With the holiday season upon us, some of country music’s biggest and brightest stars are looking back at some of their favorite Christmas memories. PopCulture.com has a very merry round-up of special memories courtesy of superstars like Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan and Keith Urban as well as up-and-coming names on the country scene.
Keep scrolling to get an inside look at some of their most hilarious and heartwarming memories from years past and present. From Barbie houses and special pancakes to bike crashes and Christmas carols, these stars’ memories will bring a smile to your face.
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Carrie Underwood
“One thing that we always did growing up that was one of my favorite memories, we would – on Christmas Eve – we would go to my grandparents’ house,” Underwood said in a statement. “Us kids were always responsible for putting oranges and apples and bananas in little paper bags and we would go down to the nursing home and sing Christmas carols.”
Luke Bryan
“Probably my funniest memory is Santa Claus brought me a little motorcycle – I was probably 9 years old and I got a little Honda 50,” Bryan recalled. “I was able to crank it up and go show my buddy next door and I ran into his swing set. That was my first official wreck on my 50 – hero to zero.”
Keith Urban
“I have great memories of getting up early and going and jumping on [my] parents’ bed and getting them up,” Urban shared of his childhood. “You know, and then, of course, you tear open the presents and then it’s done and it’s like eight in the morning, and you’ve got all morning now to sort of wish you had more presents to open.”
The Australia native continued, “We had great Christmases growing up. I really, really enjoyed them. Mostly, we’d go to the beach, you know, ’cause there it’s summertime. Load up the station wagon and head off to the beach.”
Brett Eldredge
“My favorite Christmas memory is cramming into my aunt’s house with all of my family. Cousins, parents, aunts, uncle, my brother….it always makes for a fun few days back in Illinois,” Eldredge remembered. “It brings that childhood wonder back, which is what the holidays are all about.”
Carly Pearce
“When I was a little girl, all I wanted was a three-story Barbie house, and one Christmas morning there it was sitting under the tree,” Pearce recalled. “I couldn’t believe it! That is still one of my favorite Christmas memories.”
Ginger Minj
“There is something so special about the magic of the holidays that I’ve always loved and Christmas music has always played a big role in that,” the RuPaul’s Drag Race alum shared. “Being able to do a Christmas tour and perform some of my favorite songs alongside my drag sisters, the Golden Gals, is the best way to get in the holiday spirit.”
Greylan James
“Growing up in East Tennessee, my family would always take my brother and I to Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg to see the lights in the mountains,” the “Walls” artist remembered. “Even now since I’ve grown up and moved to Nashville, I still make the yearly trip back to the Smokies because it isn’t Christmas without it!”
Levi Hummon
“One of my favorite Christmas memories was driving up to [Washington D.C.] to visit my grandparents. I think I was like 6 years old and all of my cousins were there, and my grandpa woke up in the middle of the night and jingled Christmas bells and even managed to stomp around on the roof a little bit to convince us that Santa was real,” the “Good Riddance” artist shared. “I was so convinced that Santa actually came to the house that night, that years later I still believed in him – probably long after I shouldn’t have, haha.”
Johnny Dailey
“My wife and I just welcomed a new baby girl to our family this month, so I’d have to say this Christmas might just be my favorite as it’ll be our first Christmas as a family of five,” the “Got Married” artist explained. “We’ve always loved decorating the tree as a family and it’ll be nice to have Mary Jo here now too.”
Taryn Papa
“My favorite Christmas memory is setting up the electric train around the bottom of my grandparents’ Christmas tree!” the “Mistletoe” artist recalled. “Each year, Grandpa got a new train car to attach and I loved unboxing and putting the pieces together with him!”
Liddy Clark
“One of my favorite Christmas memories is tracking Santa Claus using the [NORAD] tracker website,” the “Floodzone” artist shared. “I remember our family would buy special reindeer food to leave out in front of our house and we would, of course, leave cookies for Santa. When the tracker said that he was getting close to our house, all of the kids would have to go to sleep so that Santa could come to our house!”
Chance McKinney
“When my brother and I were ages 3-10, we’d always travel with my folks to my grandparents’ house in Darby, [Montana].Like clockwork, we’d get to open a gift – maybe two – on Christmas Eve and then head for bed,” the “Nothin’ Better to Do” artist remembered. “I don’t remember a time when my grandmother didn’t beat us out of bed at the crack of dawn to make blueberry silver dollar pancakes.”
“We’d wake up to Santa’s gifts and blueberry pancakes every Christmas Day,” he continued. “It doesn’t take much to make a kid’s dream come true.The gifts were gifts… but the pancakes were love.I hope we’re making memories like this for my kids.”
Jordana Bryant
“One of my favorite Christmas memories is decorating the tree with my family,” the “First Christmas in Love” artist shared. “We have this super old speaker that we always pull out so we can listen to our Christmas playlist while we decorate and we always sing along very loudly and off-key … It’s so much fun to spend time with my family and get in the holiday spirit, and it’s become one of my favorite traditions.”