"The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)", originally by Mel Tormé and Robert Wells, "The Little Drummer Boy (Carol of the Drum)" (Katherine Kennicott Davis, Henry Onorati, Harry Simeone), Franz Xaver Gruber and Joseph Mohr's "Silent Night", and "Joy to the World" (George Frideric Handel, Lowell Mason, Isaac Watts) follow.

Jon Pareles of The New York Times wrote a positive review of the album, claiming that James turned standards into "suave after-hours jazz arrangements" that seemed "cozy and intimate".

[2] Entertainment Weekly's Matt Diehl felt that James' performances brought both "sass and class" and "ooze[d] passionately with old-school soul".

Larry Nager of The Cincinnati Enquirer awarded the album two out of four stars and wrote that James had the ability to make "the ultimate blue Christmas disc" but failed to do so.

Nager complimented "Merry Christmas, Baby" but considered the performance to be a "rare bit of juke joint" among "supper club sounds" that left him "wanting more".