Christmas thoughts and plans of stars (part 3)

(Conclusion)

Los Angeles—Here’s the last part of our interview with celebrities:

Julia Roberts

Julia Roberts

I love Christmas at my house. It’s cozy. We have our tree and ornaments. We cook endlessly and play in the snow. It’s wonderful.

I don’t do my Christmas shopping early because I have to first get through my birthday (Oct. 28), Thanksgiving and my kids’ birthdays (Nov. 28, her twins Hazel and Finn with husband, cinematographer Daniel Moder). Afterward, that’s when I start to truly panic about Christmas.

Jacob Tremblay

Jacob Tremblay

(On what the 11-year-old actor is planning to give his family this Christmas) I can’t tell you that. My dad’s right there (in the back of the room).

(How does he go holiday shopping without his parents?) Maybe I’ll go with my aunt or grandma.

(On what he likes for Christmas) I have everything. I don’t know what I want yet. I’ll have to think about that.

(His favorite part about the holidays) Decorating the tree. That’s probably one of my favorite parts. And we bake cookies.

Jennifer Garner

Jennifer Garner

(On Christmas with Ben Affleck) I love Ben. We will be together with our kids and give them a special Christmas. We get along well, and it’s not an issue. We are friends. We can manage it and we will give our kids a really special Christmas.

The trees are decorated with ornaments that my mom collected for my sisters and me. Every year, we got an ornament. They were mostly bought at her garden club craft sale, but I still have them. Then, for my kids, every year, I either find an ornament with them or they make one that’s really special. So, the tree is not just beautiful, but it’s also very meaningful.

My decorations are already up. I have had lights up for several weeks now, just because I love them so much. You can judge me, but they make me happy—just anything that makes music and goes around in a circle that my kids like—a little train, anything that is just fun, whimsical, cozy, smells good or feels Christmasy.

My kids and I make Christmas cookies on Christmas Eve, and we decorate them. We will do huge batches of cookies in chocolate and vanilla flavors and leave them out for Santa. Then, we will eat them all, no matter what.
I always do a big traditional Thanksgiving dinner but for Christmas, I change it up. So, it could be lasagna with homemade noodles, béchamel and bouillabaisse. All homemade. Or it could just be a beautiful steak.

Mariah Carey —PHOTOS BY RUBEN V. NEPALES

Mariah Carey

It’s not too hard to get me into a Christmas mood. I love everything, from decorating the Christmas tree to going on a two-horse open sleigh ride—that is the truth— through the snow. There are so many things I do, especially when we go to Aspen (Colorado), because I love to have snow at Christmas. It’s traditional. And it’s good to go somewhere warm afterward, as well.

E-mail [email protected]. Follow him at twitter.com/nepalesruben