Songfacts®:

• Here, Carrie Underwood explains why the Christmas season is her favorite time of the year. Such holiday traditions as unpacking the Christmas lights, snuggling up by the fire, stockings on chimneys, and watching old black-and-white movies are some of the things that make her happy during the festive period.
  
  "'Favorite Time of Year' is a song about all of the things that make you smile during Christmas," said Underwood. "There's so much about Christmas that is absolutely wonderful. Obviously, the birth of Jesus, that's what we're celebrating, but there's so many other things too – like the presents, the family, the weather, the decorations – just all those things all wrapped up to make the favoriteist time of year, the favorite of year. So, I love the song because it's hard to sing it without smiling."
• "Favorite Time of Year" appears as an extra track exclusively on Amazon Music for Underwood's first Christmas album. The songs on the record are roughly evenly split between new songs and traditionals, and this bonus gift is one of three that she had a hand in writing herself.
• Underwood wrote the song with frequent collaborators Hillary Lindsey and Chris DeStefano. Other tunes the three have penned together include "Little Toy Guns" and "Smoke Break."
• Greg Wells produced the song along with the rest of My Gift. Wells has written and produced tracks for such artists as Kelly Clarkson ("I Do Not Hook Up") and Keith Urban ("Wasted Time"), as well as the worldwide smash The Greatest Showman soundtrack.
• The song soundtracked Ring's 2020 Doorbell Season holiday ad. We see people watching on their phones as Underwood delivers gifts and serenades the homeowners from their front steps.