How many things did my true love send me during the twelve days of Christmas?
79
34
56
none of the above
On December 8, 2004, NBC aired a Christmas special featuring Clay Aiken. The holiday show was an hour long and was filled with intimate performances set in a beautiful Christmas set that was put together as a beautiful family home, decorated with traditional holiday ornaments.
Clay was joined on the stage by musical superstar, Barry Manilow, Gospel singer, Yolanda Adams and actress and singer, Megan Mullally. Clay’s good friend and back-up singer, Quiana Parler was also a featured performer.
There was an interesting twist in the flow of the show. Instead of just showing the final taping, the producers showed some of the backstage workings of putting a show together. The clips showed the cast and crew as they buzzed about between the different parts of the program.
Among the beautiful Christmas decoration, friends and family were seated on the stage to add to the family feel.
Highlights of the program included “Christmas Waltz, “Merry Christmas With Love,” and Santa Claus Is Coming To Town. Another favorite part of the show was when the performers talked about some of their unusual gifts.
In the finale, Clay was joined by Barry Manilow and Yolanda Adam as they sang a stirring rendition of “Because It’s Christmas.”
This Christmas special was unique in that it focused on the music and had no skits or jokes. And the idea of having some of the audience members on the stage gave the impression of a big Christmas Party.
Clay was credited as an Executive Producer of the show. A DVD of the program was available and was certified Gold by the RIAA in December, 2005.
Did you purchase the DVD of this program?
They don't make Christmas specials anymore! This one from Clay is so warm and festive! I did purchase this DVD and play it every holiday! Thanks CANN
I did buy the DVD, but was disappointed when Megan Mullally was not included on it. I also taped the show when it ran, so I do have her singing on the tape. It was very interesting to see how the show was put together by the producers. I believe that Clay was the only AI contestant to ever be an executive producer on their own show. Only one week until some of you get to see Clay singing Christmas songs live in concert once again!
Thanks again for a fun newsletter – first question, I got “none of the above”; add 1,2,3, etc. thru 12, gives 88. Is that right?
About DVD, of course I bought one! Or more haha… sweet and interesting about “unusual” gifts haha and singing beautiful, natch. I liked seeing Barry and Megan and Yolanda, wasn’t very familiar with any of them in person and he is great w guests.
BTW, the color of Clay’s sweater looks a lot like “GREENERY”, the Color of the Year for 2017 according to PANTONE color space ( provides paint for interiors etc.). There are even news articles:
“2017 Color of the Year is GREENERY, Pantone says – time.com”
LOL; Clay was ahead of his time as usual!
I couldn’t find a small enough pic to copy in here, but you can go to
http://www.pantone.com/color-finder
ask for PANTONE 15-343 GREENERY or Color of the Year 2017
Another site the article gives is:
time.com/4594981/2017-color-of-the-year
GREENERY on walls is even prettier than on Clay’s sweater, lol!
i have the dvd of this clay christmas special i hated the fact that barry manalow was there i dont like him clays singing on his special was amazing and i dont understand why megan wasent included in the special
There is no one who can sing Christmas songs the way Clay does. His album will always be dear to my heart, and the DVD remains special. I will be attending Clay's Christmas concert on the 16th of this month in Chandler, AZ, and am anticipting a phenominal evening with a few tears of joy!
I bought the DVD as soon as it became available. I play it every year at least once. I had a VHS recorded version as well but it was among the many things that didn’t successfully make the trip from Tex to Mo. I guess people today just wouldn’t sit down to a g rated Christmas special. I think there are enough Clay fans to support another special with Clay as the main star. Good luck to Clay for the concert ❤️ UNCONDITIONAL love to you Clay. Merry Christmas & God bless you.