The holidays are like a Lifetime for Sandra Lee
If Sandra Lee isn’t quite as visible as Santa Claus this season, she still may run a close second.
The lifestyle expert has a new television home for the holidays: Lifetime, where she’s offering baking and decorating tips while also introducing new, seasonal movies through Christmas. One of the main challenges for the Food Network veteran is to fit her information into one-minute segments, but she’s embracing it and – as a self-professed fan of Lifetime’s programming – enjoying it.
“They probably are one of the most relevant, if not the most relevant, (networks) in creating holiday movies for their audience,” Lee says. “They are at the forefront of being inclusive and leaning into diversity, which I think is important. We’re all represented, and that’s what entertainment really needs to be about, the greater collective.”
Some of Lee’s Lifetime segments are tied to specific films premiering under the “It’s a Wonderful Lifetime” umbrella. “Kelly Rowland has her sequel ‘Merry Little Christmas Wedding,’ and I have something very sweet for that,” Lee explains. “I actually had intended it for just general celebration, and when I thought it through, I was like, ‘No, this is perfect for a wedding.”
The deal between Lee and Lifetime was born last year when, she recalls, “I ran into that team at a big event in Los Angeles. (A&E Networks communications executive) Michael Feeney said to me, ‘I can’t believe you’re standing here in front of me. Your name has just come up in the last month-and-a-half. We want you to be part of the family and do these vignettes.’ ”
Lee notes that in a sense, the Lifetime association marks a fresh beginning, launching her “next iteration” following the end of her romance with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and her relocation to California.
“Your first job is to keep your family healthy and safe,” she reflects, “and it’s been a challenge to make sure my aunt and uncle stay on this planet for as long as they can, and in as healthy a way as we can allow them in their own home ... which we promised we would do. That’s why I changed my entire life, which was no easy thing to do.
“Moving into the new year,” adds Lee, “I’m just looking forward to starting over, having survived breast cancer and having changed my personal life so dramatically. Obviously, I’ll always do what I do, but being so specifically focused on food is not really utilizing all the talents God gave me. I’m not great at everything, but I want to go back into crafting and gardening. I look forward to rebuilding my own house, which means my career and my purpose.”