Bugs Bunny leads his fellow Looney Tunes stars in singing the song at the beginning of Bugs Bunny's Looney Christmas Tales.
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Yogi Bear leads his friends in singing the song in Yogi's First Christmas.
Ernie and Bert sing the song along with the rest of the Sesame Street Muppets in A Muppet Family Christmas.
Angelina, Henry, Alice, William, Priscilla, Penelope, and Sammy sing the song while caroling in "The Show Must Go On".
"Deck the Halls" (original English title: "Deck the Hall") is a traditional Christmas and New Year's song. The "fa-la-la" refrains were probably originally played on the harp. The tune is Welsh dating back to the sixteenth century, and belongs to a winter carol, Nos Galan. In the eighteenth century Mozart used its tune for a violin and piano duet. The repeated "fa la la" is from medieval ballads and used in Nos Galan, the remaining lyrics are American in origin dating from the nineteenth century.
Lyrics[]
Deck the halls with boughs of holly
Fa la la la la la la la la
'Tis the season to be jolly
Fa la la la la la la la la
Don we now a gay apparel
Fa la la la la la la la la
Troll the ancient Yuletide carol
Fa la la la la la la la la
See the blazing Yule before us
Fa la la la la la la la la
Strike the harp and join the chorus
Fa la la la la la la la la
Follow me in merry measure
Fa la la la la la la la la
While I tell of Yuletide treasure
Fa la la la la la la la la
Fast away the old year passes
Fa la la la la la la la la
Hail the new ye lads and lasses
Fa la la la la la la la la
Sing we joyous, all together
Fa la la la la la la la la
Heedless of the wind and weather
Fa la la la la la la la la
Appearances in Christmas specials[]
- Pluto's Christmas Tree (1952) - At the end of this Mickey Mouse short, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy appear outside Mickey's house, singing this song. Chip and Dale, who are watching this with Mickey, join in, as does Pluto.
- A Special Sesame Street Christmas (1978)
- Bugs Bunny's Looney Christmas Tales (1979) - This special opens on Bugs Bunny leading a group of carolers (Pepé Le Pew, Foghorn Leghorn, Yosemite Sam, Elmer Fudd, and Porky Pig) in singing this song. Later, during the "Bugs Bunny's Christmas Carol" segment, Bugs leads Pepé, Foghorn, and Elmer in singing the song inside the office of Ebenezer Scrooge (played by Yosemite Sam), and then again outside of Scrooge's house when Scrooge is about to go to sleep.
- Yogi's First Christmas (1980) - In this made-for-TV movie, Yogi Bear and his friends practice singing the song for the Jellystone Lodge's Christmas party.
- A Chipmunk Christmas (1981)
- A Christmas Story (1983) - Used as an instrumental throughout the film.
- Christmas at Pooh Corner (1983)
- A Muppet Family Christmas (1987) - When the Sesame Street Muppets arrive at Emily Bear's farmhouse, they sing the song as the second half of their caroling medley. Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Grover, Kathleen the Cow (but with Gladys' voice), Ernie and Bert, the Count, Herry Monster, and Guy Smiley all sing an individual line, while Oscar the Grouch naturally refuses to sing his ("Follow me in merry measure").
- Disney's Very Merry Christmas Songs (1988) - The Chimes and Chorus cover from the 1978 Disney Christmas album Merry Christmas Songs was used during clips of Pluto's Christmas Tree despite crediting the Larry Groce and the Disneyland Chorus cover.
- Kids Sing Christmas (1988)
- Fireman Sam: "Snow Business" (1988) - Trevor Evans sings it just before he accidentally drives his bus into a snowdrift.
- Full House: "Our Very First Christmas Show" (1988)
- Prancer (1990) - Vocalized by Jennifer when she ventures into the forest for the first time
- National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)
- Rockin' Reindeer Christmas (1990)
- Barney & the Backyard Gang: Waiting for Santa (1990)
- Shining Time Station: "'Tis a Gift" (1990)
- The Best Christmas Ever! (1990)
- Hey Dude: "Ride, She Said" (1990)
- Winnie the Pooh and Christmas Too (1991)
- A Goof Troop Christmas: Have Yourself a Goofy Little Christmas (1992) - Goofy sings the song as he and Max decorate in the opening scene.
- We Wish You a Merry Christmas (1992)
- Full House: "A Very Tanner Christmas" (1992)
- Disney's Christmas Fantasy on Ice (1992)
- The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
- Doug: "Doug's Christmas Story" (1993) - Sung by the people of Bluffington at the very end of the episode. An instrumental version is also heard as background music throughout the episode, including the end credits.
- Disney's The Twelve Days of Christmas (1993)
- Alpha's Magical Christmas (1994)
- Full House: "Arrest Ye Merry Gentlemen" (1994)
- Pinky and the Brain: "A Pinky and the Brain Christmas" (1995) - Pinky sings this song at the beginning.
- Gullah Gullah Island: "A Gullah Gullah Christmas" (1995)
- Animaniacs: "Noel" (1996)
- Allegra's Window: "Mr. Cook's Christmas" (1996)
- Annabelle's Wish (1997)
- Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas (1997)
- I'll Be Home for Christmas (1998)
- Barney's Night Before Christmas (1999)
- Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas (1999)
- Casper's Haunted Christmas (2000) - Titled as "Deck the Hall (With Boughs of Holly)" and covered by Randy Travis.
