“People have no idea how fortunate we feel to be here in this beautiful building, giving our gift of music at a really, really wonderful time of the year.”

That was Kaye Perry explaining how she, Erin Schumacher, Brian Bawek and Michael Veldman of “Michael Veldman and Friends” feel about returning to the Paramount Theatre stage for their “Our Favorite Time of the Year” shows in December.

They obviously take it personally, entertaining adoring fans each holiday season.

Last December, they took a one-year hiatus from their annual holiday show.

On the night another production took place at the Paramount Theatre the four friends were dining at the Old Mill.

At the lead singer Veldman’s suggestion, they joined hands and sang a table prayer.

When they finished, other diners asked them to sing again and then again after that.

Holiday music fans have come to demand their annual “fix” from the four friends.

“They are able to take a song and make it into a wonderful experience to hear,” Scott Perry, husband of Kaye and friend of the friends, said. “They take a song and make it into their own.”

Veldman, Bawek, Schumacher and Perry discussed their upcoming holiday shows.

“I think there are about 10 selections people have not heard us sing before,” Veldman said of the two-act show. “The opening number will kick them back in their seats and make them say ‘They’re back!’

“It’s a good opening numbers that we are all happy with,” he said.

Elvis returns and Veldman will share a scarf from the legend’s impersonator with a favorite fan of the show-stopping number in the audience.

“We want to make that stage come to life,” said Bawek of the show’s set design.

Audiences will see and hear the quartet of singers as well as trios, duos and soloists perform. “Probably more quartet-ish this year with more on-stage singing by all of us,” Veldman said.

Schumacher is credited with choosing the show’s “Our Favorite Time of the Year” theme.

“It’s about looking back at our own Christmases when we were growing up,” Veldman said. To punctuate that theme, there will be a visual display of … let’s say … Michael Veldman and Friends — The Early Years.” Say no more, Veldman.

Joanne Stevens, friend and production assistant to the performers, likes what she has seen thus far at rehearsals.

“It is such a pleasure to work with these people,” she said. “It’s going to be a wonderful show. They just get better.”

If the performs do get better, it’s because “We get looser and jell more,” is how Perry explained it.

“I always felt we had the right chemistry,” said Schumacher. “There’s something there that has always existed, but it’s like any friendship: The more years you spend together, the more you get to know each other.”

The scenery is their design; the costumes, music, between-song banter and choreography too.

The performers are all graduates of the well-known Austin music community and they all respect their roots.

“One of the main reasons we have not increased ticket prices that much over the years is that we realize how hard this time of the year can be for families and bringing families together is one of our missions in doing the show,” Bawek said.

“Our Favorite Time of the Year” will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 5; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6; 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 12; and 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 13. All tickets are $12.

Only 722 tickets remain to be sold for the six performances in the 622-seat Paramount Theatre, according to theater manager Scott Anderson.

That is, 722 tickets before fans read this story.

For more information, call the Paramount Theatre box office 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday at 434-0934.