Many families make a visit with Santa at Dollywood a part of their special holiday tradition. Dollywood's hard-working team created the perfect solution for that all-important chat. Santa’s List…Naughty or Nice is the best way to see Santa this year and we know families are going to embrace this new take on a cherished classic. Bernard, one of the elves who traveled with Santa to Dollywood—shares what guests will experience this year.
For the kids—and kids at heart—wondering what the Jolly Old Elf is up to this year, Dollywood shines a little light on Old Saint Nick’s home away from home. When he isn’t hard at work at the North Pole, Santa likes to visit East Tennessee and his favorite Smoky Mountain songstress, Dolly! Thanks to this brand-new experience, guests literally can see inside Santa’s cabin in the Smokies as he reviews…the list! Kids discover whether their name is on the naughty or nice list, and they even have their photo made as they peer through the window during this once-in-a-lifetime chance to catch Santa at work.
This season’s Christmas event at Dollywood features more than five million lights, the return of indoor entertainment including the guest-favorite Christmas in the Smokies, and seasonal culinary offerings like the new Blue Ribbon Buffet. For more information about this year’s festival and a park operating calendar, please visit Dollywood.com or download the Dollywood app.
Tis the season to be Dolly! Today, CMT and global music icon Dolly Parton announced an epic all-day Christmas extravaganza on Saturday, December 5. "CMT's Holly Dolly Christmas Movie Marathon" will feature a full Dolly channel takeover that includes a holiday movie marathon, classic music videos, a full episode of “CMT Hot 20 Countdown,” personal anecdotes from Dolly and more.
Kicking off the holiday festivities will be an entirely Dolly-themed episode of “CMT Hot 20 Countdown” airing at 9am ET/8am CT. Hosted by CMT’s Cody Alan and Katie Cook, the show will welcome Dolly as its only guest of the weekend to chat about her new album, A Holly Dolly Christmas, preview the holiday movie marathon and take a look back at her 30+ year history with CMT.
The main event - “CMT’s Holly Dolly Christmas Movie Marathon” - will begin directly following the episode and feature the most iconic Dolly films of all time: Coat of Many Colors, Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love, Unlikely Angel and Steel Magnolias. Throughout the marathon, fans can expect some fun Dolly surprises including personal holiday reflections and Christmas memories from Dolly herself, a tease for her upcoming CBS special and much more to make this ‘Holly Dolly Christmas’ truly unforgettable.
For more information, visit CMT.com.
Additional performances by Kelly Clarkson, Goo Goo Dolls, Earth, Wind & Fire, Brett Eldredge, Jimmy Fallon, Tori Kelly, Leslie Odom Jr., Pentatonix, Dan + Shay, Gwen Stefani, Meghan Trainor, Cast of “Ain’t Too Proud” and the Radio City Rockettes
NBC is ringing in the holiday season with its iconic “Christmas in Rockefeller Center” special on Wednesday, Dec. 2 at 8-10 p.m. ET/PT.
Viewers will be treated to festive performances by Kelly Clarkson, Goo Goo Dolls, Earth, Wind & Fire, Brett Eldredge, Jimmy Fallon, Tori Kelly, Leslie Odom Jr., Dolly Parton, Pentatonix, Dan + Shay, Gwen Stefani, and Meghan Trainor. The evening includes a special holiday treat with Clarkson and Eldredge performing together, along with duets featuring Parton and Fallon, and Trainor and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame supergroup Earth, Wind & Fire. The cast from the Tony Award-winning hit “Ain’t Too Proud” will perform a musical number and the Radio City Rockettes will also make an appearance.
Clarkson, Parton, Pentatonix, Stefani, and Trainor will perform at various locations around the country.
NBC News’ TODAY co-anchors Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb, Craig Melvin, and Al Roker will host.
Prior to the primetime telecast, an additional live hour of the special will be broadcast on all NBC Owned Television Stations as well as many of the NBC affiliates (7-8 p.m. ET. Check local listings). The regional hour will be co-hosted by “Access Hollywood’s” Mario Lopez along with NBC4 New York’s Natalie Pasquarella and David Ushery. Check local listings
“Every year our viewers look forward to NBC’s iconic tree-lighting ceremony,” said Doug Vaughan, Executive Vice President, Special Programs, NBC Entertainment. “There’s something special about kicking off the holiday season with such an awe-inspiring event.”
The tradition of the Rockefeller Christmas tree dates back to 1931 during the Great Depression. The first official tree-lighting ceremony occurred two years later in 1933 in front of the then eight-month-old RCA Building (the current Comcast Building). The Christmas tree gathering was enhanced in 1936 with the opening of the Rockefeller Plaza outdoor ice-skating pond. NBC-TV televised the tree lighting for the first time in 1951 on “The Kate Smith Show” and as part of the nationwide “Howdy Doody” television show from 1953-55.
The 88th annual holiday special will celebrate the lighting of a 75-foot tall, 45-foot wide Norway Spruce from Oneonta, N.Y. The tree weighs approximately 11 tons. It will be adorned with more than 50,000 multi-colored LEDs and will be topped with a stunning Swarovski star.