- Bug Alert!: "Christmas" (2000) - Grub Bug sings the song with Plug Bug still stuck in the Christmas tree.
- Franklin's Magic Christmas (2001)
- Little Bill: "Merry Christmas, Little Bill" (2001)
- Happy Tree Friends: "Ski Kringle" (2002)
- Elmo's World: Happy Holidays! (2002)
- Barney's Christmas Star (2002)
- It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (2002)
- Angelina Ballerina: "The Show Must Go On" (2002) - Sung by Angelina, Henry, Alice, William, Priscilla, Penelope, and Sammy at the beginning of the special as they raise money for Miss Lilly's Christmas show.
- Rugrats: "Babies in Toyland" (2002) - Sung by the Rugrats' parents in Christmasland.
- The Powerpuff Girls: Twas the Fight Before Christmas (2003) - At the beginning of this direct-to-video special, Bubbles sings about how Christmas is in a few days to the tune of this song. Later in the special, some carolers are heard singing "Public domain Christmas songs" to the same tune.
- Lilo & Stitch: The Series: "Topper" (2003)
- The Polar Express (2004) - Part of the covered version of the song is heard on the background when the kids enters the transportation tube. It cuts when Hero Boy presses the middle button. Also, as the pre-launch celebration comes to the close, the instrumental version of the song's melody, arranged by composer/conductor Alan Silvestri, plays.
- Blue's Room: "Blue's Holiday Wishes" (2004)
- Happy Tree Friends: "Deck the Halls" (2005)
- Barney & Friends: "Gift of the Dinos" (2007)
- Shrek the Halls (2007) - A spoof of the song, sung by the Shrek characters, is played over the special's closing credits.
- A Christmas Carol (2009) - The first half of the song's melody is incorporated into the opening credits music.
- Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas (2011)
- The Smurfs: A Christmas Carol (2011)
- Black Dynamite: A Crisis at Christmas or The Dark Side of the Dark Side of the Moon (2012) - Sung by Black Dynamite while he was getting a big tree.
- A Fairly Odd Christmas (2012)
- Lady Gaga & the Muppets' Holiday Spectacular (2013)
- VeggieTales: "Beauty and the Beet" (2014) - This covered the ending segment of the show, after the closing countertop segment.
- Teen Titans Go!: "The True Meaning of Christmas" (2015)
- Peter Rabbit: "The Christmas Star" (2015)
- Liv and Maddie: "Joy-to-a-Rooney" (2015) - Sung by Liv Rooney and Artie Smalls during the Christmas Day photo montage at the end of the episode during the credits.
- Once Upon a Sesame Street Christmas (2016) - The great-grandmonsters of Elmo, Big Bird, Grover, Ernie and Bert, along with Audra McDonald, sing this to spread cheer to 19th-century Sesame Street.
- Thomas & Friends: "The Christmas Coffeepot" (2016) - Marion sings the song when she is about to clear away some trees from a siding, before getting startled by Glynn's voice from the trees. Later, she hums it while doing her work.
- Liv and Maddie: "Cali Christmas-A-Rooney" (2016) - Sung by the Rooneys, Diggie, and Johnny Nimbus at the end.
- A Very Pentatonix Christmas (2017) - Sung in a medley with "Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow"
- The Grinch (2018)
- It's Pony: "Bramley Holiday" (2020)
- Middlemost Post: "Parker Saves Christmas" (2021)
- GizmoGO!: "Quantum Christmas" (2022) - Performed by the Doorway Singers.
- Hailey's on It!: "We Wish You a Merry Chaos-Mas" (2023) - A parody version is sung by Kai and Patricia Banks.
- Big City Greens: "Dream Tree" (2024) - Briefly sung by Tilly Green.
Album releases[]
Versions with the original lyrics[]
| Album | Year |
|---|---|
| Christmas with the Chipmunks, Vol. 2 | 1963 |
| John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together | 1979 |
| Rainbow Brite Christmas | 1985 |
| We Wish You a Merry Christmas | 1993 |
| Alpha's Magical Christmas | 1994 |
| Happy Holidays Love, Barney | 1997 |
| Merry Christmas: Animaniacs & Looney Tunes | 1999 |
| The Chipmunks' Greatest Christmas Hits | |
| Christmas at Home | 2001 |
| Fisher Price Christmas Sing-Along | 2003 |
| Nick Jr. Winter Wonderland | 2006 |
| Acoustic Hearts of Winter | |
| Barbie: A Perfect Christmas | 2011 |
| Annoying Orange Presents: Christmas in the Kitchen | 2012 |
| PBS Kids Music for the Holidays | 2014 |
| A Pentatonix Christmas (Deluxe) | 2017 |
| A Very Merry Disney Christmas |
Versions with alternate lyrics[]
| Album | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Twisted Christmas | 1988 | As "Wreck the Malls". |
| Ren & Stimpy's Crock O' Christmas | 1993 | As "Fleck the Walls". To promote the album's release, a music video of this song ran on Nickelodeon at Christmastime for the next few years. |
| Rugrats: Holiday Classics | 2004 | As "Heck, Why is Santa Always Jolly?" |
| It's a Pony Kind of Christmas | 2015 | |
| Nick Jr.'s Holly Jolly Jams | 2021 | As "Deck the Pups" |