Dolly Parton has said she likes to make Christmas magical for her family by pretending to be Santa coming down the chimney at her house.

The country music star revealed her high-tech way of bringing festive fun to her home, saying she loved to dress up as Father Christmas.

She told Heat magazine: “On every occasion, I have all my nieces and nephews over for a night during the holidays.

Dolly Parton
(Grott, Vegard/Scanpix Norway)

“There’s an elevator in my house and I had it painted at the bottom like a chimney, so I dress up in my Santa suit.

“I have toys in a big bag and I come down the elevator like I’m coming down the chimney. Every year I dress like that.”

Dolly Parton
(Wade Payne/Invision)

Dolly also said that she liked to get the Santa suit out again for her Christmas cards each year.

Asked whether she wrote her own cards, she answered: “Yeah, usually with a picture of me as Santa. I do a lot of photos for Christmas at Dollywood (her theme park) – my friends get a real kick out of it.”