"Nuttin' for Christmas" (also known as "Nothing for Christmas") is a novelty Christmas song written by Sid Tepper and

Roy C. Bennett Roy C. Bennett (August 12, 1918 – July 2, 2015) was an American songwriter known for the songs he wrote with Sid Tepper, which spawned several hits for Elvis Presley. Between 1945 and 1970, Tepper and Bennett published over 300 songs. Biograp ...

. It became a hit during the 1955 holiday season when it appeared in ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

''’s pop charts by five other artists. The highest-charting of the five recordings was released by

Art Mooney Arthur Joseph Mooney (February 11, 1911 – September 9, 1993) was an American singer and bandleader. His biggest hits were "I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover" and "Baby Face" in 1948 and "Nuttin' For Christmas," with Barry Gordon, in 1955. Hi ...

and His Orchestra, with six-year-old

Barry Gordon Barry Gordon (born December 21, 1948) is an American actor and political talk show host. He was the longest-serving president of the Screen Actors Guild, having served from 1988 to 1995. He is perhaps best known as the original voice of Donatello ...

as lead vocalist. This version peaked at No. 6 and became a million-seller.

Summary

The song is sung from the perspective of a boy reciting a long list of his bad deeds, ranging from benign (tearing his pants while climbing a tree, spilling ink on a rug) to mischievous (making a friend eat a bug, hiding a frog in his sister's bed) to

felonies A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...

(assaulting an acquaintance with a baseball bat to the head, using a

counterfeit To counterfeit means to imitate something authentic, with the intent to steal, destroy, or replace the original, for use in illegal transactions, or otherwise to deceive individuals into believing that the fake is of equal or greater value tha ...

"penny slug" to buy gum). Because of this rap sheet, the singer has angered his parents, and has been placed on

Santa Claus Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnigh ...

's "naughty list," ensuring he will receive nothing for the holiday, to which the boy is further insulted because he believes some unseen person (most likely one of Santa’s elves) ratted him out for each misdeed. In the end, though he acknowledges "it's too late" to change his fate for this year, he vows to improve his behavior for next year to avoid a repeat and warns the listener not to repeat his mistakes.

Cover versions

Another notable version was performed by

Stan Freberg Stan Freberg (born Stanley Friberg; August 7, 1926 – April 7, 2015) was an American actor, author, comedian, musician, radio personality, puppeteer and advertising creative director. His best-known works include "St. George and the Dragonet" ...

. Freberg's version adds a humorous coda when a man in an outfit resembling Santa Claus's enters through the fireplace and reveals himself to be a robber; the singer directs the robber to the family's valuables, and both join in the closing refrain. Other charting versions were recorded by

the Fontane Sisters The Fontane Sisters were a trio (Bea, Geri and Marge Rosse) from New Milford, New Jersey. Early years Born to an Italian family, their mother, Louise Rosse, was both a soloist and the leader of the St. Joseph's Church choir in New Milford. Be ...

, Joe Ward, and Ricky Zahnd and the Blue Jeaners. The song was revived on the Big Top label by Kenny and Corky and entered the ''Cashbox'' Top 100 in 1959.CD sleeve: Billboard Greatest Christmas Hits (1955 - Present), 1989 Rhino Records Inc. Other artists who have recorded the song include

Less Than Jake Less Than Jake is an American ska punk band from Gainesville, Florida, formed in 1992. The band consists of Chris DeMakes (guitars, vocals), Roger Lima (bass, vocals), Matt Yonker (drums), Buddy Schaub (trombone), and Peter "JR" Wasilewski (saxop ...

Spike Jones Lindley Armstrong "Spike" Jones (December 14, 1911 – May 1, 1965) was an American musician and bandleader specializing in spoof arrangements of popular songs and classical music. Ballads receiving the Jones treatment were punctuated with gun ...

Eartha Kitt Eartha Kitt (born Eartha Mae Keith; January 17, 1927 – December 25, 2008) was an American singer and actress known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 recordings of "C'est si bon" and the Christmas novelty song " Santa ...

Homer and Jethro Homer and Jethro were the stage names of American country music duo Henry D. "Homer" Haynes (1920–1971) and Kenneth C. "Jethro" Burns (1920–1989), popular from the 1940s through the 1960s on radio and television for their satirical versi ...

Relient K Relient K is an American rock band formed in 1998 in Canton, Ohio, by Matt Thiessen, Matt Hoopes, and Brian Pittman Board Message during the band members' third year in high school and their time at Malone University. The band is named after ...

, Smash Mouth (featuring

Rosie O'Donnell Roseann O'Donnell (born March 21, 1962) is an American comedian, television producer, actress, author, and television personality. She began her comedy career as a teenager and received her breakthrough on the television series '' Star Search'' ...

), Sugarland, Tonic Sol-fa, and

the Vindictives The Vindictives are an American, Chicago-based punk rock group, founded by singer and songwriter Joey Vindictive in 1991, releasing 12 EPs and albums by July 1996. History They began their career in 1991, cutting their first 7-inch record late ...

. A cover by

Plain White T's Plain White T's are an American rock band from Lombard, Illinois, formed in 1997 by high school friends Tom Higgenson, Dave Tirio, and Ken Fletcher, and joined a short time later by Steve Mast. The group had a mostly underground following in Ch ...

was featured in the 2011 Disney Christmas special '' Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice''. In 2009, the rap artist

Tony Yayo Marvin Bernard (born March 31, 1978), better known by his stage name Tony Yayo, is an American rapper. He is best known as a member of G-Unit, a hip hop group he formed with his childhood friends 50 Cent and Lloyd Banks. Yayo released his debu ...

sampled the original track on his mixtape ''The Swine Flu'' on a track titled "Somebody Snitched On Me" as a "diss" track for the rap artist

Rick Ross William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper. Prior to releasing his debut single, "Hustlin'", in 2006, Ross was the subject of a bidding war, receiving offers from Diddy's Bad ...

. In 2020, ska punk band We Are the Union released a parody of the song, titled “I’m Working Retail for Christmas”.

References

1955 songs American Christmas songs Christmas novelty songs Songs written by Sid Tepper Songs written by Roy C. Bennett The Fontane Sisters songs {{1950s-song-stub