"My December" was a song written and recorded specifically for Kevin & Bean's album The Real Slim Santa, a compilation of Christmas songs released by KROQ on November 28, 2000 made and available only in Southern California at Warehouse Records Stores.[1]

The majority of the song was written by Mike Shinoda inside Linkin Park's tour bus. It was written and recorded in only two days. Speaking to Theprp.com, Mike said: "We actually recorded it more recently, at a studio in Nashville. It was an idea sparked by the KROQ album. We figured, why not just write a new song, put it on that CD, and give it away for the holidays? So it'll be on our website soon."[2] The inspiration behind the song was "being on the road away from loved ones."[3] During a MSN Live chat in 2001, Brad said: "I like the song "My December." It's about going home."[4]

It was recorded at The Loft in Nashville, Tennessee, on October 9, 2000 (a day before Linkin Park's show in the city).

"My December" was also released in 2001 as part of the UK editon of the "One Step Closer" single and Japanese edition of Hybrid Theory. During the same interview with Theprp.com, Mike also talked about the single: "The "One Step Closer" Import single will feature a remix (by me) of an older hip hop track of ours called "High Voltage", along with a slower song called "My December". What's nice for me about these things is that I did the majority of the writing on those songs, and I produced and mixed both."[2]

In 2002, the song was also released as part of the Japanese EP for "In The End" and on the LP Underground 2.0 CD.