{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}} {{Infobox album| | name = Christmas Fantasy | type = studio | artist = Anita Baker | cover = Anita_Baker_Christmas_Fantasy.jpg | alt = | released = October 4, 2005 | recorded = | venue = | studio = * {{hlist|Capitol Studios (Hollywood, California)|The Village Recorder (Los Angeles, California)|East Bay Studios (Tarrytown, New York)| Avatar Studios (New York City, New York)}} | genre = {{flat list | * Jazz * R&B * Christmas}} | length = 44:59 | label = Blue Note | producer = {{flat list | * Barry Eastmond * Anita Baker}} | prev_title = My Everything | prev_year = 2004 | next_title = | next_year = }}

'''''Christmas Fantasy''''' is the seventh studio album by American singer Anita Baker. It was released on October 4, 2005, by Blue Note Records. Her first and only Christmas album, it was produced by Baker along with Barry Eastmond, featuring three original songs and six cover versions of Christmas standards and carols. ''Christmas Fantasy'' peaked at number 120 on the US ''Billboard'' 200, and number 17 on the Top Holiday Albums and remains her last album to date.

==Background== ''Christmas Fantasy'' was recorded in the summer of 2005.<ref name="Billboard_2005-09-24"/> For the album, Baker performed several classic Christmas songs such as "I'll Be Home for Christmas", "O Come All Ye Faithful", "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen", and "Christmas Time Is Here". She also recorded "Frosty's Rag", a re-imagined version of "Frosty the Snowman", a rendition of the Broadway Holiday song "My Favorite Things" and three original compositions, including "Moonlight Sleighride", "Family of Man" and "Christmas Fantasy".<ref name="Billboard_2005-09-24">{{cite web |title=Luckett Fulfills Her Destiny|website=Billboard |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/00s/2005/BB-2005-09-24.pdf|first=Gail|last=Mitchell|date=September 25, 2005|accessdate=December 11, 2025}}</ref>

==Critical reception== {{Music ratings | rev1 = AllMusic | rev1Score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}<ref name="AllMusic">{{AllMusic |class=album |id=r796852 |tab=review |label=''Christmas Fantasy'' > review |first=David |last=Jeffries|accessdate=December 11, 2025}}</ref> | rev2 = ''Gigwise'' | rev2Score = {{Rating|1|5}}<ref name="Gigwise">{{cite web |title=Anita Baker – 'Christmas Fantasy' (Blue Note)|website=Gigwise |url=http://gigwise.com/contents.asp?contentid=11287|first=Paul|last=Robinson|accessdate=December 11, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060628013829/http://gigwise.com/contents.asp?contentid=11287|archive-date=June 28, 2006}}</ref> | rev3 = ''The Guardian'' | rev3Score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="theguardian">{{cite web |title=Anita Baker, Christmas Fantasy|website=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2005/dec/23/popandrock.shopping1|first=Caroline |last=Sullivan|date=December 23, 2005|accessdate=December 11, 2025}}</ref> }} Caroline Sullivan, writing for ''The Guardian'', found that Baker's "first Christmas album is exactly the ticket for that pre-coma moment late on December 25, when all you can face is something cool and easily digestible." She concluded: "With not an ounce of filler, you might even want to listen to it again, come January."<ref name="theguardian"/> AllMusic editor David Jeffries remarked that "there are only nine tracks on Baker's ''Christmas Fantasy'', but the album still clocks in at 45 minutes, with most tracks letting things comfortably develop past the five-minute mark. Part of the reason for this is the band. With George Duke, Larry Carlton, Joe Sample, the underrated Ricky Lawson, and other top-notch folk involved, it would be a shame not to let these boys play, but as much as they get to vamp, it's still Baker's album, 100 percent."<ref name="AllMusic"/> Paul Robinson from ''Gigwise'' wrote: "Ready to cash in, Anita and her ‘unknown’ collaborators provide what any Christmas CD provides while tucking into your turkey… ambience!!"<ref name="Gigwise"/>

==Commercial performance== Released on October 4, 2005, by Blue Note Records, ''Christmas Fantasy'' peaked at number 120 on the US ''Billboard'' 200.<ref name="Billboard200"/> It also reached number 31 on ''Billboard''{{'}}s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and number 17 on the Top Holiday Albums.<ref name="BillboardHoliday"/>

==Track listing== All tracks produced by Anita Baker and Barry J. Eastmond.

