There comes a point every festive season when it suddenly dawns on you that if you hear the same old Christmas songs one more time you are going to run for the hills.

Yes, we’ll admit to getting those lovely nostalgia pangs when we first hear those opening bars of Merry Christmas Everyone or I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday at the beginning of December, but after weeks of it, it can start to take its toll.

So, whatever your plans are this Christmas, we’ve provided a handful of festive alternatives for anyone hoping to inject a little extra sparkle to their playlists, without having to resort to the dusty old favourites we’ve been suffering through every winter since time began.

You can forget about Shakin’ Stevens, Chris Rea and even The Pogues – here are 18 lesser-known tracks

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