One of the few Beatles songs credited to all four members of the band, it consists of a blues based backing track as well as double-tracked vocals sung by them, George Martin and Victor Spinetti.

[5] The skits include tap dancing, a fictitious advertisement, and the group playing piano and singing about "Plenty of Jam Jars", among others.

[4] The recording concludes with each Beatle, as well as producer George Martin,[3] offering season's greetings to their fans, followed by a poem from John Lennon titled "When Christmas Time is Over".

[6] Womack writes that the song's "comic spirit" is similar to the Beatles' "You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)" – most of which had been recorded over the summer of 1967 – and was likely inspired by the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band of BBC Radio 1.

[14] Runtagh states that the song "is little more than a holiday mantra, but the Beatles sell it through their full-throated commitment and a clever arrangement reminiscent of their new single, 'Hello, Goodbye'".

[7] As with previous Beatles Christmas records, the seven-inch disc was only released to British fans, with Americans instead receiving a postcard.

The song was expected to appear as the B-side of the album's single, "Leave My Kitten Alone", originally planned for a release around Christmas 1984.

[19] Apple officially released the song as the fourth track of the "Free as a Bird" CD single in the UK and US on 4 and 12 December 1995, respectively.

[18][20] Womack writes that Martin remixed the song for this release,[18] while Winn says it is the same stereo mix made for Sessions, but edited down to the first 2:19.