{{track_listing | headline = ''Christmas Fantasy'' track listing | total_length = 44:59

| title_width = 45% | writing_width = 55%

| title1 = Frosty's Rag (Frosty the Snowman) | writer1 = {{hlist|Jack Rollins|Steve Nelson}} | length1 = 2:10

| title2 = Christmas Time Is Here | writer2 = {{hlist|Lee Mendelson|Vince Guaraldi}} | length2 = 4:38

| title3 = I'll Be Home for Christmas | writer3 = {{hlist|Buck Ram|Kim Gannon|Walter Kent}} | length3 = 5:24

| title4 = Christmas Fantasy | writer4 = {{hlist|Anita Baker|Barry J. Eastmond}} | length4 = 4:34

| title5 = God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen | writer5 = Traditional | length5 = 4:53

| title6 = Moonlight Sleighride | writer6 = {{hlist|Baker|Eastmond}} | length6 = 6:15

| title7 = O Come, All Ye Faithful | note7 = with The Yellowjackets | writer7 = Traditional | length7 = 5:38

| title8 = Family of Man | writer8 = {{hlist|Baker|Eastmond|Carol Ricketts|Tiffany Palmer}} | length8 = 4:49

| title9 = My Favorite Things | writer9 = {{hlist|Richard Rodgers|Oscar Hammerstein II}} | length9 = 5:02 }}

== Personnel ==

'''Performers and musicians''' {{Div col|colwidth=30em}} * Anita Baker – vocals * George Duke – acoustic piano (1, 3) * Joe Sample – acoustic piano (2, 6, 8, 9) * Barry J. Eastmond – Rhodes electric piano (2, 6, 9), keyboards (3, 4, 7, 8), acoustic piano (5) * Russell Ferrante – acoustic piano (7) * Larry Carlton – guitars (1–3, 8, 9) * Tim May – guitars (5) * Phil Upchurch – guitars (5) * Nathan East – bass (1, 3, 4, 6, 8), acoustic bass (2, 9) * Reggie Hamilton – acoustic bass (5) * Jimmy Haslip – bass (7) * Ricky Lawson – drums (1–6, 8, 9) * Marcus Baylor – drums (7) * Rafael Padilla – percussion (3, 7) * Gene Lobianco – clarinet (1) * Sharon Bryant – backing vocals (8) * Tiffany Palmer – backing vocals (8) * Carol Ricketts – backing vocals (8) {{div col end}}

'''Production''' {{Div col|colwidth=30em}} * Eli Wolf – A&R * Anita Baker – executive producer, producer * Barry J. Eastmond – producer * Shanieka D. Brooks – product manager * Gordon H. Lee – art direction, design * Adrian Buckmaster – photography ;Technical credits * Robert Hadley – mastering * Doug Sax – mastering * The Mastering Lab (Hollywood, California) – mastering location * Barry J. Eastmond – engineer * Al Schmitt – engineer, mixing (1–7) * Bill Smith – engineer * Michael O'Reilly – mixing (8, 9) * Steve Genewick – assistant engineer, mix assistant (1–7) * Jason Wormer – assistant engineer * Peter Doris – mix assistant (8, 9) {{div col end}}

== Charts == {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |+ Chart performance for ''Christmas Fantasy'' ! scope="col"| Chart (2005) ! scope="col"| Peak <br />position |- {{album chart|Billboard200|120|artist=Anita Baker|rowheader=true |accessdate=December 11, 2025|refname="Billboard200"}} |- {{album chart|BillboardRandBHipHop|31|artist=Anita Baker|rowheader=true |accessdate=December 11, 2025|refname="BillboardRandBHipHop"}} |- {{album chart|BillboardHoliday|17|artist=Anita Baker|rowheader=true |accessdate=December 11, 2025|refname="BillboardHoliday"}} |}

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{Anita Baker}} {{Authority control}}

Category:Anita Baker albums Category:Blue Note Records albums Category:2005 Christmas albums Category:Christmas albums by American artists Category:Jazz Christmas albums Category:Contemporary R&B Christmas albums Category:Albums recorded at Capitol Studios

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