Country legend Alan Jackson has always managed to balance his sense of humor with his respect for tradition. And there’s no place that’s more evident than on his holiday albums: 1993’s Honky Tonk Christmas and 2002’s Let It Be Christmas. The joyous fiddles and pedal steel guitar on “A Holly Jolly Christmas” and “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” lend a naturally warm vibe to the occasion, and Jackson has more than a little fun on the Chipmunks showcase “Santa’s Gonna Come in a Pickup Truck.” But it’s on the tender rendition of “Away in a Manger” and his own similarly themed original “There’s a New Kid in Town” where he shows his true reverence for the holiday.