It’s hard to believe the holidays are in full swing, but here we are.
In the world of country music, there’s just one major event left on the calendar for 2026 as the CMA Awards will air in just under two weeks, and most of the tours major artists have been on for months are wrapping up.
I’m sure it’s a highly-anticipated time of year as their work calendars slow down, and one of the busiest people in country music this year, Riley Green, is looking forward to some time off.
In interview with TODAY, he talked about how the one thing he wants for Christmas is some time off… and a little cool weather to get out in the woods and hunt. With the schedule he’s had this year, I don’t blame him one bit. I think I’d just want to sit and stare at a wall for a good solid week if I were him:
“Some time off. If I get to go home and spend some time with the family and have some nice, cool weather days to get out in the woods, I think I’ll be really happy.”
Seeing as he’s had a jam-packed year, from his extensive tour schedule and new gig on The Voice, “a little bit of time at the farm” and some peace and quiet is something he doesn’t take for granted:
“I think the busier you are, the more you need that, and the more successful you are, the more you need that. I think everybody needs to be reminded that you’re still a regular dude. And going back to Alabama, I’m certainly reminded of that. My buddies don’t let me forget.”
Riley says he loves to “nap” when he’s at home, as well as get on a tractor and clear some land or plant a field:
“Nap usually. When I get to my farm in Alabama, I love to get on a tractor and clear some land or till up and plant a green field. I like being able to see what you get done at the end of the day.”
And when it comes to some of his favorite holiday memories, Riley says that his favorite Christmas gift he ever got was a drum set (his poor parents), but of course, it’s the memories with his loved ones that he cherishes the most:
“Both sets of grandparents would come over Christmas morning, and we’d kind of stretch it out for a week going to visit everybody. Family being around everybody is something that I’ve always really enjoyed, and now I probably appreciate it more than ever.”
He says there’s one specific tradition in particular that he wants to start when he one day has his own family, and that would be going to open presents at the grandparents house, and of course, all of the good southern cooking, like his mom’s breakfast casserole and sweet potato casserole:
“Going to grandmother’s house and opening presents. And the cooking. We would do breakfast at my grandmother’s house. She made really good biscuits and gravy.
I think that I would love for my family to be able to experience some of the home-cooked meals that I got growing up and going to those family gatherings.”
It really is those kinds of things that mean the most when it comes to celebrating the holidays, and speaking of Riley and Christmas, in 2024, he released a song called “Christmas To Me,” which is a nostalgic holiday tune about his most special and cherished Christmas memories.
It’s far from your typical cheesy Christmas song in that it’s reflective, warm and far from a lot of the gimmicky, cheesy types of holiday jingles a lot of artists put out this time of year. Written by Riley along with frequent collaborator Erik Dylan, it finds Riley reminiscing on the Christmas season and some of his most special, and funny, memories.
It’s steeped in Southern charm and has such a nostalgic undertone in terms of the lyrics, and feels so simple yet relatable as he sings about his mom about to “come apart” because she just found out about his sisters new tattoo (what’s Christmas without a little family drama, right?):
“And all them in-laws are showin’ up late
For a five star meal on a paper plate
The sound of bare foot feet runnin’ through the house
The football games just about to start
About the time momma has a come-apart
Cause sisters new tattoo she just found out about
There’s a string of lights all tangled around the tree
That’s Christmas to me”
I just can’t get over the fact that we’re in November and Thanksgiving is quickly approaching, and I am far from being ready to listen to Christmas music yet, but I will make an exception for “Christmas To Me,” it’s just beautiful:
“Christmas To Me”
