Chiefly produced by Theron "Neff-U" Feemster," with additional production from DJ Camper, Kyle Mann, and Nasri Atweh and Adam Messinger from The Messengers, Christmas with Brandy consists of twelve tracks, featuring six original songs co-penned by Norwood and six cover versions of Christmas standards songs.

In March 2022, Deadline Hollywood reported that Norwood had signed on to star opposite Heather Graham, Jason Biggs, and Matt Cedeño in the Netflix film Best.

[13] Antwane Folk, reviewing for Rated R&B, praised the album as "a delightful change of pace that provides comfort and joy during the holiday season now and for several years to come."

He found that Norwood's "assured imagination and warm vocals take center stage to reveal a deeper musical personality.

"[16] Columbia Daily Tribune critic Aarik Danielsen found that "on the first holiday record of her 30-year career, Brandy leans into the string- and keyboard-driven R&B she has practically perfected.

Nimbly mingling heartbroken holiday-set ballads and standards, Brandy offers that rarest of Christmas-music gifts — an album that sounds exactly like an artist being themselves.

"[15] Soul Bounce's Suzy Sonshyn remarked that "our wish has finally been fulfilled with Christmas with Brandy, which is an R&B gift that will keep on giving."

She felt that "while Brandy’s new entries to the catalog of Christmas music are top-notch, we are also smitten with her spin on some of our favorite carols and classics [that] listeners will be drawn to.

"[19] Jim Harrington, writing for Mercury News, called Christmas with Brandy a "worthwhile experience for fans of smooth R&B/pop.