On Danny Smith’s YouTube channel “Memphis Mafia Kid,” his family recalled Christmases at Graceland as informal affairs. Guests would come on Christmas Eve before going home to their own families, either that night or the next day. As wild as the party could get, it was often just Presley with his friends and their families, chatting and eating. Eventually, Presley would call the adults upstairs, including his cousin and Smith’s father, Bill. Smith, Lisa Marie Presley, and the other children present would have the run of the house.
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Music was part of a Graceland Christmas, but not Presley’s. “We didn’t play Elvis’ records,” said Priscilla Presley (via the Daily Express). “He was really quite shy and almost a little embarrassed to play his own records.” Instead, Presley would put on the radio, or music by Brenda Lee, Glen Campbell, and other artists he admired. One wonders what he would make of Graceland putting on a televised Christmas concert for 2023 that pays tribute to him with every act (per People).
