Luke Bryan loves everything about Christmas. The 47-year-old makes sure the entire celebration is a family affair, now thankfully centered around their Music City home.
“I think as the kids get older — we used to load them up on the tour bus and we used to take them to Georgia, and it was a lot to travel with kids,” Bryan tells his record label. “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. In our hallway, we tape up a bunch of wrapping paper, and they 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,” he adds, “[and] 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.”
Bryan doesn’t get to enjoy the entire holiday season in Middle Tennessee, thanks to his job on American Idol. But once he gets home, he is in full-on Christmas mode.
“What gets me in the Christmas spirit is coming home and the house is decorated, and the tree is up, and all the lights are on,” Bryan shares. “The last couple of years doing American Idol, I spend about ten days of December in L.A. taping. So when I leave L.A., [and] get home, it’s like my time to really settle into Christmas and enjoy the holidays with family. 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.”
For Bryan, the best part of Christmas isn’t receiving gifts, but watching his sons open what he and his wife, Caroline, got them.
“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,” the singer-songwriter says. “You got the fireplace going. You got Christmas music on the TV. You get up at 6:00 AM. 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.”
Bryan could potentially have a No. 1 hit as his own Christmas present. His current single, “But I Got A Beer In My Hand” is in the Top 10. Find all of Bryan’s music and upcoming shows at LukeBryan.com.
