Travis Denning (Photo courtesy of Universal Music Group Nashville)
Travis Denning Talks Christmas Traditions
Travis Denning grew up in Georgia with his parents and sister, and one of the family’s Christmas traditions was to decorate four Christmas trees!
His family also opened presents on Christmas Eve, which actually gives them more time to spend together.
“My favorite Christmas tradition is we always open presents the night before and used to, I always thought it was ‘cause me and my sister ragged on my parents until they let us. But now the older I get, and to me it really does make a difference. I wake up on Christmas Day and think about what it really means instead. My parents always do a big breakfast; mimosas on Christmas morning. It’s just such a great family affair, and I just think ultimately in opening presents on Christmas Eve versus Christmas Day, we get to spend time reflecting on what it really means.”
What Christmas means to Travis goes beyond exchanging gifts.
“The older I got, as cliché as it sounds, I mean it really isn’t about the gifts. It’s more about drinking some whiskey with dad while the little nephew or whatever open presents or my little cousins,” he says. “It turns into sentimental things and what matters. For me one year, that was a shotgun and then it was a, just a Stranger Things coffee mug that my mom got me, which I drink [out] every morning. Those things that are just more like, ‘Hey-I thought about you and I put a lot of you in this gift,’ you know, and that’s what I love about it.”
The Georgia native says his favourite Christmas memory and favourite Christmas gift were both musical.
“My favourite holiday memory as a child was when I got my first guitar for a million obvious reasons, but I felt like I finally got something I was really passionate about and dove head-first into it. I think the best gift I’ve ever received during the holidays to this day is still probably the mandolin my dad got me when I was 19 years old,” he says. “It was just super awesome, and I’d been wanting one for a while, and it was a really touching and special gift.”