NBCUniversal will continue its partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation for the 12th year in a row to support tree-planting efforts across the United States. For each of the 50,000 bulbs decorating the Spruce, NBCUniversal will plant a tree in areas that have been affected by wildfires, hurricanes, and other natural disasters. This ongoing partnership is an important annual tradition that has helped to restore forests for future generations to enjoy.
After the tree leaves Rockefeller Center, it will be milled into lumber for donation to Habitat for Humanity and used to build homes in the region.
While the holidays are a time of celebration, there are also many families who are facing extraordinary challenges. At key moments throughout the night, viewers will have the opportunity to donate to Red Nose Day in support of children and families facing hunger and food insecurity this holiday season. In the U.S. alone, an estimated 1 in 4 children in the U.S., or around 18 million, have faced food insecurity in 2020 and may not know where their next meal will come from – a critical issue that has been significantly worsened by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Money raised during the broadcast will support programs providing meals to children and families as well as helping to address child hunger and long-term food insecurity both domestically and internationally.
With health and safety the highest concern, there will be no public access to the tree lighting ceremony at Rockefeller Center. The public is invited to view the live national broadcast “Christmas in Rockefeller Center” from home on NBC.
“Christmas in Rockefeller Center” is produced by the Emmy Award-winning Brad Lachman Productions. Brad Lachman serves as executive producer, Bill Bracken will co-executive produce and Debbie Palacio directs.
For more information on “Christmas in Rockefeller Center,” visit NBC.com and the NBC Universal Media Village website at NBCUMV.com.
As Dollywood gears up for Saturday’s (Nov. 7) opening of the family tradition that is the Smoky Mountain Christmas festival, it’s also beginning to feel like Christmas at Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort and Spa. Throughout the holiday season, guests to the resort can enjoy live entertainment and holiday meals, along with festive fun and excitement. Special events include breakfast with Santa’s Elves in December and the dancing tree show that takes place on the swimming pool deck each evening. For those looking for sweet treats, the resort even offers Dollywood’s world-famous cinnamon bread in the DreamMore Pantry.
The Christmas atmosphere welcomes guests as soon as they arrive at DreamMore Resort, and one of the people responsible for that is Bridget Farmer with the Resort Décor Team. Bridget said,
"My favorite part of the DreamMore decor is the lanterns in the trees... It is a design that comes from years and years past when people would put lanterns and candles in their trees."
Watch this behind-the-scenes look at the preparations made by Bridget and her team as they transform the resort for the season.
Book your stay at Dollywood's DreamMore Resort and Spa during the holidays and be sure to visit Dollywood's Smoky Mountain Christmas beginning Nov. 7.
The “high-spirited adventure” of Dolly Parton’s Stampede Dinner Attraction receives a festive twist for the holiday season with the magnificent sights and sounds of Christmas, including a full-scale living Nativity, holiday decorations, Santa Claus, and a fabulous four-course yuletide feast. In Branson, MO, Christmas shows start on October 29, 2020. The Christmas show debuts in Pigeon Forge, TN on November 3.
“Christmas is a very special time of year at Dolly Parton’s Stampede,” said David Swangel, General Manager of the Stampede in Pigeon Forge. “While our thrilling show provides fun for our guests, we also take time to celebrate the true meaning of the season, thanks to a full-scale, living Nativity that will transport guests back to that first Christmas so long ago. It’s special to our entire cast and staff when families share with us that this show has become a treasured part of their annual holiday traditions.”
Guests will be awed by the birth of Jesus re-enacted with Mary, Joseph, the wise men and a living Nativity of camels, donkeys and sheep. This touching scene is a reminder of the importance of the Christmas season.
Adults and children alike will enjoy “The Magic of Toys,” an amazing musical fantasy starring The Sugar Plum Fairy and a number of toys she magically brings to life in a celebration which includes a stunning aerial display set to the unforgettable music of The Nutcracker.
Stampede’s 32 magnificent horses, not to be confused with Santa’s reindeer, race in exciting competitions as audience members cheer their respective sides of the North Pole and South Pole on to victory. No Christmas is complete without an appearance by Santa, so after the arena is transformed into a winter wonderland of glistening, freshly fallen snow, Old Saint Nick arrives by sleigh to complete the festivities.
The entire Christmas experience is enhanced by the state-of-the-art, LED wall backdrop to the show’s 35,000-square-foot arena, which seamlessly complements the exciting action with stunning holiday scenery. Guests will feel as if they instantly have been transported deep in to the natural beauty of Christmas from the foothills surrounding the Great Smoky Mountains and to the clear skies above Bethlehem on the night of Jesus’ birth.
Christmas dinner, the other star of the show, includes Stampede’s signature four-course holiday feast consisting of Stampede’s original creamy vegetable soup, homemade buttery biscuit, a whole rotisserie chicken, hickory-smoked barbequed pork loin, corn on the cob, herb-basted potato, Stampede’s own specialty holiday dessert and unlimited Coca-Cola® products, tea or coffee. Vegetarian and gluten free meals are available upon request.
Dolly Parton’s Stampede will continue to observe social distancing, enhanced sanitation, and all other guidelines as provided by the CDC as well as those of Tennessee and Missouri.
