Christmas is coming, and it's time to restock your playlist for the holidays. Go ahead and dig into our collection of royalty-free Christmas music downloads. You'll find contemporary, classical, and traditional Christmas music, all legal and free to download. We've also included a few Christmas sheet music resources in case you're a (budding) musician yourself.

Free Christmas Music Downloads

1. Feels Like Christmas

Feels Like Christmas Free Holiday Music Download

Our first site provides "free holiday music from top indie artists." The collection includes contemporary and traditional tunes, as well as vocal and instrumental interpretations. In addition to holiday music, you'll find seasonal sounds and audio files of Christmas stories for kids.

You can stream the music on the site or download MP3 files.

2. New Christmas Music

New Christmas Music

At New Christmas Music, you will find new (contemporary) Christmas songs and traditional Christmas carols you can download. The collection includes O Christmas Tree, O Holy Night, Silent Night, Joy to the World, and Jingle Bells. Some songs are available in different versions. O Holy Night, for example, comes in an instrumental and a vocal recording.

The Christmas music downloads come in several formats, including MP3, WMA, and MIDI. Some songs also feature dated Flash animations. You can preview MP3 and WMA files in your browser. To download a tune, right-click the file format (e.g., MP3), and select Save link as.

3. Free Christmas MP3

Free Christmas MP3 Traditional Christmas Songs

If you feel a little overwhelmed, start here. The site features only 24 traditional Christmas songs, one for every day of the Advent season (much like an Advent calendar). Each song comes with a brief description.

For example, did you know that Jingle Bells was originally named One Horse Open Sleigh or that the original version of Silent Night—Stille Nacht in German—was written by Austrian author Franz Gruber and then translated into 300 languages?

All downloads come in the form of MP3 files.

4. Free Music Archive

Free Music Archive (FMA) Christmas music playlist

The FMA is the music archive of WMFU (acquired by Triebe of Noise), the longest-running free-form radio station in the US. The archive includes a section with over 400 free Christmas songs across various genres.

You can sort their list by artist, track or album name, date added, or most interesting. To play all the songs in your browser, click the Play Page button in the top right. With a free account, you can like individual tracks or build your own mix. When you find a Christmas song you'd like to keep, you can download it to your computer; click the arrow to its right, click the I understand and agree button, and the MP3 file will download. Downloading songs doesn't require an account.

5. Uncle Dave's Xmas Tunes

Uncle Dave's Xmas Tunes with Santa

For over 25 years, Uncle Dave has been recording instrumental versions of traditional Christmas tunes. You can stream the songs and download MP3 and MIDI files.

While all songs on this site are in the public domain, "these arrangements are copyrighted as derivative works by David M. Latchaw." That said, you're welcome to use Uncle Dave's music if you provide a link back to the source.

6. A-M Classical

A M Classical Christmas Carols with Creative Commons rating

The Christmas Carols available on A-M Classical come with a Creative Commons Attribution license. If you don't know what Creative Commons is, this license allows free use of the recordings in any way you please, as long as you credit the original creator.

The site also features classical Christmas music and Christmas pipe organ music. You can play the files in your browser or right-click and download each file individually.

7. Amazon's Free Christmas Music Downloads

Amazon Music Christmas Music Download

Amazon offers almost 30 free holiday-themed songs. The selection is certainly unique, but these Christmas songs are all free, so who's going to complain?

To buy a tune, add it to your Amazon cart and then check out for free.

Download Full Christmas Albums

8. NuBeat Music

NuBeat Christmas Music albums

All albums featured on NuBeat Music are free. In the Christmas Albums section, you will find instrumental music, beats, rhythm, and many traditional Christmas songs. You can stream each tune, and you can also download lyrics for most songs. The only downside is that you need to download albums one song at a time.

In addition to the nine musical albums, NuBeat Music also features two storytelling albums: Christmas Special and Christmas Drama.

9. Bandcamp Christmas Music

Bandcamp is a great site to discover new music. Many artists offer entire albums to download for free, though you're welcome to pay for what you enjoy. You'll find both original recordings and interpretations of titles like White Christmas, Santa Baby, and other classic tunes. Before you download anything from Bandcamp, you can preview the music in a free stream.

The Christmas Songs, Vol. 1 album by Manchester Orchestra (from Atlanta, Georgia; obviously) is a melancholic interpretation of traditional Christmas songs. Perfect if you're sick of the classic versions. You can download the album for free or choose to pay whatever you think is fair; all proceeds will go to the Atlanta Mission.

For another fresh take on seasonal music, check out Hey, It's Christmas! - Vol. 3, a compilation featuring various artists. This album includes covers of classic tunes and songs that aren't mainstream. This name-your-price download is either free or whatever you think it's worth.

Download Christmas Sheet Music

Do you play an instrument, and can you read sheet music? Then these websites are for you.

10. Virtual Sheet Music

Virtual Christmas Sheet Music

On Virtual Sheet Music, you can choose your instrument and skill level before you pick a song from their vast collection of over 3,000 Christmas carols. The online sheets feature a MIDI file, which will help you find the right tune.

All sheets come in printable PDF format. A premium membership will give you full access to all sheet music downloads.

11. 8notes.com

8notes O Holy Night! sheet music

This site has the matching sheet music regardless of what instrument you play or skill level you're at.

The Christmas section covers over 130 songs. You can stream a MIDI file for each instrument, set the tempo, and follow green highlights through the sheet. Click a section on the sheet, and the MIDI will jump to that section too. To print multiple pages at once, you have to subscribe to the site.

12. Piano Song Download

If you play the piano, you will appreciate this Christmas sheet music source. Whether you're a beginner, intermediate, or advanced player, you'll find sheets suitable for your skill level. Some songs even come with video tutorials.

True beginners can also review piano chords and basic piano tutorials.

Bonus: All Kinds of Christmas Music

13. mfiles

mfiles Christmas Music and Carols

This last site has it all: classical and traditional music, sheet music, MIDI, and MP3 files, all on one page dedicated to Christmas music and carols. You'll find arrangements for guitar and other instruments, along with printable PDFs of the sheet music and media files you can download.

Each song has its own dedicated page featuring its backstory, history, and all available files.

Christmas Can Come

These sites offer all the free Christmas music downloads you could ever need. Just remember to prepare your playlist ahead of time, so you can truly relax over the holidays. We wish you happy holidays, and may your Christmas be filled with joy and good music.