Santa Sings Deck the Halls in this cheerful entry from Santa’s Music Time series. With on-screen lyrics and a festive spirit, the video invites children and families to sing along to a carol that has been a holiday favorite for generations.
Whether it’s playing in the background while you trim the tree or front and center for a family sing-along, it’s a warm dose of Christmas cheer straight from the North Pole. The song’s famous “fa-la-la-la-la” refrain is one of the most joyfully singable lines in any Christmas carol — and one even the youngest children pick up almost instantly.
Deck the Halls has a longer and more surprising history than most people realize. Its melody is Welsh, drawn from a winter carol called “Nos Galan” — meaning “New Year’s Eve” — that dates back to at least the sixteenth century. For centuries that tune was sung in Wales as a New Year’s song, often performed in a back-and-forth style between a harpist and singers.
The English lyrics most families know today are far more recent. They were written in the nineteenth century, attributed to the Scottish musician Thomas Oliphant, who set festive new words to the old Welsh melody. The famous “fa-la-la” refrain is believed to be an echo of that earlier tradition — a vocal stand-in for the harp passages that once filled the gaps between verses.
The result is a carol that feels purely celebratory. Its lyrics are about decorating, music, fellowship, and the turning of the season — “deck the halls with boughs of holly,” “don we now our gay apparel.” There’s no narrative to follow, just an invitation to make the home festive and join in the singing, which is exactly why it works so well as a family sing-along.
Santa’s rendition leans into all of that cheer. With the lyrics on screen and that irresistible refrain coming around again and again, it turns a few minutes into a genuine family chorus — old melody, festive words, and Santa himself leading the way.
For families who want the magic to last beyond the music, Santa has a few more ways to make Christmas special.
Santa Can Visit From Anywhere
Not in Southern California? Santa can still visit your family — virtually, from anywhere in the world.