How celebs celebrate holidays
Armie Hammer, Kyle MacLachlan and other star types talk festive season
NEW YORK — Christmas at Miranda Cosgrove’s house will be all about Penelope, her dog. Armie Hammer’s holiday wish list is directly from the heart: Some quality family time with his two kids. And when it comes to the real tree-fake tree debate? Well, celebrities are just like us.
We asked a range of stars from film, TV and music to share their favourite holiday traditions and they were happy to oblige.
Cosgrove, the iCarly and Despicable Me 3 actress, said Penelope was a Christmas gift five years ago and now she’s the beneficiary of some wrapped-up toy largesse under the tree.
“We’re going to watch her open them, so it’s just funny,” Cosgrove said. “I’m sure she’s going to be happy.”
So will Hammer once he settles in with his family for the holidays. The plan for the Call Me by Your Name co-star is simple.
“Family time. Just family time. As long as I get family time, I can deal with anything else,” he said.
Tatiana Maslany of Orphan Black is from Canada. She’s trying to wrap her head around a California Christmas this year. Then there’s the thing with the stockings involving her Welsh hubby Tom Cullen of the History channel’s new Knightfall.
“I’m not going to see snow this Christmas, which is like a new tradition,” she said. “It’s weird to think December is coming up and I’m in a T-shirt. Yeah, I think we’re going to have to make some new traditions.”
Cullen added: “Tat’s family don’t really do stockings. That’s a big family tradition of mine, so ...”
Maslany: “We do do stockings. Not like you guys. They do stockings that are like this big and full of more presents than I have ever given in my whole life.”
Cullen: “And oranges. Lots of oranges.”
Maslany: “Yeah. Lots of oranges, yeah.”
Kyle MacLachlan of Twin Peaks and Portlandia fame has some Christmas stocking issues of his own. They’re the focus of his memories of Christmas past.
“Mostly just to do with Christmas stockings and old Christmas stockings, and strange things that you can find in a Christmas stocking. I have two brothers, so you never know what’s going to happen,” he said. “Coal is a very popular item in my family. And we all seem to have earned that, my brothers and I. And I’m not going to explain why or how that’s happened, but suffice to say, it’s happened.”
Salma Hayek misses one explosive New Year’s Eve tradition in her hometown of Coatzacoalcos, Mexico.
“They make a fake man with clothes and everything, and they stuff it with fireworks,” she explained. “And at midnight, the whole town has like a competition — outside of the house, everybody is burning the old man, representing the old year. And I remember this tradition very clearly because it was so loud and so scary. But I always remember it with a smile in my heart.”