How to Create a Collaborative Spotify Playlist With Your Family This Holiday Season

During the holidays, many of us connect with family members, including those with whom we don’t spend much time. Sometimes happy memories result, and other times it can be super awkward.

Whether your gathering is small or includes the extended family, you may bond over food, shared activities, and holiday traditions. If you are looking for a new shared activity, creating a Spotify collaborative holiday playlist can be a fun way to enhance the environment and ensure everyone gets to hear music they like.

Setting Guidelines for a Holiday Group Playlist

First, you may want to set some guidelines if your celebration includes people of different ages, faiths, and tastes in entertainment. For example, if the party includes children, elder relatives, or people with different tolerance for “strong language,” you may want to agree on a few guidelines beforehand.

On Spotify, tracks with “explicit lyrics” are marked with an E, making it easier if that is a concern for your group. If you share a Spotify Family account with children, you may already be familiar with parental controls as well as​​​​​​​ how to share a playlist with kids.

Another guideline is to decide whether you exclusively want holiday music or to include a mix of crowd-pleasing songs. Spotify offers tips for creating a holiday playlist that might help if you need ideas.

Possible Themes for a Collaborative Holiday Playlist

Think of a name for your shared playlist that reflects the group or the theme. Music brings back memories and bonding, even if it is that cringeworthy song you hear every time you visit a public place during the holidays.

Not only is this something most of us experience, research published in journals like the Psychology of Music indicates nostalgic music can inspire optimism and even help people feel less discomfort. Plus, it gives your group an ongoing conversation icebreaker.

If you want to make a game of creating a playlist, that is also an option. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• “Ugly Sweater” themed playlist – Ask each person to choose songs that feel as cheesy as an “ugly holiday sweater.”
• “Secret Santa” playlist – Randomly assign each guest a “secret Santa,” only this time they don’t buy gifts; they choose a few songs they think that person might like.
• Send everyone a list of prompts to choose songs. For example, their favorite holiday song, a song that reminds them of their favorite color, the theme from a film or show they love, or anything else.
• Of course, you can also simply let members of your group add songs they like.

How to Create a Collaborative Holiday Playlist on Spotify

Spotify’s collaborative playlist feature makes it easy to learn how to make a collaborative playlist using Spotify for both mobile and desktop apps. If some people you see over the holidays are less tech-friendly, just tell them it is as easy as making a “mixtape” but easier. It may even be a fun opportunity to teach your great-uncle how to use Spotify.

To get started on the Spotify desktop app, simply create your playlist, then click on the three-dot button next to play and choose Collaborative Playlist. The mobile version is just as easy, open the playlist you created, then click on the person icon to invite your collaborators to contribute to the playlist.

Your Playlist Contributes to the Holiday Atmosphere

Along with the decorations, food, and scents, the music contributes to a holiday experience. It is also an activity that can be adapted to suit diverse ages, lifestyles, values, and even cultures for an inclusive and cordial gathering.