Welcome to the 2025 Heistmas Advent Calendar, a daily drop of pop culture Christmas icons, oddities, and joy. Check back every day from now through December 25 for each daily entry!
If you read Pop Heist regularly, it's probably clear by this point that Ya Boy is a Christmas music enjoyer. There are very few Christmas songs I actively dislike, and when I find a novelty song I particularly enjoy, I tend to wear it out, often to the frustration of my family.
Some of this is just my general fixation on the holiday, but damn it, some of these songs need to be heard. They need to be considered modern classics in the genre of "Let's just try to get a Christmas record together," and for me, the Platonic Ideal of that kind of holiday song comes courtesy of Houston, Texas's own H-Town.
If you know one H-Town song, it's probably "Knockin' da Boots," the debut single from their 1993 debut album Fever for da Flavor. That song is about, well, pretty much exactly what it sounds like. It's a sexy song about sex, a classic of '90s R&B, but what a lot of people don't remember is that, later that same year, it got a Christmas makeover.
Presenting: "Knockin' Boots for Christmas"
Yes, this is but one song on a hip-hop R&B holiday album masterminded by Luke Records founder Luther "Uncle Luke" Campbell, and its mission statement is outlined perfectly in the opening breakdown: "Once again, we doin' this one for all the ladies. Except this time, it's Christmas."
The same groove that made "Knockin' da Boots" is there, H-Town's vocals are on point, and so many key moments feel exactly the same song. But then those jingle bells hit, and the adjusted lyrics will not stop reminding you that they're not just knockin' boots, they're knockin' boots for Christmas. "Come on and let me ride the sleigh, cuz I know you want it," is my favorite lyric, but I guarantee you will find your own as you listen.
Beloved SNL favorite "Dick in a Box" would not exist without this song. I don't care if Andy Samberg and Justin Timberlake knew about it beforehand or not. In fact, if you've ever had sex on Christmas at any point in the last 32 years, it's because of this song. Its sexy sexiness permeates the Yuletide each and every year. It's just that powerful.
Ho Ho Ho, Baby.
Check back tomorrow for even more Heistmas Advent Calendar Goodies!
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