As a beginner ukulele player, you may be looking for some slow, easy Christmas songs for ukulele. Even experienced players can enjoy and appreciate an easy song once in a while. The following five songs are slow and easy and perfect for the ukulele. Let’s check out the songs!

Silent Night

Silent Night is a beautiful, classic Christmas song that leaves no dry eye in any candlelit church on Christmas Eve. It was composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics written by Joseph Mohr in Austria. The song spread throughout Europe and eventually came to the United States.

To play Silent Night, you only need to know the chords C, G7, and F. It’s a slow, tender song that you can strum lightly to on the ukulele. You can view a chord chart on the Uke Like the Pros Blog. Terry Carter also has a play-along for Silent Night. You can even download a backing track to play with. Be sure to check out that video and you’ll be well on your way to a silent and holy night.

Read more: Ukulele Gifts For Kids

Away in a Manger

Away in a Manger is a Christmas carol originally thought to be the work of Martin Luther, the German Lutheran Reformer. Now, however, the work is considered to be American. It was first published in the late-nineteenth century.

This song is perfect for a beginner ukulele player because it only uses the chords C, F, and G.

O Christmas Tree

O Christmas Tree was written in Germany in the mid-1500s. It wasn’t always connected with Christmas but by the mid-19th century, it was sung as a Christmas carol. It’s also called “Oh Tannenbaum”. A Tannenbaum is a fir tree and while the lyrics don’t specifically mention Christmas, the evergreen nature of the tree is believed to symbolize faithfulness.

To play O Christmas Tree, you only need to know the chords F, Gm, and C7. Just three chords!

Silver Bells

Silver Bells goes all the way back to 1951 when it was written by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans. It was sung in the movie The Lemon Drop Kid by Bob Hope and Marilyn Maxwell. But it was Bing Crosby who made the song famous with his recorded version. You can listen to a classic Bing Crosby and Carol Richards version here.

Silver Bells only has three chords and those are C, D, and G. You can use a Down-Down-Up/Down-Up strum pattern to keep it nice and easy.

Blue Christmas

Blue Christmas was written by Billy Hayes and Jay W. Johnson in 1948. First recorded by Doye O’Dell, it was the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley, who made this song famous. It is about someone who is feeling blue, or down in the dumps, and missing his loved one at Christmas and being without her.

To play Blue Christmas, you will need to know the chords F, C, F7, and Bb. The F7 chord can look scary when you first glance at it, but you’ll quickly realize that it’s actually an easy chord to play. I have confidence you’ll be able to play the Bb, too. It may be a bit of a challenge at first, but you can do it! As Terry Carter likes to say, it’s good to challenge yourself once in a while! Terry Carter has a great tutorial for the song as well as a play-along on the Uke Like the Pros YouTube Channel. You can access a chord sheet for the song in the video description.

Conclusion

Now that you have these five songs in your Christmas toolbox…or stocking…you can play some beautiful holiday music, all while having fun and learning how to play more on your ukulele. You can play for friends and family and you can share your songs with everyone in the Community Forum on ukelikethepros.com. Membership packages are available at all different levels and price points, so there is something for everyone! I wish you a merry Christmas season playing these classic songs!