Adults know all too well that the holiday season isn’t quite as fun once you’re all grown up — but Mickey Guyton has rediscovered the joy since becoming a mom.
“I have a 4-year-old son now, and Christmas has now started becoming magical for me again,” the country star, 42, exclusively told Us Weekly. “The older you get, it’s just a holiday you get to spend with your family, and traveling sucks, and it’s so hard. But now that my son is 4, the holiday season means so much more now.”
Guyton wanted to share some of that newly remembered delight with her fans, so she decided to make a holiday album, Feels Like Christmas (out now).
“It was something that I really had on my heart at the beginning of this year,” she explained of the project. “I just wanted something upbeat. You know, 2025 has been a pretty heavy year for a lot of people, and I’m not trying to discount that, but for my mental capacity, I needed something really positive for me. That’s how I’ve been able to cope with so much going on. And so that was my motivation: I just want people to feel light, just to feel good for a minute.”
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To that end, Feels Like Christmas doesn’t include any of the sadder songs of the season — no “Auld Lang Syne,” no “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.” Instead there are bouncy bops like the original “Sugar Cookie” and a catchy duet with the legendary Michael Bolton.
“Christmas is one of those holidays that can be either very cheerful or a reminder of what is lost,” Guyton told Us. “And I didn’t want to do that. I just wanted to bring uplifting messages to people.”
As for her own holiday plans, Guyton will be spending time with her family, who every year throw an “international cookout competition” that is apparently very intense.
“We pick an international dish that we’ve never tried before and we cook it, and then we go around and we taste-test, and whoever wins gets a cash prize,” Guyton said. “My dad is very generous with this prize, and people take this very seriously — like, they get little trinket plates and plate it really beautifully and write out a menu with a drink. It is so much fun.”
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Ahead of Thanksgiving and Christmas, we asked Guyton to Make Us a Holiday Mixtape of some of her favorite songs of the season. Keep reading to see the tracks that she cues up every year while celebrating:
Song for Trimming the Tree
Definitely “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” by Miss Brenda Lee. That is just a given. Like, you have to play that song. But I’ve never actually had a real Christmas tree before, mine have only ever been fake.
Song That Captures the Meaning of the Season
I have always loved “The Little Drummer Boy.” It captures everything. It captures the idea of gift giving. The little drummer boy was a poor boy, and so all he did was give him what he had. I think that is the true spirit of Christmas — it’s not about the gifts. It’s about you. You are the gift. I like the [Vienna Boys’ Choir] version on the [1968 stop-motion special]. I also love the Pentatonix version; it’s so insane.
Song That Brings Back a Holiday Memory
The whole Whitney Houston Preacher’s Wife soundtrack definitely is something that I have a core memory of. Like, “I Believe in You and Me.” That whole album was just so great. You forget about it after a while and you’re like, “This is a great gospel Christmas album.”
Song That You Associate With Favorite Holiday Movie or TV Show
One of my favorite holiday movies is Love Actually, so obviously Kelly Clarkson, “The Trouble With Love Is” — so good. It’s a classic.
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Song to Get in the Spirit
It’s tiiiiime! Mariah Carey, “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” Every year, it is time. I also really love hearing [“Christmas Time Is Here”] from A Charlie Brown Christmas. That’s such a good one too. It does make me sad though.
Favorite Holiday Song by 1 of Your Idols
Definitely “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” Mariah Carey. That song is the season every year, forever. That song and “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” Brenda Lee — those are the two songs you want to hear every Christmas.
Song to Get the Whole Room Singing
“Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” Brenda Lee! You just know that song.
Holiday Dinner Soundtrack
Love Actually‘s entire Christmas soundtrack. That’s the best one for me.
Song for Lounging by the Fireplace
“The Christmas Song.” [Sings], “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire … ” Nat King Cole. It doesn’t get any better than that.
Song About Snow
I love “Winter Wonderland.”
