"[1] Mortimer was aided in the composition by his co-manager Rob Kean and songwriter Dominic Hawken, who had once been Boy George's keyboard player.

The most familiar arrangement is unusual among pop records in that it uses almost no drums, save for timpani rolls during the introduction and towards the end of the track.

Ross Jones from The Guardian felt that "teen-town's hard men show their soft side on a Christmas number one contender" and "a beautiful thing".

"[8] Pan-European magazine Music & Media wrote, "Like anybody else the Walthamstow posse knows that this time of the year is reserved for woeful ballads.

He wrote, "This exquisitely arranged, close harmony ballad, piano-led and draped with strings, is a hot favourite for the Christmas number one but may fail by being released a tad too early.

"[11] Sunday Mirror commented, "A tinkling piano, a gorgeous melody, a sweet and soulful lead vocal those little devils East 17 have gone all angelic for Christmas.

It resembles a breakup song with its talk of final kisses, but was written by Tony Mortimer after his brother killed himself.

[15] In December 2017, YouGov carried out a poll asking the British public whether they agreed if "Stay Another Day" is a Christmas song.

Girls Aloud recorded a cover version of "Stay Another Day", intended as their debut single,[76] with Cheryl Cole providing lead vocals.

Girls Aloud gave the song a "romantic slant," which surprised East 17's Mortimer since it is about his brother's suicide.

"[78] On 3 December 2019, London Recordings uploaded a new version of the song to YouTube, performed by Waltham Forest Youth Choir, with Mortimer on piano.

[85] "Stay Another Day" was covered in 2023 by British singer Jorja Smith as part of the Amazon Music Originals series.

On 3 December 2019, London Recordings uploaded a new version of the song to YouTube, performed by Waltham Forest Youth Choir, accompanied by Mortimer on piano.

The collaboration was formed as part of the celebrations of the Waltham Forest London Borough of Culture initiative, and the track was released to raise money for mental health charity Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM).

[95] The band also released merchandising to promote the anniversary, including a Christmas tree bauble featuring four Lego figures dressed in replicas of the band’s iconic white parka jackets from the original music video and an East 17 Christmas card was available exclusively through Card Factory.

[96] Money from the sale of the vinyl record and related merchandising was used to raise funds for Nordoff and Robbins – the UK’s largest music therapy charity.