Dolly Parton kicked off the 90s with a staple that seems to show up in every artist’s catalog — a Christmas album.

Parton had actually recorded her first Christmas release in 1984 in collaboration with Kenny Rogers. Their Once Upon a Christmas was a double Platinum smash. But 1990’s Home for Christmas was Dolly’s first solo holiday effort.

This is a very sweet album, though at times it’s too religious and too cutesy. And I realize that’s a strange criticism to assign to a Christmas album, which has every right to be both of those things.

My preferred mode of Christmas music is melancholy (hence why ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas‘ is one of my all-time favorite songs). This album has three qualifying songs in ‘I’ll Be Home for Christmas,’ ‘The Little Drummer Boy,’ and ‘O Little Town of Bethlehem,’ and those are my favorites.

I have less room for Dolly singing ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’ to a group of children, though at the same time I acknowledge that’s a magical concept and a moment I’m sure those kids have treasured for the rest of their lives.

Home for Christmas was accompanied by a TV special called Dolly Parton: Christmas at Home that included studio footage and scenes of Dolly performing in her hometown church. I’m sure that made for a nice December watch.