Have you spent hours looking for music for your elementary winter concert and still don’t have everything you need? Help is here! Find a list of new 2026-2027 songs, along with a database of classic winter songs, vendors, and program themes to get the bulk of your needs met all in one place.
Originally published October 11, 2021
Latest Update August 17, 2026
This post may contain affiliate links. I make a small commission at no additional cost to you. Read my full disclosure.
Table of Contents
🍭 NEW 2026-2027 CHORAL Songs for Holiday & Winter Concerts
Audiences love traditional music during the holidays and finding new music can be a challenge for time-strapped music teachers. Here’s a list of new 2026-2027 choir songs teachers might want to consider.
The songs are in unison or EASY 2-part arrangements.
- Will You Light a Candle? by Katie Houts A gorgeous two part arrangement about peace. The second part is very easy. Check it out.
- Figgy Pudding! by Ruth Morris Gray From 2023 so not new, but worth showing you. In 2 parts with the second part as a partner song. The arrangement isn’t easy but easy enough for an elementary choir to learn it. Very cute! Check it out.
- Like the Falling Snow by Bryan Sharpe Peaceful, dreamy melody in 2 part but easily done in unison. Only piano accompaniment so the mp3 is inexpensive. Check it out.
- Chillin’ Like a Snowman by Cristi Cary Miller In a Jazz style, this novelty piece in 2 parts has a few challenging places but would add some pizzaz to a concert. Check it out.
- We Are the Light by Andy Beck “In the dark of night, we are the light” – an inspiring concert theme for any time of year, at the holidays, year-end events, or general concerts. Check it out.
- To Make a Song by Andy Beck A rock-infused beat and high-velocity harmonies drive this joyful celebration of music! In 2 parts but works in unison. Check it out.
- Autumn Song by Pinkzebra A beautiful 2-part ballad that works perfectly for unison voices. Lyrical with a mix of 3/4 and 4/4. Listen to it here.
- Over the River by Greg Gilpin A new melody of the familiar poem with an upbeat, syncopated arrangement. In 2 parts that can be pretty easily sung unison. Listen to it here.
- A Perfect Winter Day by Pinkzebra Lyrical and lovely. The 2-part has some singing in thirds and countermelody-ish places. Listen & Look.
- O Come Little Children by Teresa Jennings VERY nice arrangement with a driving accompaniment track over the smooth melody. An optional easy recorder part & Orff arrangement. Listen & Look.
- Whispers of the Wind by Cristi Cary Miller Text is about wind, a gentle breeze, etc. 6/8 meter in a minor key. It is lilting and lovely. It’s in 2 parts that use a lot of countermelody techniques and perfect for beginning 2-part harmony. Listen & Look.
- Joy! by Teresa Jennings Joy, peace, and love themes in 3/4. It’s a new offering in this year’s subscription on MK8, available also as a single with a variety of mp3 choices. Listen & Look.
- New FREE choral music! From Astrid Jorgensen and the Queensland Kodaly Choir Legacy Project. Includes a practice mp3 and sheet music.
- Seeds of Hope, Whether the Weather, To the Earth
- Give a Little Love at Christmas by Jill Gallina
This bright, bubbly song is a great opener/closer and gives a Brady Bunch vibe. Cute. See/Hear it here. - Blizzard Boogie by Cristi Cary Miller
Bouncy boogie piano about all things blizzard with body percussion section. Easy melody. See/Hear it here.
🎵 Explore Oodles Repertoire
Looking for something else? Explore these curated music collections.
Winter, holiday & December concert music
🍭 Where to Find and Source Winter Concert Music
Finding Elementary Concert Music
There’s so much to consider when planning a concert. Themes, songs, accompaniments, grade levels, instruments, BUDGET! Let’s start with the most popular publishers!
Popular Music Publishers
You can find some great selections using curriculum sources such as Musicplay, Quaver, etc. Here are some of the leading music publishers for elementary music teachers.
FR=some free resources
BK=offer books for multiple songs at a lesser price
BD=bundles with music, accompaniment tracks
Beatin’ Path Publications-lots of FREE sample pages from their composers (FR, BK)
Music K8 (MK8) is Plank Road Publishing. You’ll find the sheet music and accompaniment tracks. (FR, BK, BD)
JW Pepper Sheet Music is a huge supplier of choral, band, and orchestra music. They have physical stores, too.
Sheet Music Plus-an online source of music.
musicnotes-another online source of music.
Pinkzebra Music-refreshing arrangements from this newer publisher. Sold through Pepper.
How to Find Accompaniment Tracks
If you are not accompanying your students and want to use an accompaniment track, the above music suppliers will often have those to purchase.
Online Sources
Other sources of accompaniment tracks are Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube, and similar. Search with the song title and then keywords “accompaniment”, “karaoke”, or “instrumental”.
