If you live on social media like I do, by now you must have seen the viral holiday video that is being shared and replayed over and over again. The video features 28-year-old New Jersey resident Terri Brown waking up to discover a beautiful snowy morning that gets her twerkin’ and poppin’ with holiday cheer. Terri walks down her front steps to a whimsical mix of Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You” that quickly drops into a beat by New Jersey’s Carvell.
My favorite part is Terri’s heels click clacking on the icy walkway! She’s fierce and ready to deck those halls! Yaaaassssss QUEEN, sleigh!
The video was shared less than a week ago and has already been viewed over 200K times on Terri’s Instagram account, but has been shared over 32K times on Facebook. And as if that wasn’t enough, the video has inspired hundreds of people to join in by creating their own parodies.
Brown, who is a food server is also a dancer and performer whose roots originate from Western Africa. Her dance company We Are Tajeva, performs at events across the country and holds dance instruction for organizations who request it. So as you can see Brown is no stranger to performance.
I got in touch with Terri Brown to find out the inspiration behind the joyful video and to learn about the woman behind the holiday moves.
What made you want to make this video?
I think that Christmas is literally the most wonderful time of the year. It’s a time not just for buying gifts, but for people to just be grateful for good health and being able to be around family. Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, it’s just a great time to be able to be grateful for what you have and to also give back to other people. I do like to spread my positive energy to other people because I’m a relatively happy and positive person. Some people may struggle with that in life. I just wanted people to feed off my energy.
How have people responded to the video?
It’s been great! People everywhere, from all over the world have contacted me and told me that I’ve brought them into the Christmas spirit. Some said they weren’t in the mood, others have said this time of year has been sad because of death of a loved one and the video just made them really happy.
Did you think it would get the response that it did?
No, I didn’t. I thought it would just be for my friends and family and some of my followers. I just figured it would be something for them that they would love. I didn’t expect THAT! My followers on Instagram went from about 2,000 and I’m getting up to 20K right now. It happened in like 3 days.
Is this the only take you did of the video or were there other versions?
When I saw that it snowed, I woke my sister up and I told her we had to do this video. I did one last year, but I was so nervous to share it. I actually had that outfit since last year. The only new thing were the tights. I was literally planning it. So when it snowed I woke her up and we did the first take. I always like to do three or four takes, but the first one is always the best cuz you’re not thinking and you’re just freestylin’. I did record four videos, but the first one was the best.
Here’s the video from 2017:
What do you think of the fan videos that are being made?
Oh my god! They are so awesome! The best one though, I think, is the kids. The fact that there are people and kids who are remaking it is so awesome. They’re heartwarming. They make me want to cry. My heart is full. Thank you for all the videos.
How are you spending the holidays?
I will be with all of my family. We usually do a family brunch at my sister’s house and after that we all exchange gifts. My day will be spent with my entire family.
If you’d like to keep up with more of Terri Brown’s dance videos or to slip into her DMs and send her some holiday greetings, check her out at We Are Tajeva.
So awesome to see more
So awesome to see more positive energy being shared