On November 6, 2020, the song was re-released as a promotional single on streaming platforms, twenty years after the album's release.

[6] In the song, Spears laments her loneliness during the holidays and asks Santa Claus to bring her a lover,[7] in lines such as "He's all I want, just for me/Underneath my Christmas tree".

Michael Roberts, writing for the Dallas Observer in 2000, described the song as "an unobjectionable but generic retro bounce-fest",[10] while Lori Reese of Entertainment Weekly called it "festive".

Adam Graham of The Detroit News included the song in his list of top 10 Christmas songs released in the 21st century, writing that the "sleigh bells and holiday cheer abound on this bouncy teen-pop ditty, which follows in the tradition of Mariah Carey's 'All I Want for Christmas Is You.

'"[13] Sam Lansky included the song on his list of "Top 10 Original Christmas Pop Songs", writing, "another millennial teen pop jam, Britney Spears' 'My Only Wish (This Year)' follows the time-honored tradition of asking Santa Claus for love", and finding it "a sweet throwback to the simpler days of [Britney]".

[8] MTV blogger Tamar Anitai praised it as "the absolute holy grail of 1990s pop Christmas songs".

[15] In the United States, the song made its first appearance on Billboard Holiday Airplay on December 8, 2001, debuting and peaking at number 7.

It is Spears' longest-running single in the country with 39 weeks on the charts and has since been certified double platinum by IFPI Danmark.

[23] On December 8, 2011, "My Only Wish (This Year)" debuted at number 170 on South Korea's International Download Circle Chart, following digital sales of 3,671 copies.

In 2009, Brazilian singer and TV host Xuxa released a Portuguese version of "My Only Wish (This Year)", titled as "Papai Noel Existe", on her Christmas album Natal Mágico.

[29] RuPaul's Drag Race finalists Tia Kofi and Priyanka released a duet version of the song in 2022.