[citation needed] Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys attempted to contribute piano to "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town", but Spector rejected him for poor playing.

[10] The album has been released several times on different labels, starting with Apple Records in 1972, with different cover art: a photograph of Spector dressed as a heavily bearded Santa Claus, wearing a "Back to Mono" button.

Additional reissues on Warner-Spector in 1974 (for the first time in stereo), Pavilion (a short-lived imprint of CBS) in 1981, and Passport in 1984 would also use this cover, sometimes with the "Back to Mono" button airbrushed out.

The original cover was restored in time for the album's first CD issue by Phil Spector International through Rhino.

It was mastered by Bill Inglot and Ken Perry and it restored the album's original mono mix.

The album, released in the United States on November 22, 1963—the same day that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated—was a relative failure at the time.

The arrangement of Bruce Springsteen's version of "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" is based in part on the Crystals' version of the song, and U2's late-1980s remake of "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" that appeared on the first A Very Special Christmas album is patterned after the Darlene Love original that appeared on the Spector LP.

The Ronettes' versions of "Frosty The Snowman" and "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" also usually get some radio airplay during the holiday season.

[citation needed] On the week ending December 15, 2018, A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector entered the main Billboard 200 albums chart for the first time (at position No.