In his review for Carey's "Merry Christmas II You", Thomas Connor from the "Chicago Sun-Times" called the song "a simple, well-crafted chestnut and one of the last great additions to the Christmas pop canon". In a 2006 retrospective look at Carey's career, Sasha Frere-Jones of "The New Yorker" said, the "charming" song was one of Carey's biggest accomplishments, calling it "one of the few worthy modern additions to the holiday canon". Dan Hancox, editor of "The National", quoted and agreed with Jones' statement, calling the song "perfection".