I Dream of Christmas earned largely favorable reviews from music critics. AllMusic editor Timothy Monger wrote about the album: "Tucked amid elegant arrangements of [...] standards are crafty Jones originals like "Christmas Calling (Jolly Jones)" and "It's Only Christmas Once a Year," each one built to last more than one season [...] Playful, cozy, and effortlessly low-key, I Dream of Christmas has all the hallmarks of a seasonal staple."[4] PopMatters editor Peter Piatkowski found that I Dream of Christmas "feels like a soothing salve on what seems like another troubled holiday season. The record is a wonderful soundtrack to the upcoming festivities and should be on the playlist of everyone’s Christmas party."[1]
Liz Thomson, wrinting for The Arts Desk, called I Dream of Christmas a "pleasing and well-paced selection of songs amid which even the ubiquitous "White Christmas" is more than tolerable – up-tempo, brush drums, Jones’ piano quoting from other festive faves and her breathy vocal giving it a sexy, yearning quality." She felt that "Jones' skill is to remind us that tired and hideously overdone as many of these numbers are, intrinsically good songs lie hidden beneath the musical cliches."[5] All About Jazz editor Jim Trageser declared the album "a lovely addition to the Christmas canon, with some wonderfully creative takes on old favorites coupled to some inspired new seasonal compositions."[3]
Stephanie Kaloi from Entertainment Weekly found that "Jones gifted us the perfect record to accompany introspective winter nights. With her sweeping and gentle takes on Christmas classics as well as her own originals, Jones combines the nostalgic sentiment expressed in much of her music with a certain holiday glow on a record to which you can kiss or cry."[8] Knoxville News Sentinel critic Chuck Campbell, wrote that the album was "even better than might have been expected as Jones and her band capture a cozy holiday vibe, soothing and a bit surreal, sometimes playful and occasionally melancholy. I Dream of Christmas is replete with the signature sleek, jazzy tones Jones has employed since her 2002 debut, Come Away With Me."[6]
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