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

Sid Tepper Sid Tepper (June 25, 1918 – April 24, 2015) was an American songwriter. He is best known for his collaborations with Roy C. Bennett, which spawned several hits for Elvis Presley. Between 1945 and 1970, Tepper and Bennett published over 300 son ...

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 advertis ...

''’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. ...

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 Dona ...

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

Summary

The song is sung from the perspective of a pre-teen 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 ...

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

counterfeit A counterfeit is a fake or unauthorized replica of a genuine product, such as money, documents, designer items, or other valuable goods. Counterfeiting generally involves creating an imitation of a genuine item that closely resembles the original ...

" 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 Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Chris ...

's "naughty list," ensuring he will receive nothing for the holiday, to which the boy is further insulted because he believes some unseen person 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, puppeteer, radio personality and advertising creative director. His best-known works include " St. George and the Dragonet ...

. Freberg's version adds a humorous coda when a man (voiced by

Daws Butler Charles Dawson Butler (November 16, 1916May 18, 1988) was an American voice actor. He worked mostly for the Hanna-Barbera animation production company and the Walter Lantz cartoon studio. He originated the voices of many familiar Hanna-Barbera ...

) 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. B ...

, 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), Buddy Schaub (trombone), Peter "JR" Wasilewski (saxophone) and Matt Yonker ...

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

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

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 version ...

Relient K Relient K () is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 1998 in Canton, Ohio by Matt Thiessen, Matt Hoopes, and Brian Pittman during their third year in high school and time at Malone University in Canton. The band is named after guitarist ...

Smash Mouth Smash Mouth is an American Rock music, rock band from San Jose, California. The band was formed in 1994 and was originally composed of Steve Harwell (lead vocals), Kevin Coleman (drums), Greg Camp (guitar), and Paul De Lisle (bass). Harwell's ...

(featuring

Rosie O'Donnell Roseann O'Donnell (born March 21, 1962) is an American talk show host, comedian, and actress. She began her comedy career as a teenager and received her breakthrough on the television series ''Star Search'' in 1984. After a series of television ...

Sugarland Sugarland is an American country music duo founded in Atlanta, Georgia. The duo consists of singer-songwriters Jennifer Nettles (lead vocals) and Kristian Bush (vocals, guitar, mandolin). They were founded in 2002, when Kristen Hall (vocals, gu ...

, Tonic Soul-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 later ...

. A cover by

Plain White T's The Plain White T's are an American pop 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 followin ...

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. An influential figure in modern Hip-hop, hip hop music, Rick Ross has become known for his "Wiktionary:booming, booming" vocal perfor ...

. 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