Released on 7 November 2025, Seán Griffin’s holiday single I’m in Love for Christmas arrives not as a seasonal novelty, but as a deeply personal piece of songwriting shaped by time, love, and lived experience. Issued via Right Track Records and distributed by Universal Music Operations, the track offers a gentle, heartfelt prelude to Griffin’s forthcoming solo album, due in March 2026.
Originally written nearly twenty years ago, I’m in Love for Christmas captures a fleeting but life-altering moment. Penned in December 2005, just weeks after Griffin met the woman who would become his wife, the song was written in the early hours before a live radio appearance on WFUV’s Irish show. What began as a spontaneous reflection on a first Christmas together has since grown into a quiet family heirloom—one that now carries the weight of two decades, a marriage, and six children.
Sonically, the track leans into warmth and familiarity without feeling overly polished. Sleigh bells glimmer softly over acoustic guitars, a fiddle threads its way through the arrangement, and a restrained rhythm section grounds the song in intimacy rather than spectacle. There’s a subtle blend of Irish traditional influence, Americana, and classic holiday songwriting—often likened to a meeting point between The Pogues’ spirit and the universal sentiment of John Lennon’s Happy Xmas (War Is Over). The result feels timeless rather than timely.
Critics have responded warmly to Griffin’s evolving solo work, praising both his lyricism and his ability to balance sincerity with melodic charm. While long-time fans may know him best as the frontman of Irish punk stalwarts The Ruffians, I’m in Love for Christmas highlights a more reflective side of his songwriting—one shaped by perspective rather than urgency.
The single follows earlier release People Are Mad and comes from a broader body of work recorded at Old Soul Studios in Catskill, New York, alongside Grammy Award–winning producer Kenny Siegel. Mixed by Paul Kolderie and mastered by Greg Calbi, Griffin’s forthcoming album revisits the melodic instincts of his punk-infused past while embracing a quieter, more contemplative tone informed by family life and experience.
Born in Danbury, Connecticut, and raised in a household steeped in Irish music, Griffin’s creative identity has always existed at the intersection of tradition and rebellion. With I’m in Love for Christmas, that balance is on full display—less a festive anthem, more a personal letter folded carefully into song.
As the holiday season settles into memory, Griffin’s latest release lingers as a reminder that the most enduring Christmas songs are often the ones rooted not in spectacle, but in real moments that continue to echo long after the decorations are packed away.
