Everyone knows the original. It’s long. It’s repetitive. By the time you get to the fourth calling bird, half the room is usually checking their watches, and by the "five golden rings" part, someone is inevitably trying to turn it into a drinking game. The classic version is a marathon of endurance. But the 12 days of xmas funny song trope? That is where the real holiday magic happens.
Parodying this specific carol has become a rite of passage for comedians, musicians, and even tired parents. It’s the perfect comedic vessel because the structure is already a joke. The sheer absurdity of a "true love" dumping a literal zoo—23 birds in total, if you’re counting—on someone’s front porch is begging for a rewrite.
Why we can't stop rewriting this song
Why does it work? Familiarity. When you take a melody that everyone has hummed since kindergarten and subvert it with lyrics about credit card debt or empty wine bottles, you get instant engagement. It’s safe. It’s nostalgic. It’s also a great way to vent holiday frustrations without sounding like a total Grinch.
Think about the "Twelve Days of Christmas" by Bob and Doug McKenzie. Released in 1981, this remains the gold standard for the 12 days of xmas funny song genre. These two fictional Canadian brothers, played by Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas, swapped out partridges for beer. It wasn’t high-brow. It was just two guys in tuques talking about "eight hunters hunting" and "five golden bir-ir-irds." It went gold. It’s still played on the radio every December because it captures a very specific, low-stakes absurdity that people crave during the high-stress holiday season.
The heavy hitters of holiday parody
If you’ve ever spent a late night on YouTube in mid-December, you’ve probably run into the Straight No Chaser version. This isn't just a funny song; it’s a vocal masterclass. They start off traditional, then suddenly they’re weaving in "Toto’s Africa" and "The Dreidel Song." It’s chaotic. It’s brilliant. They managed to make a stale carol feel like a high-energy mashup at a club, and that’s why it has tens of millions of views.
Then you have the more cynical takes.
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Jeff Foxworthy did the "Redneck Twelve Days of Christmas." You know the drill: "five flannel shirts" and "four mud tires." While some might find it dated, it tapped into a huge market of people who felt the original song was too "fancy" for their actual lives. It replaced the aristocratic Lords a-Leaping with things people actually recognized, like "three mossy oak hats."
The dark side of the 12 days
Honestly, some of the best versions are the ones that acknowledge how stressful Christmas is. There’s a version by Allan Sherman from the 60s called "The Twelve Gifts of Christmas." It’s a dry, spoken-word masterpiece about receiving useless junk.
- A Japanese transistor radio that doesn't work.
- A tie with a picture of a sailboat on it.
- A sweater that’s three sizes too small.
He captures that specific mid-century suburban dread. It’s funny because it’s painfully true. We’ve all been the person smiling through a gift exchange while holding something we’ll eventually donate to Goodwill.
The logistics of the original are terrifying
Have you ever actually sat down and thought about the cost of the original gifts? Every year, PNC Bank releases the "Christmas Price Index." They calculate the current market value of all those birds and performers. In 2024, the total cost for all 364 items (if you count the repetitions) was over $200,000.
Who has $200,000 for 12 drummers?
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And where do you put the cows? "Eight maids a-milking" implies eight cows. In a standard suburban driveway, that’s a zoning nightmare. This logistical insanity is exactly why the 12 days of xmas funny song variations are so popular—they ground the song in a reality we actually understand. Most of us aren't getting "seven swans a-swimming." We’re getting "seven emails from our boss while we're on vacation."
How to write your own (and why you should)
If you're looking to spice up a family party, writing a custom version is surprisingly easy. The formula is rigid, which actually helps. You just need a theme.
- The Parent Version: Twelve loads of laundry, eleven juice box spills, ten minutes of silence...
- The Tech Version: Twelve software updates, eleven Slack notifications, ten Zoom calls freezing...
- The Teacher Version: Twelve missing pencils, eleven "is this on the test," ten broken crayons...
Don't worry about being a "good" singer. The worse the singing, the funnier the parody usually is. The key is the escalation. The "five golden rings" beat needs to be the punchline—the thing everyone shouts together.
Modern classics and internet gems
Lately, TikTok has breathed new life into the format. Creators use the "12 Days" structure to complain about everything from dating apps to the "orange cat behavior" of their pets. It’s fast-paced comedy.
One standout is the "12 Days of Christmas" by Boyz II Men, which isn't exactly a parody, but it’s so smooth it feels like a different song entirely. It shows that you can keep the structure but change the "vibe" to make it less annoying. But let’s be real, we’re here for the laughs. The Muppets and John Denver version is a core memory for most Millennials. Miss Piggy’s aggressive delivery of "FIVE GOLD RINGSSSS" is arguably the peak of the entire genre. It’s the perfect blend of puppet chaos and genuine holiday spirit.
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Putting it all together
The 12 days of xmas funny song isn't just about being silly. It’s a cultural pressure valve. We spend so much time trying to make the holidays perfect—the perfect tree, the perfect dinner, the perfect gifts—that we need a song that mocks the whole concept of "perfect" gifts.
Whether it's Fay McKay's "12 Days of Christmas" (where she gets progressively more "tipsy" as the song goes on) or a homemade version about your annoying coworkers, these parodies remind us that the holidays are kind of messy. And that’s okay.
Your Holiday Playlist Action Plan
If you want to win the "best playlist" award this year, stop looping the same Bing Crosby tracks. Mix in the weird stuff. Start with the Bob and Doug McKenzie version to get people’s attention. Follow it up with Straight No Chaser to show you have good taste. Then, hit them with a niche parody that fits your specific group’s inside jokes.
- Search for "12 Days of Christmas" parodies on Spotify or YouTube.
- Look for versions by Frank Kelly (The Christmas Countdown) if you want a dark, Irish comedic take on the letters sent to the "True Love."
- Check out the SCTV archives for old-school sketch comedy versions.
The best part about a 12 days of xmas funny song is that it’s nearly impossible to ruin. Even if you mess up the lyrics, you’re just adding to the joke. It’s the one time of year where being a bit of a clown is actually encouraged. Grab a drink, find a version that makes you smirk, and stop worrying about the partridges. They’re too much work anyway.