This superstar knows how to spin a little holiday magic.
You probably know Dolly Parton does not have children of her own.
Thereforeand she would probably agreewe all are her children.
Credit:Art Streiber
Shes perhaps the one darn thing we can all agree on today.
Its upon that premise we begin this Christmas story.
Dollywe all call her by her first name and she knows thishas her own firmly held beliefs.
Say, aboutChristmas decorations.
She is unwavering on when they shall go up.
I start the day after Thanksgiving, she says.
Credit:Art Streiber
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.
The first ornament on her tree?
(To be clear, there are many trees.)
A little patchwork star Momma made for us when I was little.
The tea was given to her by Ellen DeGeneres.
Momma always made Christmas great even though we didnt have the money, she says, cuddling her mug.
Now, dont you say that!
You think of Christmas, you think of Mariah.
Im happy to be second in line to her.
You know Dollys story.
Credit:Art Streiber
A performer by the age of 10, Dolly had her first studio album in 1967.
Shes had 51 more since, along with hit movies, best-selling books, and atheme park.
Mileys dad, Billy Ray, costars along with Jimmy Fallon.
We both feel it, and we love it.
If you think she works a lot at this time of year, youre right.
The holidays make me very creative, cause Im happy.
Credit:Better Homes & Gardens
And I take a stab at remember, and I draw from that, from that spirit of Christmas.
Dollys legendary, nearly apocryphal origin story is never far from her at any time.
But it comes rushing back in full relief every December.
Thats how we felt back then, she says.
She pauses and seems to teleport herself back to the mid-50s to Locust Ridge in east Tennessee.
Her mother, she says, possessed a powerful form of, lets call it, holiday magic.
I always say Momma could tell you anything and make you believe it.
She had to make Christmas good for all of us, Dolly says.
She didnt have any money to do it any other way.
You know, we really didnt know we were poor.
I always make a joke, We didnt know we was poor til some smart-ass up and told us.
Dolly continues: Momma was creative, and she understood that she had to tell the right stories.
And she had to make it exciting.
She could get you there.
Like, she mentally got you there.
It was more than just the story of Jesus being born.
You could see those kings.
You could see that star.
You could smell that donkey.
Dollys younger sister, Rachel George-Parton, agrees.
Momma always made Christmas fun when we were growing up, Rachel says.
Singing all the Christmas songs, hearing the Christmas story, and eatin Mommas good food.
We didnt even have electricity forlights on the tree.
We had popcorn garland, she says.
Thats one of the things I have to have today.
I never got over being country.
Dolly insists that every room in her house has to have a Christmas tree in it.
I always want alive treebecause Daddy would take us to chop a tree down, she says.
Hed look at all the trees and make us pick out the perfect one.
Dolly is a lot like Momma, Rachel tells me.
She still makes Christmas fun for all of us older ones and our young ones as well.
There used to be a Christmas party in Beverly Hills.
Every Christmas I think of Sandy and his party, Dolly says.
He threw the best parties of anybody at any time, ever.
Gallin was Jewish, Dolly says, but he loved all the Christmas songs.
He loved the trees.
He loved everything about Christmas.
He always had that one essential element at a party: a little surprise.
One year there was a full church choir on the staircase when you walked in.
Everybody would jump in and sing along.
Oh, it was amazing.
Dolly often served as cohost.
He was gay and he didnt have a partner, and so I was always like his partner.
We would greet all the peopleeverybody, every celebrity.
I mean every person in Hollywood, theyd all come.
Madonna, Olivia Newton-John, Shirley MacLaine, the cast ofDynasty, the Beastie Boys.
Or theyd ask, What do I have to do to get into Sandy Gallins party?
Still some of the best times Ive ever had in my life.
Now, on the night before Christmas at Dollys, her friends and family will be over.
I make a great punch.
Sometimes its spiced, Dolly says with a snicker.
(She means booze.
Her punch recipe involves champagne and fruit.)
Christmas music is playing (the standards).
Christmas movies are playing (she prefers the Hallmark Channel ones).
And the food is plentifulusually takeout Chinese or lasagna, but sometimes she cooks.
The family loves my chicken and dumplings, she says.
Everyone always wants my recipe.
But Im not even gonna leave it behind when Im gone.
I want them to always say, This doesnt taste the same.
At some point that night, Santa will make an appearance.
Its got the flames and everything, she says.
I get in my Santa suit, and I got my Santa bags with their presents in it.
And I come down the chimney.
They call her Granny Claus.
With food coloring, she says, giggling.
Then theyll exchange their gifts.
Kitchen stuff for her, tool stuff for him.
Chocolate-covered cherries (something her father gave her mother) are always exchanged.
Carl Dean has been known to write her poems or sing her a song on Christmas Day.
He has a beautiful voice, she says.
The way Dolly explains it, some of her most beloved Christmas presents havent been gifts.
Like the time her brothers and sisters saved money so her father could give her mother a wedding band.
Or when she didnt get a lifelike doll that really peed and instead got a new baby brother.
(Trust me, this one pees too, her father promised her.)
And one big lesson she revisits every December, reaffirms even, is her belief in Santa Claus.
There’s a part of me that really does want to always believe in Santa Claus.
But when we were kids, we didn’t get that much.
I remember one time, we said, We didn’t see Santa Claus.
We’d waited for him.
Daddy said, Oh, hell.
We live so far back in these mountains, he can’t find us back here.
I’m sure he’d have a load of stuff if he’d have known where to bring them.
But I believe there’s always hope.
Thats what Ive learned.
it’s possible for you to always be given hope.
Dolly leans forward, unspooling her legs.
I do believe, she says, her tone turning serious.
She looks me square in the eyes, and her soft, whispery vibrato fills the room.
Dolly’s Holiday Essentials
We each have our holiday traditions.
These are a few of the ways Dolly celebrates in her home.
The Drink
Eggnog, or punch with champagne and fruit.
A little Christmas spirit.
And then we have the regular punch for the kids.
The Sparkle
I love tinsel.
The Tree
I do a few artificial trees, because I have a tree in every room.
But my main tree is always a real tree.
And yes, I do Christmas tree skirts.
I told you, Im tacky and I dont care.
I think Im doing alright!
Doesnt bother me though, I love Christmas.
The Ugly Sweaters
I got a whole bunch of Christmas sweaters that I wear.
A couple of them are as ugly as I could get emon purpose.
The Wrapping Paper
I like to use newspaper because it reminds me of being back home.
How we used the comics, when they were in color.
And I make my own bows sometimes too.
The Professionals
I have people who help me with my decorations.
But I like doing my tree myself.
The Controversy
Yeah, for years, I didnt care that much for fruitcake.
But my husband always loved it.
I always get him one.
The Letter
I like to write a letter to Santa Claus.
I pretend like its really a letter to God.
The Rules
I dont follow nobodys rules.
I just do what I feel right about in my heart!
