Thomas Rhett and Lauren Akins served as hosts for the annual CMA Country Christmas special on Monday night, taking fans into a set designed to look like a holiday-decorated home and introducing performances from artists including Tim McGraw, Florida Georgia Line and Kelsea Ballerini. Like any scripted show, there were a few bloopers, which were caught on tape to the delight of fans.
In a hilarious blooper reel Rhett shared on Tuesday, he and Akins attempt to complete their hosting duties but are derailed by wayward gifts, a bug and mistletoe issues, among other things. “@laur_akins and I had a time filming #CMAchristmas,” Rhett joked. He added that if fans had missed the show, it is currently streaming on Hulu and On Demand until Dec. 10. “Not sure how many times I’ve liked this already,” Russell Dickerson commented on the clip. “Hahahaha this is awesome,” added Hardy. Rhett and Akins’ daughters, Willa Gray, Ada James and Lennon Love, also appeared during the special, though they didn’t make the blooper reel.
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In addition to hosting, Rhett performed during the show, taking to the festive set with his original holiday song “Christmas in the Country,” which he released in 2019. He also released a cover of “The Christmas Song” and shared at the time that Akins was the inspiration behind his holiday releases.
“Christmas is hands-down my favorite time of year,” Rhett said in a statement last holiday season. “We have so many Christmas traditions in our family that include a lot of festive music, but I’ve never recorded anything myself. Lauren has wanted me to make some Christmas music for a long time, so this year felt like the right time to finally take a stab at writing something and to put my own twist on one of the all-time classics.”
This year, the Akins family is celebrating Christmas as a family of five for the first time after the addition of Lennon Love in February, and the holiday movies have already started playing.
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“We always watch The Santa Clause at least a thousand times before Christmas actually gets there, and we still kind of celebrate Christmas five or six days after Christmas, as well, because we’re not ready for it to end,” Rhett previously told his record label. “And we always decorate our house and we love Christmas. It’s our favorite time of the year, and as our kids get older, hopefully they can help us make some new traditions.”
