“Cozy Little Christmas” by Katy Perry

The history behind Katy Perry’s “Cozy Little Christmas” is that it is based on Katy’s fond Christmas memories with her family spent in Copenhagen, Denmark. And the overall idea is pretty simple – she is prioritizing love over materialism during the holiday season. Indeed as we all know, Christmas is a time when retail activity is at its peak. And the singer acknowledges this from the onset, stating that “everybody’s in a hurry” and “shopping ’til they’re dropping”. However she makes this observation not in a negative way but rather to highlight all of the hustle and bustle which defines the holiday season.

It is in the chorus rather where the track’s main argument becomes more evident. Here she states forthrightly that she doesn’t need the material gifts or fanfare which define Christmastime. Rather all she wants is to spend quality time, i.e. “a cozy little Christmas”, with the addressee.

Now with that being said, whereas this song is once again intended to be something like a family tune, there is definitely a romantic element to it. Most of the lyrics can be interpreted either way. For instance, a person can opt to ‘slow dance to Nat King Cole’ with kinfolk or their significant other. Yet some of the lyrics, like the singer “just caressing” the addressee, definitely read as if they are aimed at her sweetheart. But ultimately, a significant other is basically the same as kinfolk anyway. And the bottom line is that the songstress doesn’t perceive her Christmas blessing to be manifest in gifts but rather the loved ones she has the pleasure of spending the season with. 

Indeed she concludes the second verse by telling the addressee that her wish – as we are in fact compelled to wish during Christmastime – is to be with him or her.

Primary Theme of “Cozy Little Christmas”

 So the overall theme of this song is that the singer is not interested in the material aspect of Christmas – for the most part. However, she is very much looking forward to spending the holiday with her object of affection.

Quick Facts about “Cozy Little Christmas”

• Perry’s label, Capitol Records, released this track on November 15, 2018. The November release was done solely on Amazon Music.
• The song debuted at the 10th position on the US Adult Contemporary chart. This gave Perry her 9th top 10 song on that chart.
• “Cozy Little Christmas” was Perry’s second single of 2018. Her first single of the year in question was “Hey Hey Hey”. That song came out in January 2018.
• The music video to this song didn’t come out until early December 2019, over a year after the track was initially released. It was directed by a duo collectively known as Watts.
• The theme of “Cozy Little Christmas” is very similar to that of Mariah Carey’s Christmas classic “All I Want for Christmas Is You“.

Is this Katy Perry’s first Christmas song?

This isn’t the first Christmas song Perry has released. For example, in 2015, she released a Christmas song titled “Every Day is a Holiday”.

Did Katy Perry write this song?

Yes, she did. She co-wrote this song along with songwriters F. Alqaisi and G. Wells. Perry later went on to label this song as one of her personal favorites that she actually had a hand in writing. And BTW, the trio also worked together to produce this carol.