Luke Bryan and his family have a few different traditions for Christmas, but one of the most enduring one for the Bryan family is dressing up in holiday PJs and having chili dogs on Christmas Eve.
“We have a pajama night and we do chili dogs on Christmas Eve, and we’ve always done that,” says Luke. “My mother comes up and we go shop. She makes me go shop with her, so we have to pick out all the right stuff. We have to get the proper buns, the proper wieners. It’s very important. All beef wieners for the chili dog cooking. It’s a ritual. So, we’re eating chili dogs in pajamas, and so it’s special anytime you can come up with fun traditions and hold true to them. Yeah, so cooking chili dogs in a onesie is pretty special.”
Luke and his wife Caroline used to pack up the boys and the presents in his tour bus and go back to Georgia for the holidays, but as the boys have gotten older and their family has expanded, they prefer to be at home in Nashville and play host to family and friends. “We used to load ‘em up on the tour bus and we used to take them to Georgia, and it was a lot to travel with kids, and I’m sure there’s a lot of people doing the same,” he says. “And so, now that we’re in Nashville, we’ve had a lot of Christmases here, the kids are getting a little older, but they still get excited about running down the stairs Christmas morning. We tape up a bunch of, in our hallway, we tape up a bunch of wrapping paper and they kind of run through the wrapping paper like a football team to see all the presents and stuff, so it’s fun. We still have a lot of the family come up, try to plan a few hunting trips the day before Christmas and have a big Christmas Eve and let some kids open the presents, but it’s still great to be with my family during the holidays. The kids just get a little older, but we cherish every holiday season together.”
For Luke, there’s nothing like seeing his house decorated for Christmas with the tree and lights to get him in the Christmas spirit. “I guess what gets me in the Christmas spirit is coming home and the house is decorated, and the tree is up and all the lights, all the lights are on,” he says. “The last couple of years doing American Idol, I spend about 10 days of December in L.A. taping, so when I leave L.A., get home, it’s like my time to really settle into Christmas and enjoy the holidays with family. So, yeah, nothing like seeing the tree in the house that gets you going and starting to hear Christmas carols on the radio and starting to see some of our favorite Christmas movies on TV.”
No word on what his wife Caroline will be getting him this year, but he does say her gift a few years ago was the most meaningful — she tracked down his late brother’s truck and presented it to him one Christmas. “By far the best Christmas present I have ever gotten and will ever get was when my wife Caroline went and found my brother’s old pickup truck from 1996 that they found the VIN number and it was down in Louisiana and it was still on the road. And her and my dad went down, they picked it up, brought it to Nashville and Christmas Eve night pulled into the driveway with it, and let’s just say that yes, the tears were flowing, and it will never be topped. I don’t know how you’ll ever top it. What an amazing moment for me and my family and it was pretty special. And that truck is where we do our turkey hunting; it’s the turkey hunting truck. So, all my turkey hunting gear stays in there, and when the boys see me pull up in my brother’s truck, they know we’re fixing to go turkey hunting.”
Also, one of his favorite Christmas gifts as a child had wheels and a motor, as well. “My favorite Christmas gift is definitely my first Honda 50 motorcycle that I got back in 1984. It was just an amazing gift to have under the tree, and I never will forget seeing that as I walked out.”
While he has a couple of Christmas tunes out — “Run, Run Rudolph” and “O Holy Night” — he says his very favorite holiday tune is “White Christmas.”
Luke is poised to climb to the top of the country charts with his latest single, “But I Got A Beer In My Hand.”
Luke Bryan (Bryan Christmas tradition) OC: …pretty special. :41
“We have a pajama night and we do chili dogs on Christmas Eve, and we’ve always done that. My mother comes up and we go shop. She makes me go shop with her so we have to pick out all the right stuff. We have to get the proper buns, the proper wienersIt’s very important. All beef wieners for the chili dog cooking. It’s a ritual. So, we’re eating chili dogs in pajamas, and so it’s special anytime you can come up with fun traditions and hold true to them. Yeah, so cooking chili dogs in a onesie is pretty special.
Luke Bryan (Christmas now) OC: …season together. :51
“Well, I think as the kids get older, we used to load ‘em up on the tour bus and we used to take them to Georgia, and it was a lot to travel with kids, and I’m sure there’s a lot of people doing the same. And so, now that we’re in Nashville, we’ve had a lot of Christmases here, the kids are getting a little older, but they still get excited about running down the stairs Christmas morning. We tape up a bunch of, in our hallway, we tape up a bunch of wrapping paper and they kind of run through the wrapping paper like a football team to see all the presents and stuff, so it’s fun. We still have a lot of the family come up, try to plan a few hunting trips the day before Christmas and have a big Christmas Eve and let some kids open the presents, but it’s still great to be with my family during the holidays. The kids just get a little older, but we cherish every holiday season together.”
Luke Bryan (Christmas spirit) OC: …on TV. :36
“I guess what gets me in the Christmas spirit is coming home and the house is decorated, and the tree is up and all the lights, all the lights are on. The last couple of years doing American Idol, I spend about 10 days of December in L.A. taping, so when I leave L.A., get home, it’s like my time to really settle into Christmas and enjoy the holidays with family. So, yeah, nothing like seeing the tree in the house that gets you going and starting to hear Christmas carols on the radio and starting to see some of our favorite Christmas movies on TV.”
Luke Bryan (Most meaningful Christmas gift) OC: …turkey hunting. :55
“By far the best Christmas present I have ever gotten and will ever get was when my wife Caroline went and found my brother’s old pickup truck from 1996 that they found the VIN number and it was down in Louisiana and it was still on the road. And her and my dad went down, they picked it up, brought it to Nashville and Christmas Eve night pulled into the driveway with it, and let’s just say that yes, the tears were flowing and it will never be topped. I don’t know how you’ll ever top it. What an amazing moment for me and my family and it was pretty special. And that truck is when we do our turkey hunting; it’s the turkey hunting truck. So, all my turkey hunting gear stays in there, and when the boys see me pull up in my brother’s truck they know we’re fixing to go turkey hunting.”
Luke Bryan (Christmas gift) OC: …walked out. :15
“My favorite Christmas gift is definitely my first Honda 50 motorcycle that I got back in 1984. It was just an amazing gift to have under the tree, and I never will forget seeing that as I walked out.”
Luke Bryan (favorite thing about Christmas) OC: …special time. :32
“My favorite part of the holidays obviously is watching the kids – watching the boys’ excitement for what they may or may not be getting and watching them tear open Christmas presents on Christmas morning. You got the fireplace going. You got Christmas music on the TV. You’ve got – you get up at 6am. You’re exhausted and you’ve got all your family there. It doesn’t get any better than certainly waking up on Christmas mornings and just having that special time.”
Luke Bryan (favorite Christmas song) OC: …’White Christmas.’ :03
“Favorite Christmas song is definitely ‘White Christmas.’”
