It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Christmas Song Lyrics

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Ev'rywhere you go.
Take a look in the five-and-ten, glistening once again
With candy canes and silver lanes aglow.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas,
Toys in ev'ry store,
But the prettiest sight to see is the holly that will be
On your own front door.

A pair of hopalong 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.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Ev'rywhere you go;
There's a tree in the Grand Hotel, one in the park as well,
The sturdy kind that doesn't mind the snow.

It's 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.

Background About This Christmas Song

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas captures that magical moment when the holiday season starts to come alive - the store windows sparkle, the tree lots appear, and everything feels just a little more joyful. This cheerful tune was written in 1951 by Meredith Willson, a composer and playwright best known for the Broadway hit The Music Man.

Willson originally titled the song It’s Beginning to Look Like Christmas, and it quickly became a hit thanks to early recordings by Perry Como and Bing Crosby, whose smooth, classic renditions helped cement the song’s place in holiday history. The lyrics paint a nostalgic picture of Christmas traditions, from “a tree in the Grand Hotel” to “one in the park as well,” echoing real-life scenes from Willson’s hometown in Mason City, Iowa.

The song is especially loved for its ability to stir that early-season excitement, when every decorated window and snowy street seems to whisper that Christmas is just around the corner. Its charm lies in the way it celebrates the buildup to the big day, rather than the day itself.

Now a staple of festive playlists and holiday movie soundtracks, It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas reminds us that sometimes, the anticipation is half the fun.

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