Photo Credit: Ryan Trainor
Meghan Trainor has a LOT of very big gifts to unwrap this holiday season. First and foremost, there’s her baby! The Grammy-winning songbird (the 2016 Best New Artist winner) is having a baby! Then, there’s her upcoming holiday album, A Very Trainor Christmas (released via Epic Records), which she’ll unveil tonight at 7pm ET / 4pm PT via talkshoplive, where she will go live to talk about the album, answer fan questions, and treat viewers to a very special surprise. The album has a total of six new original songs, including the previously released “My Kind of Present.” There’s also “Holidays” [feat. Earth, Wind & Fire], “White Christmas” with Seth MacFarlane and family releases such as “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer” with her cousins, Jayden, Jenna, and Marcus Toney, and a very special rendition of “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” with her dad, Gary. But the biggest gift this year is one that she’s giving. Trainor has partnered with Procter & Gamble’s Safeguard soap brand and Instructure, the makers of the Canvas Learning Management System, to announce a first-of-a-kind partnership providing schools nationwide with educational and product resources to help teach elementary students proper handwashing habits in line with CDC guidelines. The handwashing education covers what germs are and emphasizes how and why we wash our hands through a series of lesson plans, a digital activity book and videos. The Safeguard handwashing lesson plans will be available to download on the Canvas Commons platform, a shared repository of learning content for educators to use within Canvas. The initiative with Canvas follows Safeguard’s $10 million donation in product and education resources to promote handwashing habits among kids and provide more underserved communities with free hygiene products through organizations including Save the Children and Americares. But without further ado, watch Meghan discuss all of the presents she’s getting and giving this year — and why, at the end of the day, love is the greatest thing she’ll ever receive.
Photo Credit: Safeguard hand soapHow is Safeguard supporting teachers and what is their initiative with Canvas?
It’s so awesome. I got to FaceTime a lot of teachers and hear their struggles of how Covid has been and how zoom class has been and it’s been a nightmare. It’s been very difficult and depressing. But safeguard hand soap is reaching out in this dark time to help a bunch of people. They’ve donated $10 million of school supplies and educational resources to nonprofit organizations like feeding America and Americares and so many more. When I heard when they were doing with teachers, I said I’ll do anything you want I’ll be a part of this. For teachers they’re donating new hand soap hand sanitizer and they’re teaching kids how to wash their hands for more than 20 seconds and to really get in there. I love that especially with my cousins and I know how terrible this time has been. Having support from this amazing company is so awesome to be a part of.
Why did you decide to get involved?
Because of my cousins. I love getting involved in stuff like this in general, but especially with Covid I was like what can we do that will make a difference and that really helps people. I know getting soap has been scary. We’re low on supplies. My husband’s mom works with students and she’s like, ‘I’m out of handwipes, I’m losing out supplies. When they were telling me they were going to donate supplies and gift cards worth $1000 to go to Walgreens where you can go get supplies for your kids, it’s so important right now and such a problem. A lot of people are over quarantine and Covid, but it’s still here so I’m trying to get everyone aware that it’s still dangerous out there, especially for our kids K through 3rd grade.
How can others get involved / What is the #SafeguardSplash TikTok challenge?
I love TikTok so much I literally live on there. They brought the idea to me and I was very impressed… All you do is say, ‘I’m going to come clean’ for 20 seconds and you wash your hands and you tell a story or whatever happened to you that’s maybe embarrassing, coming clean, confessing. Mine was I love chips and ketchup with a glass of milk with ice. It’s not a pregnancy thing. My whole life I thought that was normal until I got ripped apart by my friends. But when you think about it, it’s like French fries and ketchup.
Are you having other cravings?
I’ve always been salt, salt, salt a salty girl. And for some reason, I’ve transformed into this woman who needs sweets. I’ve never been a sweets girl. I’m literally eating apples with honey on it right now because I need sweet. Nothing else is truly weird.
Photo Credit: Ryan Trainor
Now let’s talk about your Christmas album. Why now? How is it different?
When I wrote these songs — like one song — this is my baby song now even though it was originally a love song. “My Kind of Present” is an original that I wrote with my brothers and my younger brother produced it. every time I sing it now I go, “You’re my kind of present” and I touch my tummy and [tell my baby], ‘You’re my present. This is the best gift ever.’ It’s all so magical. December 22 is my birthday, it’s my wedding anniversary, I’m a Christmas human being so this was too good of a dream come true. I was planning on getting pregnant, I was trying, but I didn’t know it would line up so perfectly with this so it’s been awesome. We were like, ‘How should I announce it? Should I put a bow on my belly?’ There were so many ideas.
