Christmas Carol Derby: Carol Derby 2023

Oh, the graphic design is frightful,

But the list this year's delightful.

From Cher to Sia to Bing,

Let 'em sing, let 'em sing, let 'em sing!

Welcome back to Carol Derby, elves and angels. Before we get started, please review the Rules of Play as we do have an update to bonus points this year.

Speaking of updates, this year we're giving ourselves Derby names. The only rule is that names must be a play on a Christmas song title. Why are we doing this? So I can rank winners without posting your names on this public blog. Also because it's fun. You're welcome! If you don't have an idea for a name, we will assign you one.

This year's list skews toward newer material and contains some of our most challenging selections yet. If you do not know the songs, please check out the linked YouTube videos in the text list or Google Doc. You do not have to find the exact example from the videos in the wild to get points. Any version counts unless you're chasing a specific one for bonus points, in which case you choose the version.

Note: You can use either I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas or I Want an Elephant for Christmas as your winner for I Want (large gray animal) for Christmas. For Hallelujah on the Naughty List, you may use either the Christmas version of the Cohen classic or the Carrie Underwood and John Legend duet.

Without further ado-be-doo (that's a White Christmas joke), I give you the 2023 song list in three different formats: my usual misguided stab at creating a classy seasonal graphic, a text list, and a link to a Google Doc for players who prefer to download a text copy--basically all the gifts that keep on giving. Edited to add: We have a fourth version this year as of 12/1. Former Christmas Derby champion Dominick the Wonky has blessed us this season with a very handy Google Sheet that autoscores your points for you. Now that is a nice Christmas gift, friends. See the bottom of the post for the link.

May your days be merry and bright.