The holiday tradition that actress Reese Witherspoon attempted to implement but failed to achieve was described as "an epic disaster."
During the promotion of the third installment of her children's series, Busy Betty & the Perfect Christmas Present, the 48-year-old Hollywood celebrity contemplated the holidays.
Witherspoon enjoys participating in traditional holiday activities with her children, such as decorating, ice skating, and constructing gingerbread houses.
"We like to decorate the porch with poinsettias and ribbons and garlands, and take family photos at Thanksgiving so that hopefully we get it together to have a Christmas card," she told PEOPLE Magazine.
She clarified that her two adult children, Ava, 25, and Deacon, 21, are currently granted an exemption: "It's harder when kids are in college, they don't want to be in the Christmas card so I told them once they were over 20, they don't have to."
"It's sad but I still have one little 12-year-old, so he gets dressed up and it's cute."
The mother of 12-year-old Tennessee is the protagonist of Big Little Lies.
In the meantime, the family places a greater emphasis on their gingerbread houses, while also allowing themselves a small amount of freedom.
"We use a kit," Witherspoon elaborated. "Back when I was a 'Do anything that Martha Stewart says' woman, I tried to make my own house and it was an epic disaster. My engineering was not up to par. It just collapsed."
Witherspoon also disclosed that her children's most memorable gifts are charming.
"When one of my kids were little, they gave me a jar filled with very specific memories and compliments," she stated. "It's everything from, 'I love when you hug me after school' to 'I love when we sing this song in the car.' To this day it makes me want to cry."
Another consisted of "five letters they wrote for me to open at different times, and I slowly opened them over a year and it was such a lovely, lovely gift," the actress stated. "We're a very sentimental family."
When contemplating her own childhood memories of the holidays, Witherspoon disclosed that she delighted in creating gifts for her loved ones.
"I would make watercolors, or cards with markers, or Rice Krispies treats or chocolate chip cookies," she stated. "I still do to this day."
The most coveted toy under her tree when she was a child was even disclosed by the star.
"I was obsessed with Teddy Ruxpin," she remembered. "My dad found the last one at some store, and I played with it every single day. It was basically a big glorified tape player, so I put all my music in it. I just loved it."
Witherspoon "wanted to do a Christmas one because my little boy was even saying to me last night, 'I don't know what to get everybody.'" Busy Betty & the Perfect Christmas Present is currently available.
"I said, 'Understand anything you make me, I will love more than anything you buy.' Hopefully the book kind of reinforces that homemade gifts are the best," she added.
In January of last year, Witherspoon utilized TikTok to defend herself following criticism of a recipe video she uploaded, which expressed her self-eating snow, as per The Hollywood Reporter. Initially, the actress uploaded a video in which she demonstrated the preparation of a beverage known as a Snow Salt Chococinno.
The recipe involved scooping snow from her vehicle into two mugs, topping it with chocolate and salted caramel syrups, and then adding cold brew coffee. Nevertheless, despite her declaration that the treat was "so good," a number of her followers promptly commented on the video, informing her that it was unsafe.
The Morning Show's heroine returned to the platform to respond to the comments directly: "There's so many people on here saying snow is dirty so we went and took snow from the backyard and we microwaved it and it's clear," she stated as she held up the cup.
In an additional video, she stated, "OK, talking about the snow not being filtered...I didn't grow up drinking filtered water," she stated.