YouTube Descriptions
Extra information can sometimes be found if you locate a recording of a performance on YouTube. Video owners sometimes put great information about the song in the notes section.
Old Textbook Series
Some of those old textbooks and CDs collecting dust in your cabinet are actually the source of some great concert music with accompaniments. CD drives are super cheap on Amazon and will get that CD music onto your computer. Who knows? Ask your media specialist who may have a CD drive collecting dust in THEIR cabinet!
🎵 Looking for modern hits? If you want to sprinkle in some clean, school-appropriate pop music alongside these winter classics, check out our Curated Clean Pop Song List for Kids!
🍭 Popular Winter Concert Themes
- Christmas Around the World
- ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas
- Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree
- Winter Wonderland, Marshmallow World, Let It Snow, Frosty Weather
- Spirit of Celebration
- Peace, Light
- ‘Tis the Season
- December Lights
- Holiday Feast
- My Favorite Things
- Snow, Snow, Snow
- On a Cold, Clear Night
Songs for Winter Concert Theme: Sparkle & Glow
Here’s a repertoire list that would fit with a winter concert theme of sparkle and glow. Program titles could be Winter Magic, Glitter & Glow, Silver and Gold, All Things That Sparkle.
- Silver and Gold-Johnny Marks arr. Van Cleave
- Golden from Hunter/X
- Pure Imagination (Willie Wonka)
- Avalanche-Rhythmic Poem that can be done in canon.
- Silver Moon Boat Beth’sNotes
- Golden Slumbers folk song
- Golden Slumbers Beatles
- Winter Wonderland
- Diamonds by Rihanna
- Wizards in Winter Trans‑Siberian Orchestra (TSO)
- Glitter and Gold-Barns Courtney
- Golden Ribbons, Silver Bows (MusicK8) ballad, round
- Like Diamonds in the Sky MusicK8pop style
Check out my sing along narration using these songs!
The Great Bake-Off
BAKING Playlist (mix of K-5)
- The Baker p. 18 Orff Schulwerk, Music for Children, Vol I
- One Piece of Pie-my TPT resource 🥹 (novelty fun)
- I Want Some Pumpkin Pie-MusicK8
- Gingerbread Cookies-MusicK8
- Fais dodo-French folk song-lullaby with mention of making cake.
- Hot Cross Buns-SORRY, had to do it. This REMIX is from Gracie’s Corner.
- Ooey, Gooey Cinnamon Bun by Andy Beck (LOVE him)
- Today Is Monday-Lots of foods with some baked!
- Down to the Baker’s Shop-folk song from Scotland
- What Baking Can Do-from musical, Waitress, karaoke
- Fruitcake-SO many octavo versions on Pepper’s Music
Winter Concerts Based on Books/Sound Stories
- A Snowy Day
- The Mitten
- Mama, Will It Snow Tonight?
- 50 Below Zero
- Snow Party
- Snowmen at Night
- Winter Waits
(Affiliate Links)
Kindergarten & Grade 1 Concerts: What are your favorite winter songs?
This great question had me going back through Dropbox, Google Drive, and old computer drives looking for answers.
My Song Criteria for Kindergarten Concerts
- Repetitive
- Could add motions
- Popular classics, current hits, written for that age group (MusicK8)
- I could successfully stretch out the song to at least 2 minutes
- Sometimes that meant rearranging by creating new verses or repeats.
- Easy if using acoustic accompaniment
- For mp3s, I’d put them into Soundtrap and arrange
Winter
Kinderpolka (dance)
Little Wheel A-Turnin’ In My Heart
Mousie In the Snow (MK8)
Dreidel (traditional)
Snow is Falling Today (MK8)
Mr. SnowRap (MK8)
Snowman Jump (MK8)
Frosty the Snowman (traditional)
Do You Want to Build a Snowman (Frozen)
Nutcracker March (movement)
This Little Light of Mine (traditional)
Peace Like a River (traditional)
(While I did Christmas music years ago, I eventually got away from any song referencing Christmas, except the occasional Rudolph.)
Christmas/Santa Songs
Mary Had a Baby
Must Be Santa
Rudolph
Children Go Where I Send Thee (LOVE this song…)
Grade 3-5 Favorite Winter Concert Songs
Music teachers are often asked about their favorite concert songs. For me, favorite programs had
- beautiful singing
- kids who were proud of themselves up on stage
- a bit of magic in the air during the performance
That can all happen with well-chosen songs (or a musical) that the kids and audience love and have a connection to.
And the audience connection doesn’t have to be because they know the music, but because they sense how much the kids are loving it. The student connection can be felt with the energy they bring during the performance. The magic can be helped along sometimes with
- special instrumentation played by the kids or adults-barred instruments, flute, guitar, ukulele, harp
- dancing/movement
- special arrangements/genres or novelty piece
- special effects, props, light shows
With that in mind, here are some repertoire ideas!
