Your Ultimate List of Christmas Songs in English for a Game Night

For many, the holidays are not complete without classical Christmas carols or catchy jingles. Some Christmas songs have become so popular and loved that they’ve been covered by numerous bands and in several languages. People are familiar with them no matter which part of the world they come from and which language they speak. We’ve memorized the lyrics, the meaning and the tune. That familiarity makes Christmas music a great way to learn English over some laughter with friends.

So get a group of your favourite people together, put on your cheesiest Christmas jumper and spend the evening singing along to some Christmas songs. After all science shows that the best kind of learning happens when you’re having fun. A little competition also helps!

Check out our list of Christmas songs in English, graded by level.

We’ve complied a list of classical and modern Christmas songs for learners of English. Each song has a quiz and some activities to test your English grammar and vocabulary. They’re separated according to level of English as well.

Not sure what your level is? Take our test.

Beginner and Elementary

• White Christmas by Lady Gaga – Gap fill listening quiz
• Happy Christmas, War is Over by John Lennon – Gap fill exercise
• All I want for Christmas by Justin Bieber & Mariah Carey – Multiple Choice Quiz
• It must be Santa by Bob Dylan – Multiple Choice Listening

Elementary and Pre-intermediate

• Merry Christmas Everyone by Shakin’ Stevens – Multiple Choice Quiz
• Last Christmas by Wham – Gap fill Quiz
• Winter Wonderland by Sugarland – Grammar gap fill
• Let it Snow by Kylie Minogue – Listening and vocabulary quiz

Intermediate and Upper-intermediate 

• Shake up Christmas by Train – Multiple choice listening
• A Winter’s Tale by David Essex – Gap fill writing quiz
• Merry Christmas Baby by Christina Aguilera – Gap fill listening

Advanced

Try Christmas karaoke using the links below. Practice the original version of the song first and try to master it on karaoke.

• It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas – Michael Buble
• Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas – Michael Buble
• I’ll Be Home For Christmas – Michael Bublé
• Holly Jolly Christmas – Michael Buble
• Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town – Frank Sinatra
• Santa’s Coming For Us – Sia

Looking for something even more challenging?

Listen to the songs below and try to write down the lyrics. You can listen to song three times to complete the activity. After that you have to share what you’ve written with your friend, and see who’s version is the most accurate.

• Christmas Lights – Coldplay
• Don’t Shoot Me Santa – The Killers
• Dirt Sledding ft. Ryan Pardey, Richard Dreyfuss – The Killers
• A Great Big Sled ft. Toni Halliday – The Killers
• Everyday Is Christmas – Sia
• Snowman – Sia
• Round and Round – Sia

Here’s our personal favorite:

 

Looking for more Christmas-themed ways to learn English? Discover the story of Christmas in English.

 

Learn how to use 10 Winter Idioms in everyday Conversation

With temperatures dropping, it’s the perfect time to snuggle up at home and learn some English idioms and phrases related to winter and cold weather. One of the best ways to learn new vocabulary is to put them in categories, so here are our favorite 10 English idioms and phrases inspired by cold weather. Notice how some of these aren’t related to the weather directly in meaning.

Here are the 10 most used winter idioms:

1. Bundle up

Before you can face the cold outside, you have to bundle up, which means to get dressed warmly and wrap yourself up.

2. To leave (someone) out in the cold

Leaving someone out in the cold is a mean thing to do! If you don’t include people in your group, you’re leaving them out in the cold. This refers to when you exclude someone from activities and conversations.

3. Cold hands, warm heart

You might be cold on the outside, but warm on the inside. . This idiom shows that even when people do not appear to show emotion, they might be very sensitive on the inside. Use it to express that someone who might seem distant on the outside is actually a caring and sensitive person in reality.

4. Snug as bug in a rug

When it’s cold outside, it’s best to stay wrapped up in and cosy a blanket, next to a fire with a warm beverage in hand, snug as a bug in a rug! This refers to when someone is covered up and tucked in tight in blankets, or in bed.

5. To give someone the cold shoulder

When someone makes you angry or upset, you need space and sometimes give them the silent treatment. This is expressed as saying you’re giving someone the cold shoulder. You might do this after a little fight – you ignore them to punish them, or until you calm down and can forgive them.

6. Blanket of snow

Just as a blanket is a thick covering, a blanket of snow refers to when it’s been snowing heavily and the ground is covered up with a thick layer of snow. It’s used to describe the scene after a heavy snowfall, like when you wake up in the morning after a night of snowing.

7. Break the ice

When you meet a new person, you have to break the ice. Before you manage to break the ice, it’s usually a bit quiet and awkward. It’s also used to describe situations, for example at a party, when no one is dancing and everyone looks bored – the first person to start dancing breaks the ice! The phrase is also used for activities in the beginning of meetings or workshops which are warmers – icebreakers (find someone who, two truths 1 lie, etc).

8. Walking on thin ice

As you can imagine, walking on thin ice is quite a risky and dangerous situation. Likewise, this idiom is used to convey that a situation someone is in quite risky. For example, if your boss is angry at you for coming into work late every day, then you ask to leave early, you’re walking on thin ice.

9. To run hot and cold

Cold and hot are opposites, and when you run hot and cold, you keep on having opposite thoughts! This is used to describe people who cannot make up their mind and are very indecisive about a situation. It’s also used to describe people who constantly change their feelings about something or someone. Like the famous Katy Perry song!

10. Under the weather

When you’re feeling under the weather, you’re feeling unwell or in low spirts. It’s used to express that someone is feeling sick or ill, usually to describe cold and flu symptoms that are common in winter.

Want to learn more phrases and idioms to use in Winter? Watch this video to see them used in context: