Have you and Nick talked about how you'll celebrate Christmas this year? What do you usually do?
This year, in addition to everything I love about celebrating the holidays, it's all going to be heightened because of Nick--in a really good way. I think he senses that Christmas is a big deal to me, so he's sort of just going with the flow, so that's cool. I'm pretty sure his family and friends will be out there too. We have to figure it out, but we're gonna make it work!
How does the week begin?
The first thing that happens is I get off the place and get into the car, they have Christmas music blasting and a bottle of champagne ready to pop open! It sounds awful, but I'm a big kid in that way. As soon as I get in that car, I am engulfed in Christmas. I think Nick will be up for that, I really do. He'll be laughing.
Are there places of your childhood you try to incorporate into the celebration?
Every year we do what we call "Charlie Brown Christmas tree," where we string up those big red and green bulbs and hang tons of ornaments--mostly ornaments my fans have sent me over the years. They did pictures of, like, me and the dog, just really cute stuff. A couple of years ago, one of my friends gave us the idea of taking Polaroids of each other and then decorating them and putting those on the tree. That was really fun; I think we might do it again this year. It's a wonderful time for us all to bond and really get into the spirit.
Last year I was very inspired by the movie Elf--how much do you love that movie?
so we set up one of the upstairs bedrooms like the North Pole, all covered in fake snow, with tents and an area where the kids could play with toys like Etch A Sketches. My friend's two children were 3 and 1 at the time, and they were in heaven!
It sounds like you really love the "traditional" Christmas stuff.
I do, but we try to make it our own. The focal point of the week is the 23rd, when we do a real sleigh ride! Depending on how many of us are up there, we get one or two horse-drawn sleighs, and we bundle up and go riding in the snow under the stars. We always drink cocoa with butterscotch schnapps to keep warm, and we sing at the top of our lungs, not even remotely trying to sound good. Later, we go in the hot tub in our Christmas bikinis, then roll in the fresh snow and jump back in the tub.
Christmas bikinis?
Of course! I like the Santa ones, but they don't stay on very well, so I usually just do a red bikini with a Santa hat.
Speaking of bikinis, what about lingerie? This year you'll be a newlywed at Christmas; are you thinking about some naughty Santa outfits?
Honestly, I always get Santa lingerie--even if nobody's going to see it! I mean, why not? But this year I'm definitely excited because it'll be appreciated!
