Dolly Parton spills the beans on bizarre Christmas tradition

Dolly Parton is all about extravagance on Christmas.

The veteran singer and actress, 78, gave a glimpse of what Christmas is like with her longtime husband Carl Thomas Dean, 82, despite not having any kids of their own as she appeared in the latest cover of Good Housekeeping UK.

"Every year, I play Granny Claus – I get in my Santa Claus suit and I come down the chimney with my sack full of presents," she explained. "Even though a lot of the children are grown-up now, they still expect me to do it. One day, I’ll be hobbling in that elevator!"

"Tourists come round and look at the outside of my house, so for their sake, it’s a bit less tacky out there, but inside I can tacky it up any way I please!" she joked.

The Jolene songstress expressed how she makes the most of the festivities, regardless of the turnout of guests.

 "I have Christmas trees in all the rooms, everything has lights on – and then we add more lights, and then more lights. I change all the decor up – the dishcloths and the curtains."

Parton makes sure her outfits are also on par with her high spirits. "I have Christmas lights in my hair – I have them everywhere," she spilled to the outlet. "I wear earrings that light up, a reindeer necklace that lights up, I wear sweaters with Christmas lights on – you push a button and I light up!"

Parton has addressed not having kids before as well in a 2018 People cover interview.

“Now that I’m older, I realise I didn’t have kids of my own, so everybody’s kids could be mine,” Parton told the publication at the time. “I [want to] empower children and give them confidence.”

In 2023, she shared an Instagram post of her holiday 'fits throughout the years with the caption "I'm always in costume on Christmas." 

She also described her extravagant fashion in her book Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones. She once admitted to be inspired by the idea of a "town tramp," in an interview with The Guardian.

"She was flamboyant," Parton told the outlet. "She had bright red lipstick, long red fingernails. She had high-heeled shoes, little floating plastic goldfish in the heels of them, short skirts, low-cut tops, and I just thought she was beautiful."