Uploaded December 2018 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
"It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" is a Christmas song written in 1951 by Meredith Willson. The song was originally titled "It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas". The song has been recorded by many artists, but was a hit for Perry Como and The Fontane Sisters with Mitchell Ayres & His Orchestra on September 18, 1951, and released on RCA Victor as 47-4314 (45 rpm) and 20-4314 (78 rpm). Bing Crosby recorded a version on October 1, 1951, which was also widely played.
A popular belief in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, holds that Willson wrote the song while staying in Yarmouth's Grand Hotel.[1] The song makes reference to a "tree in the Grand Hotel, one in the park as well..."; the park being Frost Park, directly across the road from the Grand Hotel, which still operates in a newer building on the same site as the old hotel.
It is also possible that the "Grand Hotel" Wilson mentions in the song was inspired by the Historic Park Inn Hotel in his hometown of Mason City, Iowa. The Park Inn Hotel is the last remaining hotel in the world designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright, and is situated in downtown Mason City overlooking central park.
"It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" was later incorporated into the pre-Broadway version of the score of Willson's 1963 musical Here's Love and can be heard on that show's original cast recording, where it is sung in counterpoint to a new melody and lyric, "Pine Cones and Holly Berries."
Alvin and the Chipmunks covered the song for their 1961 album Christmas with The Chipmunks and 1981 album A Chipmunk Christmas.
The Sesame Street character Big Bird (performed by Caroll Spinney) sang the song as part of medley on the 1975 album Merry Christmas from Sesame Street.
Johnny Mathis recorded the song for his 1986 album Christmas Eve with Johnny Mathis; this version gained popularity after its inclusion in the 1992 film Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. Gradually, Mathis's recording began to receive wide radio airplay, and for the past several[when?] years this version has been a Top 10 Christmas hit.
Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an American singer and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor after signing with the label in 1943. "Mr. C.", as he was nicknamed, sold millions of records and pioneered a weekly musical variety television show, which set the standards for the genre and proved to be one of the most successful in television history. His combined success on television and popular recordings was not matched by any other artist of the time. His weekly television shows and seasonal specials were broadcast throughout the world and his popularity seemingly had no geographical or language boundaries. Como's appeal spanned generations, and he was widely respected for both his professional standards and the conduct of his personal life. In the official RCA Records Billboard magazine memorial, his life was summed up in these few words: "50 years of music and a life well lived. An example to all."
Como received five Emmys from 1955 to 1959, a Christopher Award (1956) and shared a Peabody Award with good friend Jackie Gleason in 1956. He was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame in 1990 and received a Kennedy Center Honor in 1987. Posthumously, Como received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002; he was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2006. He has the distinction of having three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in radio, television, and music.
Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas,
Everywhere you go,
Take a look in the Five & Ten,
Glistening once again . . .
With candy canes and silver lanes aglow!
Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas,
Toys in every store,
But the purdy-est sight to see,
Is the holly that will be on your own front door!
A pair of Hop-a-long boots and a pistol that shoots,
Is the wish of Barney and Ben,
Dolls that will talk and will go for a walk,
Is the hope of Janice and Jen . . .
And Mom and Dad can hardly wait for school to start again!
Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas,
Everywhere you go . . .
Now theres a tree in the Grand Hotel,
One in the park as well . . .
The sturdy kind that doesnt mind the snow!
Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas,
Soon the bells will start . . .
And the thing that will make them ring,
Is the carol that you sing,
Right within your heart!
A pair of Hop-a-long boots and a pistol that shoots,
Is the wish of Barney and Ben . . .
Dolls that will talk and will go for a walk,
Is the hope of Janice and Jen . . .
And Mom and Dad can hardly wait for school to start again!
Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas,
Soon the bells will start,
And the thing that will make them ring,
Is the carol that you sing,
Right within your heart!
"It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" is a Christmas song written in 1951 by Meredith Willson. The song was originally titled "It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas". The song has been recorded by many artists, but was a hit for Perry Como and The Fontane Sisters with Mitchell Ayres & His Orchestra on September 18, 1951, and released on RCA Victor as 47-4314 (45 rpm) and 20-4314 (78 rpm). Bing Crosby recorded a version on October 1, 1951, which was also widely played.
A popular belief in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, holds that Willson wrote the song while staying in Yarmouth's Grand Hotel.[1] The song makes reference to a "tree in the Grand Hotel, one in the park as well..."; the park being Frost Park, directly across the road from the Grand Hotel, which still operates in a newer building on the same site as the old hotel.
It is also possible that the "Grand Hotel" Wilson mentions in the song was inspired by the Historic Park Inn Hotel in his hometown of Mason City, Iowa. The Park Inn Hotel is the last remaining hotel in the world designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright, and is situated in downtown Mason City overlooking central park.
"It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" was later incorporated into the pre-Broadway version of the score of Willson's 1963 musical Here's Love and can be heard on that show's original cast recording, where it is sung in counterpoint to a new melody and lyric, "Pine Cones and Holly Berries."
Alvin and the Chipmunks covered the song for their 1961 album Christmas with The Chipmunks and 1981 album A Chipmunk Christmas.
The Sesame Street character Big Bird (performed by Caroll Spinney) sang the song as part of medley on the 1975 album Merry Christmas from Sesame Street.
Johnny Mathis recorded the song for his 1986 album Christmas Eve with Johnny Mathis; this version gained popularity after its inclusion in the 1992 film Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. Gradually, Mathis's recording began to receive wide radio airplay, and for the past several[when?] years this version has been a Top 10 Christmas hit.
Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an American singer and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor after signing with the label in 1943. "Mr. C.", as he was nicknamed, sold millions of records and pioneered a weekly musical variety television show, which set the standards for the genre and proved to be one of the most successful in television history. His combined success on television and popular recordings was not matched by any other artist of the time. His weekly television shows and seasonal specials were broadcast throughout the world and his popularity seemingly had no geographical or language boundaries. Como's appeal spanned generations, and he was widely respected for both his professional standards and the conduct of his personal life. In the official RCA Records Billboard magazine memorial, his life was summed up in these few words: "50 years of music and a life well lived. An example to all."
Como received five Emmys from 1955 to 1959, a Christopher Award (1956) and shared a Peabody Award with good friend Jackie Gleason in 1956. He was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame in 1990 and received a Kennedy Center Honor in 1987. Posthumously, Como received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002; he was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2006. He has the distinction of having three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in radio, television, and music.
Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas,
Everywhere you go,
Take a look in the Five & Ten,
Glistening once again . . .
With candy canes and silver lanes aglow!
Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas,
Toys in every store,
But the purdy-est sight to see,
Is the holly that will be on your own front door!
A pair of Hop-a-long boots and a pistol that shoots,
Is the wish of Barney and Ben,
Dolls that will talk and will go for a walk,
Is the hope of Janice and Jen . . .
And Mom and Dad can hardly wait for school to start again!
Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas,
Everywhere you go . . .
Now theres a tree in the Grand Hotel,
One in the park as well . . .
The sturdy kind that doesnt mind the snow!
Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas,
Soon the bells will start . . .
And the thing that will make them ring,
Is the carol that you sing,
Right within your heart!
A pair of Hop-a-long boots and a pistol that shoots,
Is the wish of Barney and Ben . . .
Dolls that will talk and will go for a walk,
Is the hope of Janice and Jen . . .
And Mom and Dad can hardly wait for school to start again!
Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas,
Soon the bells will start,
And the thing that will make them ring,
Is the carol that you sing,
Right within your heart!
