Everyone has a certain tradition that they follow during the holidays. Whether it’s opening gifts on Christmas Eve or playing a hockey game with your oldest friends, we all have something that we do every holiday season.
Holiday traditions help us take a step back from our busy lives and focus on what is truly important. Even country music’s biggest stars have holiday traditions that they follow every year!
Check out some of these favourite holiday traditions from your favourite country artists and let us know what your favourite holiday traditions are on social media!
David James
“Every Boxing Day, I play a game of hockey on an outdoor rink with a handful of my old high school friends. We’ve been doing it for ten years. For many of us, it’s the only time we get to see each other and reconnect all year.”
Meghan Patrick
“Watching Christmas Vacation on Christmas Eve with my family.”
Tim Hicks
“One of my favourite holiday traditions is celebrating Trinidadian Christmas on Christmas Eve with my wife’s family. My mother-in-law is from Trinidad, so we celebrate with her side of the family that night. It’s always a blast, the food is incredible! Doubles, samosas, potato stuffing, chickens or Cornish hens… so good!”
Andrew Hyatt
“Opening one gift on Christmas Eve! I’ve been doing it since I was a kid and still love and look forward to it.”
Jess Moskaluke
“This one is a little strange, but when my brother and I were kids, my mom got this decorative elf doll that we appropriately named Chuckie. It was far creepier than it was cute, and it was about 3 feet tall. In an attempt to get our mom to get rid of it, we started hiding it in her closet, behind chairs, etc. to scare her. It became sort of a tradition, and it’s something we still do to this day! We were doing it before elf on the shelf was cool! (That’s a weird one, I know.)”
Kira Isabella
“My favourite holiday tradition is baking with my mom.”
Dan Davidson
“We’ve got a few in the Davidson house! One of my favourites is playing games with the family on Christmas Eve. Now that my three sisters and I are all grown ups (well legally anyway) it’s hard to get us all together in one place at once. Playing games (cards, board games, etc.) always brings me back to being a kid. We’ll have some eggnog, listen to some Buble and its awesome! My sisters and I used to always have a game of street hockey or head down to the outdoor rink too which I loved so much!”
Brett Kissel
“Very simple. We get a sheet of plywood, tie it to the back of a ski-doo with a rope, and all the kids pile onto that piece of plywood. We lay on our bellies, and hang on for dear life. Last one is the champion. We call this redneck sport Plywooding – and I am the returning Christmas champion.”
Vanessa Marie Carter
“My Dad still reads me The Night Before Christmas, and does some pretty great sound effects.”
Bobby Wills
“We gather as a family on Christmas Eve for dinner and the kids open presents. It’s been the same thing every Christmas for me since I was 18-months old.”
The Abrams
“As kids we would count houses with Christmas lights (we got up over 1000 one year) and we’d listen to Bruce Cockburn’s Christmas album as we opened gifts. We still try to do both.”
Aaron Goodvin
“It’s my new favourite tradition – going to the Franklin, TN theatre and watching It’s a Wonderful Life with Victoria.”
Shawn Austin
“Simply taking some time off with family and friends, picking out a good Christmas tree, and eating far more than I should.”
Martina McBride
“We do a 1000-piece puzzle every year. We start it shortly after the first of December, put it on the kitchen island and just work on it on and off until it’s finished. I love sitting with it each morning as I have my coffee. When friends come over they will pitch in. I’ve had Christmas parties where guests work on it. It becomes quite the conversation piece.”
Jojo Mason
“Growing up in SK, it would always snow on Christmas! So me and the family used to open presents on Christmas Day morning, get bundled up and go tobogganing for a few hours, come home and cook brunch together. Everyone had their job in the kitchen!”
Check out some favourite holiday recipes from your favourite country stars right here!
