"I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" is a Christmas song with music and lyrics by British songwriter Tommie Connor and first recorded by American singer Jimmy Boyd in 1952. The song has since been covered by many artists, with the Ronettes's 1963 and the Jackson 5's 1970 versions being the most famous.
The original recording by Jimmy Boyd, recorded on 15 July 1952, when he was 13 years old, reached No. 1 on the Billboard pop singles chart in December 1952, and on the Cash Box chart at the beginning of the following year. It later reached number three in the UK Singles Chart when released there in November 1953. The song was commissioned by Saks Fifth Avenue to promote the store's Christmas card for the year, which featured an original sketch by artist Perry Barlow, who drew for The New Yorker for many decades.
The song describes a scene where a child walks downstairs from his bedroom on Christmas Eve to see his mother kissing Santa Claus under the mistletoe. The lyric concludes with the child wondering how his father will react on hearing of the kiss, unaware of the possibility that Santa Claus is merely his father in a costume.
It was reported that Boyd's record was condemned by the Roman Catholic Church and Banned in Boston when it was released, believing that it described an adulterous encounter. The story goes that Boyd was then photographed meeting with the Archdiocese of Boston to explain the joke behind the song, after which the ban was lifted. However, the Archdiocese has no records of any ban, and no contemporaneous records or photographs can be found of a meeting between Boyd and any officials, leading the story to appear as a myth.
A slightly less successful version of the song (#7 on the US Charts) was released in 1952 by Spike Jones (with vocal by George Rock in the little boy voice used in Spike's hit "All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth"). Jones also recorded a parody for his personal pleasure titled "I Saw Mommy Screwing Santa Claus."
A recording by 13-year-old Molly Bee appeared on the US Country charts in 1952.
Versions by the Beverley Sisters and by Billy Cotton and His Band charted on the UK Singles Chart in December 1953, peaking at, respectively, No. 6 and No. 11.
In 1962, The Four Seasons (band) released a version of the song on their Christmas Album. This versin differs from the others as it features the distinct falsetto of Frankie Valli
The Ronettes recorded their own version in 1963 for A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector. This version both debuted and peaked at No. 84 on Billboard's Holiday 100 chart on the week ending 10 December 2016.
The Jackson 5 recorded the song for their 1970 Christmas album. The version entered the UK Singles Chart at its peak position, No. 91, on the week ending 5 December 1987, and charting for four weeks total. It also peaked at No. 30 on Billboard's Holiday 100 chart on the week ending 2 December 2023, at No. 43 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart on the week ending 6 January 2024, and at No. 100 on a Swiss singles chart on the week ending 29 December 2019.
John Cougar Mellencamp recorded the song in 1987 that was included on the first A Very Special Christmas compilation album, which benefits the Special Olympics.
To download the easy alphanotes sheet music, look here.
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