 Clarkson had expressed interest in recording a Christmas album for years , having recorded various Christmas songs such as " Oh Holy Night " and " My <unk> Up Christmas List " on the American Idol : The Great Holiday Classics ( 2003 ) , " I 'll Be Home for Christmas " on iTunes Session ( 2011 ) , and being featured on Blake Shelton 's Christmas album Cheers , It 's Christmas ( 2012 ) . Weary of constantly being asked for her primary genre , she felt that recording a Christmas album would finally pave a way for her to explore other different genres . She remarked , " I always get asked what genre I 'm in : ' Is this country or pop or rock ? What are you ? ' And what 's cool about making the Christmas album was , ' Oh , there are no limitations ! We can do whatever we want ! ' " . She further added , " The thing about Christmas is that it almost doesn 't matter what mood you 're in or what kind of a year you 've had — it 's a fresh start . I 'm going to clear the air and take stock of the good that 's happened . " 
