Dolly Parton’s Childhood Christmases Had Magic Without Santa: ‘He Never Found Us’
Dolly Parton’s childhood Christmases didn’t involve Santa. The country music icon grew up in the mountains of Tennessee and Santa never came to her house. However, that didn’t keep the Grammy winner from having a wonderful holiday with her family.
Dolly Parton grew up in a log cabin with her parents and siblings
The musician-actor-philanthropist spent her childhood living in Sevierville, Tennessee. Although Parton’s net worth is now estimated to be $600 million she didn’t have money growing up. Her parents were sharecroppers and the Parton family lived in a log cabin without electricity. Often her father hunted for food to feed the “Jolene” singer and her 11 Parton siblings.
“Most people have four rooms and a bath; we had one room and a path. We had the little outdoor shack outback,” she said on The Nate Berkus Show. “It was a good life, and I loved growing up in the mountains. We were really just people, and God and family meant everything to us.”
Dolly Parton’s childhood Christmases had ‘magic’ without gifts from Santa
Winters were difficult for the Parton family but Christmases were special. Parton remembers it being a joyous time despite Santa never delivering presents.
As she said on Southern Living’s Biscuits and Gravy podcast in November 2020, she and her siblings didn’t give up home. “We believed in Santa Claus. We lived far back in the mountains. He never found us. We believed in him. We figured he was going to find us one day.
In addition, Parton’s childhood Christmases were magical without gifts from Santa. “We made a lot of things for each other, homemade toys, Mom and Dad made for us. And so, it was just a special time. It just felt different. And it just felt, you know, like there was some kind of magic,” she said.
Parton’s childhood Christmases also included her mom telling the story of the holiday and really making it “come to life” for the singer and her brothers and sisters.
How Dolly Parton celebrates Christmas now
Parton’s childhood Christmases are a thing of the past but the country music star still makes it special. After all, Christmas is Parton’s favorite holiday. And as such the “I Will Always Love You” singer goes all out. She might dress up as Santa or wear red, green, and white throughout the entire holiday season.
On Christmas Day the festivities start early. Parton, a well-known early riser, cooks while listening to Christmas music. She and her longtime husband, Carl Dean, will exchange gifts — oven mitts for her and tools or an original song for him — and family will come over.
That’s not all. According to Today, Parton hosts what she calls Cookie Night. She invites all of the children in her family over for a sleepover. In addition to baking cookies, Parton dresses up as Santa, sits in front of an elevator that doubles as a chimney, and hands out presents.
