Both of Donna Kelce’s sons, Travis Kelce and Jason Kelce, took the field with their respective teams, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles, to play some Christmas Day football, but she couldn’t be in two places at once.
Donna, 71, ultimately decided to attend Jason’s game at Lincoln Financial Field on Monday, December 25. Travis, 34, played the Las Vegas Raiders in Kansas City at 1 p.m. ET, while Jason, 36, faced off against the New York Giants in Philadelphia at 4:30 p.m. ET.
A few days prior to the game, Donna noted that she planned to spend the holiday with her grandchildren. Jason and wife Kylie Kelce share three children, Wyatt, 4, Elliotte, 2, and Bennett, 10 months.
“I will be in Philadelphia for Christmas, spending time with my grandkids as we cheer on their dad,” Donna told People on Thursday, December 21.
Amid the scheduling conflict, Donna showed support for both of her sons’ teams by selling her homemade cookies at both Arrowhead Stadium and Lincoln Financial Field during Monday’s games, with the proceeds benefiting charity.
“My chocolate chip cookies have been a staple in our house for a long time, so it’s very special to share the recipe that my sons love with fans during the holidays,” Donna said. “It’s even sweeter because the Eagles Autism Foundation and Operation Breakthrough will benefit; usually, it’s just my boys!”
Earlier this month, Travis hinted at his family’s Christmas plans. “My brother sent me a text and said he’s going to be celebrating afterwards,” he told People, adding that he would also be observing the holiday after his game or the following day.
Meanwhile, Jason’s wife, Kylie Kelce, revealed that her in-laws try to divide their time between Jason and Travis during the holiday season.
“For the most part, we usually try to get as many people together as possible. My parents will usually be there because they don’t live far away. Jason’s dad, [Ed Kelce], will usually be over because he’s just around the corner as long as he’s not in Kansas City,” Kylie, 31, told People earlier this month. “But Jason’s parents usually try to split the holidays to make sure that one parent is with one brother and one parent is with the other.”
Ed was indeed in Missouri on Monday. He was spotted in an Arrowhead Stadium suite with Travis’ girlfriend, Taylor Swift, and her parents, Scott and Andrea Swift, as the Chiefs took on the Las Vegas Raiders.
Kylie acknowledged that her husband and brother-in-law’s packed schedules make their Christmas gatherings difficult to execute. “Every so often we luck out, and we get everyone at the same time. Football kind of throws a wrench in things sometimes,” she explained. “If Christmas falls in the middle of the week on a Wednesday or Thursday, Jason might have to go into work later, and so we might not be able to do dinner that day. It’s a lot of planning, but we’re super flexible about it. So we’ve had a couple of Christmases that were not actually on Christmas and the same with Thanksgiving.”
As for the couple’s three daughters, they currently don’t realize their parents are getting creative with the calendar, but Kylie suspects that will soon change. “I do think there will come a time when the context clues will tip [Wyatt] off that it is not happening on the day that it’s supposed to happen,” she said. “But for the most part, right now, we’re still skating by pretty OK with pulling the wool over their eyes and pretending like the holiday is a different day, if necessary.”
Travis, for his part, will be enjoying his first Christmas with Taylor Swift since the two began dating over the summer. “Travis has already started Christmas shopping and has some really special surprises [for Taylor] in store,” a source told Us Weekly in November. “Their connection is off the charts, and they can’t wait to celebrate together.”
