Bon Appetit (December 2015)

Back of the Napkin: Gwen Stefani

For the perma-cool lead singer of No Doubt and coach on NBC's The Voice, Christmas has always been sacred. It's also been a nonstop stuff-your-face affair. When she was a kid in Orange County, California, Christmas mornings began with hot cinnamon rolls (baked by her great-grandmother), followed by homemade gingerbread houses that she and her siblings ate in the car. (Years later, Stefani admits, "I tried to make gingerbread myself and it turned out horrible. I need to work on that.") There was also a full-on turkey dinner: "By the end of the day, the amount of food…it's almost painful," she says. Of course, the holiday isn't just about the menu. "My iTunes is all Christmas music," the singer says proudly. "It's so important to me." Here, the Grammy winner shares her Yuletide playlist. It's way better than her gingerbread.

Stefani's holiday playlist, written in Beverly Hills on September 22, 2015
Emmylou Harris - Light at the Stable
A Charlie Brown Christmas
Carpenters Christmas Portrait
Christmas with the Chipmunks

Merry and Bright
"The house we're in is modern, so I went out and got pink and yellow fake trees."