Nuttin' for Christmas

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Nuttin' for Christmas is a funny Christmas song written by Sid Tepper and Roy C. Bennett. It became popular in 1955, with several artists making the Billboard pop charts. The biggest hit version was by Art Mooney and His Orchestra, featuring six-year-old Barry Gordon. That version reached No. 6 and sold a million copies.

The song tells about a boy who lists all the things he did wrong during the year, which is why Santa may not bring him presents. His misdeeds range from small slips, like spilling ink on a rug, to pranks like putting a thumbtack on a teacher’s chair, and even a silly act like trading a slug for gum.

In the end, the boy promises to behave better next year and asks listeners to do the same.

Stan Freberg also released a famous version, which adds a funny ending: a man dressed like Santa sneaks in and turns out to be a robber; the singer tells him where the valuables are, and they both join in the last chorus.

Other charting versions came from the Fontane Sisters, Joe Ward, and Ricky Zahnd and the Blue Jeaners. The song was revived in 1959 by Kenny and Corky on Big Top, reaching the Cashbox Top 100.

Over the years many artists have recorded it, including Less Than Jake, Spike Jones, Eartha Kitt, Homer and Jethro, Relient K, Smash Mouth with Rosie O'Donnell, Sugarland, Tonic Soul-fa, and the Vindictives. Plain White T’s performed a cover for the 2011 Disney Christmas special Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice.

In 2009, Tony Yayo used a sample of the song on his mixtape track "Somebody Snitched On Me" as a diss toward Rick Ross. In 2020, We Are the Union released a parody called “I’m Working Retail for Christmas.”