Martina McBride photo courtesy of Republic Nashville.
Martina McBride grew up in Kansas and Christmas mornings for her and her siblings were always extra special. Not only did Santa Claus come, he made them wait in suspense just a little bit longer.
“When we were growing up, Santa Claus would cover the presents with a blanket,” Martina said. “A white blanket. So when we’d come down on Christmas morning or come in on Christmas morning, we couldn’t just see it immediately. And so we had to wait for my dad to do the big reveal of all the presents that Santa brought.”
Now, Martina has a family and traditions of her own and is looking forward to celebrating the holidays with her husband John and their three daughters, Delaney, who will turn 17 on December 22, Emma, who is 13, and 6-year-old Ava. While visiting GAC, Martina shared her holiday recipe for Peanut Butter Incredibles with us. Get the delicious recipe >>
The Band Perry travels the country playing music for their fans, but on Christmas morning, they can be found at a restaurant in their hometown of Greenville, Tennessee for their family’s traditional Christmas brunch.
“It seems like everybody from town comes out to eat,” Neil Perry said. “And everyone just has a great time. It’s like a big family reunion in our town. And I’ll never forget the first year we went there, we were sitting in the library room and it starts snowing right outside the window. It was just like from a movie. It was amazing.”
In true family form, the Perrys load up the car and head for their favorite spot in the restaurant. “We always load up our parents and our grandmother and we always sit at the same table every year and just make a morning of it,” Kimberly Perry said. One of the trio’s favorite holiday recipes is traditional pumpkin pie. Get their family recipe HERE >>
Raised by a single mother, Sunny Sweeney admits they struggled financially when she was growing up. But while their pockets weren’t overflowing, that didn’t stop her and her mother from giving back to others.
“My mom and I would go do Meals on Wheels sometimes,” she said. “We didn’t have much to eat, but we would go do Meals on Wheels for all the old people that were homebound in our hometown. And that was always really cool for me. Even as a kid, I remember thinking that it was weird and it wasn’t what my friends were doing, but I remember thinking it was cool.”
Afterward their Meals on Wheels route, Sunny and her mom would spend time with their family, but in the mornings they would drive around for three or four hours and hand out food. This year Sunny will spend the holidays with her new husband, Jeff, whom she married on November 11.
Stars like Vince Gill, Scotty McCreery, Miranda Lambert and more shared their favorite holiday memories with GAC. Check out our Holiday Memories video channel to see who had a Lion King-themed Christmas, and who’s looking forward to their first married Christmas!