Have you always intended to put out a Christmas album or was this just fortuitous timing?
I always knew there would be one… I mean, I cry when I see Christmas lights. When I got engaged we were under a whole tunnel of Christmas lights. I knew one year we would write a magical Christmas album. This year, at the beginning of quarantine when we were freaking out and very scared we were like, ‘Is this the time? Is this a big sign where we’re going to need some joy?’ We didn’t know that we would still be here in November and December, I think it’s better than ever to put out a Christmas album this year because it’s so dark out there and we’ve got to find the light and we’ve got to spread it.
Has music always been part of your holiday traditions?
We always pop it on in the house. We’ve got big speakers, and my house is the big house. All of the family members come here and I’m so lucky that I have family members in California. I just drag them all out. I live with my two brothers. We’re big, big, big family Christmas-everyone’s-invited-and-everyone’s-involved-kind-of-people. Usually we start [with a] Frank Sinatra Christmas – we start very classy – and then we bump it up. We put on some pop Christmas tunes, Mariah Carey, we love Michael Buble, but this year will be a little different because we have to test everyone and two of my cousins won’t fly out because it’s too dangerous, but I think we’ll still party. We’ll still have a good time. I’ll be ginormous by then, so I’ll probably be sitting down.
What’s an unusual Trainor family holiday tradition?
I guess our food is weird. Is this weird? My mom makes these little mini hot dogs with a brown sugary sauce on it. it’s made with Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar and mustard and caramelized. It’s yum. She makes them for every event. I guess not a lot of people have those. That’s our weird, special thing that we have every holiday.
Have you started any new traditions since you got married?
We do this thing every year where my brother dresses up as Santa, and he parties really hard so he’s Bad Santa, but when you’re Santa you have a job for the evening. On Christmas Eve, we’ll get the family together and hand out our gifts to each other. [As Santa] you have to make sure that person gets their moment because there are so many of us. This year, my husband was like, ‘I’d like to be Santa Claus.’ [Here, Meghan momentarily gets tearful]. I’m choking up about it. [I was like], ‘You know the responsibility that job comes with’ and he’s like, ‘I know and I’m ready for it.’ We’re usually the elves on the side and we’re helping, but he wants to take over as Santa so that will be new.
Does that mean you get to be Mrs. Claus?
Yup! 110% We always buy our outfits on Amazon and dress up fully so this will be fun. I didn’t even think of it!
Photo Credit: Epic Records
What was your reaction when you heard you were having a boy?
I did that stupid thing where – I don’t have any friends that are pregnant – so I did that stupid thing where I looked online and found early signs of predictions, those fake things. ‘If your hips go out it means it’s a girl; if the heartbeat is really fast it’s a girl.’ I was like, ‘There’s no way it’s not a girl.’ Then at 12 weeks, you can do a blood test nowadays, it’s a miracle. They called us and my heart was pounding. I was like, Just tell us.’ Daryl [Sabara, my husband] said, ‘I think it’s a girl’ and [the doctor] said, ‘Actually it’s a boy.’ In my head that wasn’t even a possibility so it was like being told I was pregnant all over again. I just started bawling tears of joy like ‘Oh yeah it could be a boy!’ It was really awesome finding out. I had to wrap my head around it for like a week.
Did you have to rebuy all new stuff?
I haven’t bought a single thing. Kelly Clarkson was like ‘Did you already have a room?’ I have a list of ‘we need these’ but I’ve noticed that companies are sending me stuff already! I got mail from a whole company. There was no note. I was like, ‘OK celebrity life, this is fun.’ I was like, ‘Maybe we won’t buy stuff just yet.’ It was a beautiful bassinet. Baby Delight, thank you so much for sending it. it was so nice!
What has this moment in time taught you?
Patience. I’m really, really bad – everyone is nodding their heads because they know how impatient I am as a human being – the pregnancy, the Covid, the scare of it all, I’ve learned patience and what’s important. And that is family and the good people around you, to keep them safe and keep them close.
What to you is the greatest luxury in life and why?
Is it lame if I say love? My husband spoils me. I’m really spoiled rotten. I got a foot massage last night and he makes me breakfast every morning. He’s not a normal dude. He goes above and beyond. He’s really one in a million. My greatest luxury in life is my husband, Daryl.
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