Repertoire Ideas
Orff Arrangements such as Carol of the Bells, One Piece of Pie
Jazz Waltz of the Sugar Plum Fairy-Nutcracker meets Jazz
Midnight Clear-This uses the Christmas carol and is in two parts. I did it with a children’s choir and a men’s chorus made up of dads and men in the choir member’s family. It was magical.
Candy Cane Lane-MusicK8 fun accompaniment
Dreidle Song-the classic and I used the fun accompaniment out of an old textbook series.
Feliz Navidad-it’s so recognizable and loved. Parent guitarist would be cool.
Marshmallow World-again recognizable.
The 12 Days of Groovy Christmas-a homage to the 70s. Cute.
Carol of the Bells by the Transiberian Orchestra-Light routine
🍭 The BIG Database for Winter Songs
The database includes title, composer, link, origin, language, and genre/subjects that include Christmas, Thanksgiving, Diwali, Hanukkah, Lights, Peace, Posados, Reindeer, Kwanzaa, Santa, Snow, Winter, and more.
🍭 What Are Some Ideas for a Schoolwide Winter Sing-Along?
A simple and engaging way to bring the whole school together without a traditional holiday program is to host a winter sing-along or grade-level showcase. Each class can lead one or two songs, connected by short, kid-friendly verses that introduce each piece and create a cohesive flow. The songs can have a theme but don’t have to have one.
Time-Saving Tricks for a Sing Along
- use AI to write the poem
- create a slideshow with the poem verses and song lyrics
- use mp3s with the accompaniment AND vocal parts
Use AI to Write the Sing-Along Poem
Here’s the prompt I gave AI: Write a rhyming poem suitable for elementary age with an opening verse about wintery glitter (or similar) then each verse setting up a song. The songs are Pure Imagination (from Willie Wonka), Winter Wonderland (classic), Silver and Gold (by Johnny Marks), Diamonds (by Rhianna), and Golden (from Hunter/X). So a total of 6 verses. Before you start, are there any questions? (AI asked if I wanted to namedrop the titles. I said YES)
Here’s the response: Great — here is a set of six kid-friendly, rhyming verses that each namedrop the song while giving you a smooth setup for performance transitions.
🔥 There are some tweaks that need to be made, but in general, I LOVE IT!
Wintery Glitter Sing Along
Here’s the script for the Winter Sing Along using the AI-generated verses and my song suggestions!
1. Opening Verse – Wintery Glitter
In a world full of sparkle and wintery glitter,
The snowflakes dance light as they twirl, never bitter.
Our show is beginning—so bundle up tight,
We’ll journey through music that shimmers with light.
2. Pure Imagination
Now close your eyes gently and picture a place
Where wonders appear with a magical grace.
Step into a dream full of bright fascination
As we sing the song called “Pure Imagination.”
3. Winter Wonderland
The snow starts to whisper and glide to the ground,
A blanket of white drifting soft without sound.
Let’s follow the footprints wherever they’ve planned—
They’re leading us into a “Winter Wonderland.”
4. Silver and Gold
Glistening treasures begin to unfold—
Shiny and sparkly in silver and gold.
The colors of kindness, of stories retold,
Come join us in singing this tune bright and bold.
5. Diamonds
Stars in the sky start to shimmer and gleam,
Lighting the night with a silver-blue beam.
Their shine makes us sparkle like gems in the night—
Just like “Diamonds,” glowing with magical light.
6. Golden
A sunrise appears with a warm, gentle glow,
Painting the morning in soft yellow snow.
The brightest of moments are meant to be chosen—
So lift up your voices as we sing “Golden.”
Why it works?
🔹 Singing through the songs and speaking the verses in class will take a minimal amount of time compared to a stand up/memorized concert.
🔹 The bulk of the singing will come from readers, so your 3rd-5th graders, but K-2 will learn parts too.
🔹 The staff will be able to sing along too because you will project the words.
🍭 Additional Winter Concert Planning Resources
We have our music, now what?
- Concert Costumes & Basic Attire
- How to Teach Kids to Memorize Music
- Stage Decorations for Concerts
- Checklist for Concerts
- Using Lights in Your Elementary Concert
🍭 The Weekly Newsletter
Filled with ideas, products, free resources, and maybe
just what you need for tomorrow’s lesson!
The Oodles Newsletter & FREE Resource Library
Add your info to access the FREE Resource Library and receive a weekly newsletter filled with seasonal and timely information. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt-out at any time.
🍭 Let Hear It!
Do you have a music source that I have not included? PLEASE let us know in the comments below!