I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas

Written by	John Rox
Date	1950
Publisher	Edwin H. Morris & Co. Inc.

"I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" is a novelty Christmas song popularized in a 1953 recording by 10-year-old Gayla Peevey. The Oklahoma City Zoo used the song as part of a campaign to raise money to purchase a hippo. A baby hippo named Matilda was purchased as a Christmas present for Peevey, who in turn donated it to the zoo.

Elmo sings "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" on the album Elmo Saves Christmas: Holiday Favorites.

Anne Hathaway and Big Bird sang the song in Elmo's Christmas Countdown, replacing "Hippopotamus" with "Snuffleupagus".