 Rolling Stone writer Caryn Ganz disliked the two original ballads , " Christmas Time Is Here Again " and " One Child " , describing them " both thick with gooey orchestration " , but praised " Oh Santa ! " and " When Christmas Comes " for their uptempo melodies . However , she was confused by the re @-@ recording of " All I Want for Christmas Is You " , saying that " It 's hard to figure out what 's ' extra festive ' " , and quipped that it is " far easier to determine what 's wrong with ' Auld Lang Syne ' ( an awkward dance beat ) " . Ganz concluded with " the LP 's warm heart is in the right place . " Eric Henderson of Slant Magazine gave the album two and a half stars our of five , writing " Everything about Carey ’ s sequel to 1994 ’ s buoyant , if , in retrospect , safe , Merry Christmas is as desperate and habitual as it is reassuringly predictable . " While he continued to label it as an " incredibly adventureless album , " he also wrote that it is a " remarkably comforting listen " . He felt that Merry Christmas II You was not a sequel , or a remake , but rather an attempt at rewinding time on Carey 's part . Rich Juzwiak of The Village Voice was critical of Merry Christmas II You . He described " One Child " as a " needless retelling " , " Oh Santa ! " as trying too hard and too difficult to sing along to and " All I Want for Christmas Is You ( Extra Festive ) " as a desperate attempt at Carey canonising herself for re @-@ recording her own song . " The near @-@ crazed desperation to please listeners for her own sake is all over Merry Christmas II You : A " gift " to her fans ( or so she claims ) that they , of course , must pay for , it 's her fascinating , career @-@ long saga of self @-@ obsession in a nutshell . " 
