Blake Shelton almost burnt the house down when he spent his first Christmas with Gwen Stefani.
The 41-year-old country crooner has been dating the ‘Voice USA’ judge for just over two years but the ‘Hollaback’ hitmaker has admitted her beau’s efforts to impress her with his culinary skills over the festive season almost went up in smoke when he accidentally set the turkey on fire.
Speaking to NME magazine, Gwen said: "Blake had a turkey in one of those smokers and he went out to check on it and the entire thing was on fire. We saved them – we put them in the oven and they turned out really good – but the house almost went down!"
And, with Christmas Day a little under two weeks away, the 48-year-old singer is looking forward to celebrating the feel-good season with her sons Kingston, 11, Zuma, nine, and Apollo, three – whom she has with her ex-husband Gavin Rossdale – and carrying on some family traditions.
She said: "We have a really cool thing that we do. My parents are amazing and every Christmas morning we’d wake up and all four of us would be in the hallway. The archway going into the living room would be completely gift-wrapped and we’d crash through it. I think it’s awesome."
However, not every tradition Gwen grew up with has made it through to this year as she has admitted her parents used to be "super strict" about not drinking alcohol at the dinner table on Christmas Day – but they have come round to the idea now.
She explained: "My parents didn’t drink at all. I know you guys are like, "whaaat?!" They were super-strict and conservative, but now we do [drink].
"We all drink wine mainly, but we also do this one drink, I don’t know what they’re called, but my friend that’s English turned me on to them. It has mint and prosecco and this liquor that goes in it."
And, although she can’t wait to see her children’s faces when they unwrap their presents, she wants them to understand the true meaning behind Christmas and reflect on the past year.
She added: "When you really look back, all you have is your memories. You don’t realise that at the time, but now that I’m older and I have children you realise that it’s about making memories.
"The holidays is an interesting time – it’s a time that you reflect on yourself, on the year, what you have done, what do you want to do, your dreams. There’s a lot of reassessment, there’s a lot of pressure and pain and joy."
Blake Shelton almost burnt house day during first Christmas with Gwen Stefani
