Dolly Parton Shared the Sweet, No-Cost Gifts Her Husband Gives Her for Christmas
With a number of holiday songs and TV specials under her belt, it’s clear that Dolly Parton enjoys the Christmas season. Though nearly everything about her is larger-than-life, Parton’s gift exchange with her husband is much more lowkey. She shared the heartfelt gifts that her husband, Carl Thomas Dean, gives her and dished on how she spends the holiday.
Carl Thomas Dean met her on her first day in Nashville
The day after she graduated high school, Parton packed her bags and moved to Nashville to pursue music. Though she said she wasn’t looking for a boyfriend — she left two behind in her hometown — she met Dean outside a laundromat on her first day in the city.
“I knew as soon as I met Carl there was no point looking for somebody else,” Marie Claire reports that Parton said.
The couple dated for two years before getting married. Though Dean avoids the spotlight that follows his wife, Parton says that suits them.
“They say that opposites attract, and it’s true,” Parton told People. “We’re completely opposite, but that’s what makes it fun. I never know what he’s gonna say or do. He’s always surprising me.”
Dolly Parton shared the heartfelt gifts he gets her
Despite her sequined lifestyle and explosive personality, Parton says that gift-giving in her house is very normal.
“My husband, Carl, and I are pretty easygoing when it comes to gifts,” she told Today. “He’s a carpenter and a mechanic, so I keep an eye on what he’s missing or what he’s worn out and I’ll buy him tools or flashlights. He knows I love to cook, so he’ll buy me things like aprons or oven mitts.”
She added that her favorite gifts from Dean are free.
“People laugh when they ask, ‘What did your husband buy for you?’ thinking I’ll say, ‘A diamond ring!’ He just buys me what he knows I really want,” she said. “I also write him songs and he writes me sweet poems. A poem inside a card is my favorite kind of gift.”
How Dolly Parton and Carl Thomas Dean spend Christmas
Parton revealed that she and Dean also host an annual cookie party for all the children in her family.
“I don’t have kids of my own, but I invite all the children in the family around to my house in the run-up to Christmas, and they come at noon and stay the night, until noon the next day,” she said. “I get a few of my friends to come and help with the littler kids, and we eat pizza and make cookies.”
She added that she likes to get dressed up to add to the festivities.
“I have an elevator in my house, and every Cookie Night, I dress it up like a chimney, with fake fire on it, and they all sit at the bottom waiting for Santa Claus,” she said. “I dress up as Santa and come out of the elevator with their gifts! I’ve been doing that for years, and they all look forward to it.”
