This has been the toughest ever year for the Brown family from Alaskan Bush People after mom Ami’s diagnosis with cancer — but tomorrow we will see them ending it on a high, showering her with love as they give her a festive surprise.
Our exclusive trailer for the Christmas special shows the family on screen for the first time since the Season 7 finale back in August, which saw them leaving Alaska before moving to California so that Ami could undergo treatment.
In the trailer the family pay an emotional and loving tribute to their mom as they surprise her with a stunning outdoor festive feast, complete with lights and a Christmas tree hung with decorations including one reading “peace”.
The surprise was pulled off by her children, who in the trailer are seen waiting anxiously for their mom to arrive. In an interview, daughter Birdy reveals how having Ami there to celebrate the festive season with them is the only Christmas present they could wish for.
She says: “The best thing about this Christmas is that mom gets to spend it with us. It was looking bad for a while. Having mom here for this Christmas I think is the best gift that we could ever get.
“That’s why I want to cherish this Christmas, and I want to show her how much we love her, and how much it means to us that she gets to spend this Christmas with us.”
Billy then leads Ami out into the garden of the home they have been staying in, blindfolding her with his hand before finally letting her see the surprise the children have laid out. As well as the tree, and a table laid out in festive colors, stockings are also hung under a window while fake “snow” has been placed on the ground — harking back to the family’s time in Alaska.
Billy is in awe at how much work the children put into creating the surprise for their mom. He says: “It blew me away with what they did. Ami’s look? It was worth everything. When we walked out? It was so cool.”
Speaking about what the festive season means to him and the family, he adds: “For the Brown family, the meaning of Christmas is all things good. I mean, it’s…I guess it’s that one time of the year that you really celebrate life.
“It’s a time of giving and also receiving love, and kind of a combination of the whole year, right there together, and then when that one’s over the new one’s in front of you. To us it’s just a great time.”
The end of last season finished with the family leaving their Browntown homestead in Alaska to move to the lower 48 so Ami could undergo treatment for her cancer, which Billy said at the time had progressed to at least stage 3b.
Most of the family have since been living in California while Ami undergoes her treatment. As was revealed at the end of last season, they later plan to move to a new permanent home in Colorado.
Watch the trailer for the Alaskan Bush People Christmas special below!
The Alaskan Bush People Christmas special airs Friday, December 15, at 10/9c on Discovery.