# The Sweetest Gift (Trisha Yearwood album)

Professional ratings :
| Review scores ||
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | |
| Entertainment Weekly | (favorable) |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | |
The Sweetest Gift is the fourth studio album (and first Christmas album) by country singer Trisha Yearwood.

## Composition and release

Yearwood sings a mixture of familiar traditional and popular material, along with more recent compositions such as "It Wasn't His Child" and "There's a New Kid in Town".
Two of its tracks managed to achieve positions near the lower end of the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. "It Wasn't His Child" peaked at #60, and "Reindeer Boogie" at #63. The album rose to the #17 position in the Country Albums chart. A re-release of the album in 2000 has a different album cover, a promotional photograph taken during the Real Live Woman promotional period.

## Reception

The album was a given a positive review by Allmusic, receiving 4 out of 5 stars.

## Track listing

* "Sweet Little Jesus Boy" (Bob MacGimsey) – 2:42
* "Reindeer Boogie" (Charlie Faircloth, Hank Snow, Cordia Volkmar) – 2:38
* "Take a Walk Through Bethlehem" (Ashley Cleveland, John Barlow Jarvis, Wally Wilson) – 3:49
* "Santa Claus Is Back in Town" (Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller) – 3:00
* "It Wasn't His Child" (Skip Ewing) – 3:54
* "Away in a Manger" (traditional) – 2:39
* "The Sweetest Gift" (James Coats) – 3:02
* "There's a New Kid in Town" (Don Cook, Curly Putman, Keith Whitley) – 4:27
* "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" (Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne) – 2:26
* "The Christmas Song" (Mel Tormé, Robert Wells) – 3:58

## Personnel
### Musicians

* Trisha Yearwood – lead vocals, harmony vocals (2, 5, 6, 7)
* Steve Nathan – keyboards (1), acoustic piano (2, 3, 5–10)
* Matt Rollings – acoustic piano (1)
* Becky Priest – acoustic piano (4)
* Billy Joe Walker Jr. – acoustic guitar (2, 3, 5–10)
* Bobby All – acoustic guitar (4)
* Biff Watson – acoustic guitar (7)
* Dann Huff – electric guitar (2)
* Brent Mason – electric guitar (3, 5–10)
* Johnny Garcia – electric guitar (4)
* Paul Franklin – steel guitar (2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10), dobro (7)
* Stuart Duncan – mandolin (7), fiddle (7)
* Dave Pomeroy – bass (2, 3, 5–10)
* Jay Hager – bass (4)
* Eddie Bayers – drums (2, 3, 5–10)
* Rick McClure – drums (4)
* Sam Bacco – percussion (3, 5, 9)
* Kirk "Jelly Roll" Johnson – harmonica (1, 10)
* Aubrey Haynie – fiddle (2)
* Heather Risser – fiddle (4)
* John Hobbs – string arrangements (5, 6, 8)
* Ashley Cleveland – harmony vocals (3)
* Garth Fundis – harmony vocals (5)
* Beth Yearwood Bernard – harmony vocals (7)
The Nashville String Machine
* Bob Mason – cello
* Jim Grosjean – viola
* Lee Larrison – viola
* Kristin Wilkinson – viola
* David Davidson – violin
* Connie Ellisor – violin
* Carl Gorodetzky – violin
* Pamela Sixfin – violin
* Alan Umstead – violin
* Mary Kathryn Vanosdale – violin

### Production

* Garth Fundis – producer, mixing
* Gary Laney – recording
* Dave Sinko – recording, mixing
* Carlos Grier – digital editing
* Denny Purcell – mastering
* Georgetown Masters (Nashville, Tennessee) – mastering location
* Scott Paschall – production assistant
* Katherine DeVault – art direction, design
* Jim "Señor" McGuire – photography
2000 Reissue
* Randee St. Nicholas – photography
* Virginia Team – art direction
* Jerry Joyner – design
* Debra Wingo – hair stylist

## Charts
### Album

| Chart (1994) | Peak position |
| US Top Country Albums (Billboard) | 17 |
| US Billboard 200 | 105 |
| US Top Holiday Albums (Billboard) | 17 |

### Singles

| Title | Date | Chart | Peak position |
| "It Wasn't His Child" | January 6, 1995 | US Hot Country Songs (Billboard) | 60 |
| "Reindeer Boogie" | January 8, 1999 | US Hot Country Songs (Billboard) | 63 |

## Certifications

| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
| United States (RIAA) | Gold | 500,000$^^$ |
| $^^$ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |||