The album debuted on Billboard magazine's list of the 25 Best-Selling Pop LPs in the US in its December 15, 1958, issue and got as high as number three during its initial four-week run.[3] It made additional appearances there each holiday season from 1959 to 1962 and on the magazine's Christmas Albums and Pop Catalog Albums charts in subsequent years.[1] It received Gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America for reaching sales of 500,000 copies in the US in December 1960[4] and in 2013 ranked as one of the top selling Christmas albums of all time with five million copies sold.[5]
Four songs from the album – "Winter Wonderland", "Blue Christmas", "White Christmas", and "Sleigh Ride" – were also released on the EPMerry Christmas, Vol. 1, which reached number two during the 1958 holiday season and number seven the following year on the magazine's Best-Selling Pop EPs chart.[3] "Winter Wonderland" also spent three weeks on the UK singles chart, where his recording peaked at number 17 over the course of three weeks that began on Christmas Day 1958.[6]
The album was initially released only in the monaural format but became available in stereo in 1959.[7] It was issued in the UK by Fontana Records and was later reissued in 1962 with a different cover both there and in the US.[7] The original cover was used for compact disc pressings, the first of which was in 1984,[8] and an edition featuring two bonus tracks was released on September 16, 2003.[9] The 2015 Mathis compilation The Complete Christmas Collection 1958–2010, a 3-CD set on the Real Gone Music label, also includes the album in its track list.
