa’s Coming for Us”
• JD McPherson, “Hey Skinny Santa!”
• Kelly Clarkson, “Underneath the Tree”
• Laufey, “Christmas Magic”