Carrie Underwood on favorite Christmas traditions and why "Favorite Time of Year" is "hard to sing without smiling"

For Carrie Underwood, Christmas is a time for family, making new memories and music.

Growing up in Checotah, Oklahoma, Carrie recalls the beloved family tradition of traveling to a local nursing home with her parents and two older sisters to spread Christmas cheer through song.

“Christmas was always about family. One thing that we always did growing up that was one of my favorite memories, on Christmas Eve we would go to my grandparents’ house. Us kids were always responsible for putting oranges and apples and bananas in little paper bags and we would go down to the nursing home and sing Christmas carols,” the singer explains.

And while Carrie and family would sing holiday classics, the superstar has since written some of her own original holiday songs, including "Favorite Time of Year." Featured as an Amazon Music bonus track off her 2020 debut Christmas album, My Gift, the festive track can now be heard in an ad for Ring Video Doorbell.

Carrie says the song is intended to wrap the listener in Christmas joy and reflect the true meaning of the holiday.

“’Favorite Time of Year’ is a song about all of the things that make you smile during Christmas. There’s so much about Christmas that is absolutely wonderful," she describes, referencing such staples of the holiday as family, presents and decorations. "All those things all wrapped up to make the favorite-ist time of year, the favorite of year. I love the song because it’s hard to sing it without smiling, it’s hard to listen to it without smiling. I think it’s a perfect addition to the rest of my Christmas song collection.”

Carrie has been getting into the holiday spirit with recent performances on CMA Country Christmas and Christmas in Rockefeller Center.