It is an up-tempo R&B song about Carey making a plea for Santa Claus to bring back her partner in time for the Christmas holidays.

On December 4, 2020, a new version was released featuring singers Ariana Grande and Jennifer Hudson, as a single from the soundtrack to Mariah Carey's Magical Christmas Special for Apple TV+.

was written and produced by Mariah Carey, Jermaine Dupri and Bryan-Michael Cox for Carey's second Christmas/thirteenth studio album, Merry Christmas II You (2010); Rye Songs administered by Songs of Universal (BMI)/Shaniah Cymone Music|EMI April Music Inc. (ASCAP)/WBM Music Corp Inc./Pamela & Lorrence's Publishing LLC (SESAC).

The background vocals were sung by Angie Fisher, Melonie Daniels, Maryann Tatum, Sharlotte Gibson and Toni Scruggs.

[6] Rolling Stone writer Caryn Ganz commented on the composition, writing "Mariah bops to a schoolyard-chant beat".

[10] Joey Guerra of the Houston Chronicle described the song as "irresistible" and predicted that it would "dominate ringtones" in the run up to Christmas.

[11] Rich Juzwiak of The Village Voice was critical of the song, writing "Of the four Mariah-penned new tracks, the Jermaine Dupri/Bryan-Michael Cox collaboration 'Oh Santa!'

tries the hardest, an antique kitchen-sink replica that manages to invoke a cheerleading squad, the Pointer Sisters, Mariah's own 'Loverboy', and Hey Ya!'.

[14] Previously, eight songs had reached number one within three weeks, four of which were Christmas entries due to adult contemporary radio stations playing an increased amount in the holiday season.

became Carey's seventh number-one hit on the chart, and her first in fifteen years since "One Sweet Day" (1995–96), a duet with Boyz II Men.

[19] For the week ending October 30, 2010, Carey occupied the top two positions on the Holiday Digital Songs chart: "Oh Santa!"

[22] Elsewhere, the track debuted at number thirty-six on the South Korean Gaon International Digital Singles Chart for the week ending November 20, 2010.

[29] Carey's fan site MariahDaily posted a message on their website asking people within the Los Angeles area to appear for a casting call for a chance to be featured in the video.

In the second half of the video, Santa Claus makes an appearance, waving to friends and sharing a hug with Carey.

Mariah puts on a great show and sings her heart out with that famous eight-octave range ... scrooges need not apply, 'Oh Santa!'

The song was released across all streaming platforms on December 4, 2020, accompanied by its official music video, premiered the same day on Carey's YouTube account.

[43] Talking to Billboard, Carey stated in regards to the song that "originally, I was blending with myself [...] but it was cool to be able to work with the different vocal textures and play around with it and reimagine it.

[44] Billboard writer Rania Aniftos wrote that the three singers "trading verses and harmonies" amounts for a "truly angelic result".

[44] Chris Murphy, writer for Vulture went on to say that "the trio, the remix, and the accompanying music video absolutely makes the nice list in every possible way.