Graceland
Christmas in Graceland with Elvis
Christmas with Elvis at Graceland was always something special. The lights go on the day after Thanksgiving and all the decorations, inside and out, stay in place through the Elvis Birthday Celebration in January.
Elvis loved Christmas and began decorating Graceland in the ’50s. His original decorations are still used today.
For many years the tradition has been to put all the decorations in place just after Thanksgiving and keep them up at least through Elvis’ birthday in January. Christmas trees would be placed in several rooms along with other decorations.
Outside on the front lawn Elvis first had a large Santa, sleigh and reindeer with the message “Merry Christmas to All, Elvis” suspended above it. In the mid-sixties, Elvis switched to a life-size Nativity scene, along with lighted aluminum trees along the front of the house, and the winding driveway outlined in hundreds of blue lights, a set-up he used each year for the rest of his life. Also in the 1960’s, Elvis started switching out the blue draperies in the front rooms of the house to a holiday shade of red.
Today, the Graceland staff authentically continues Elvis’s Christmas decorating traditions each year - including both versions of his front lawn displays. Through kind and generous donations from the public, the season is made even more special with poinsettias decorating the interior of the mansion.
Adding to the festivities is a fabulous lighting display first donated in 1999 by famed Arkansas philanthropist Jennings Osborne and his family. Holiday light displays are located throughout the Graceland Plaza area.
