Graceland opened its family album this week and shared a tender photo that stops you in your tracks. In it, a young Lisa Marie sits among her presents in the dining room, tearing into Christmas morning, while her dad looks on with the softest smile.
You can spot a Mickey Mouse and a Big Bird among her gifts, the kind of toys so many families had under the tree back then.
The photo went out to celebrate Graceland’s new holiday event, “Graceland Unwrapped: After Dark Christmas Tour,” which dresses the house for the season the way the Presley family knew it. The holidays officially kick off with Holiday Lighting Weekend from November 19 to 21.
But the sweetest Christmas story at Graceland goes back to the very beginning.
Lisa Marie’s first Christmas was in 1968. She had been born that February, so she was just a tiny baby when the family gathered at Graceland for the holiday. And to make it magical, one member of the family pulled on a red suit and a white beard to play Santa Claus.
Can you guess who it was?
It was Elvis’s own father, Vernon. Grandpa Vernon dressed up as Santa to visit the family that first Christmas, a warm little detail that says a lot about how close the Presleys were.
Christmas at Graceland, with footage from that first year
Graceland’s own holiday episode walks you through how the family spent the season, and it even includes footage from Lisa Marie’s first Christmas.
Watching it, you get a real sense of what the house felt like in December, with the decorations up and the family all together.
Elvis loved Christmas more than just about any time of year. He spoiled his little girl with everything from stuffed animals to far fancier gifts, and he filled Graceland with lights and music for the people he loved.
This week’s new photo is a lovely reminder of that side of him, the doting dad on Christmas morning. If you ever get the chance to visit during the holidays, the house is decorated to bring those exact mornings back to life.
Watch the episode above to see Christmas at Graceland the way the family lived it.