Dolly Parton Shares Her Top Christmas Songs

Dolly Parton’s holiday music legacy began in 1984 with the release of “Once Upon a Christmas,” a collaborative album with Kenny Rogers.

In 1990, she released her solo festive collection titled “Home for Christmas.” However, after a thirty-year gap, fans were finally treated to her next holiday album, “A Holly Dolly Christmas,” which included well-loved classics such as “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” and “Mary, Did You Know?”

Over the years, Dolly Parton has also brought her holiday cheer to the screen, contributing original songs to projects such as “Christmas at Dollywood” for the Hallmark Channel and Netflix’s “Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square.”

Dolly Parton’s love for the holiday season shines as brightly as the Christmas lights she adores, making her a true queen of festive cheer. “Well, you know I love all the Christmas songs,” she told PEOPLE. “I love the fast ones; I love the slow ones.”

Among her favorites are “Silent Night” and “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” “But then I love ‘Rudolph’ and all of those fun things,” she added. “I just love all of that.”

While she loves the classics, Dolly Parton recognizes how much the way people consume music has evolved over the years and has embraced technology herself to make enjoying her favorite songs simpler than ever.

“We all have either an Alexa or Siri or one of those kinds of things,” she told the outlet. “I just always holler out, ‘Alexa, play holiday music for 12 hours in my house,’ or something like that, and I just like all of it.”

In 2022, Dolly Parton shared her love for holiday traditions, revealing that she goes all out when it comes to decorating her home, with a Christmas tree in every room—including a real one as the centerpiece.

“I always want a live tree because Daddy would take us to chop a tree down. He’d look at all the trees and make us pick out the perfect one,” she told BHG. “And we’d all want to hold the axe, but he wouldn’t let us because we’d have probably chopped each other to pieces.”

Each year, Dolly Parton kicks off the holiday season by starting her Christmas decorating the day after Thanksgiving. “Christmas lights are turned on. The wreaths go up. I have a little chapel on my property; I put a cross on top of that,” she said.

Growing up as one of 12 children, Dolly Parton still embraces the holiday season with the same sense of wonder she felt as a child. She fondly remembers how her mother always went above and beyond to make Christmas magical, even when the family had limited means.

“Momma was creative, and she understood that she had to tell the right stories. And she had to make it exciting,” the “9 to 5” singer said. “She could cook anything, and it would taste good, because she would talk about the magic she put in it. She could get you there. Like, she mentally got you there.”

When it comes to holiday culinary traditions, Dolly Parton knows her famous chicken and dumplings are always a surefire way to bring joy to her loved ones.

“Everyone always wants my recipe. But I’m not even gonna leave it behind when I’m gone. I want them to always say, ‘This doesn’t taste the same. I miss Dolly’s,’ ” the singer said.

Dolly Parton’s love for cooking runs deep, shaped by her childhood in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. Growing up in a large family with 11 siblings, meals were modest but always prepared with love—a tradition Parton has carried into her own life. She often shares how food serves as a way to bring family and friends together, taking pride in preparing and sharing her favorite recipes, particularly during the holiday season.

When asked about being dubbed “the new queen of Christmas,” the music icon graciously declined the title with her signature humility.

“Now, don’t you say that! I’m not going to compete with Mariah (Carey),” she said during her interview with BHG. “I love her. You think of Christmas, you think of Mariah. I’m happy to be second in line to her.”