Keke Palmer, Katie Holmes, and More Tell AD the Essential Must-Haves Getting Them Through the Holiday Season

We know that the holiday season is about family, friends, food, traditions, and all that good stuff money can’t buy. But we also know that this year, some of those precious things won’t be possible. Of course, we’re not saying that buying stuff can fill that void, but with everything going on, finding the perfect gift for a loved one or adding something to your self-care routine is one small way to keep your spirits bright through the end of the year.

Below, seven stars share what they have on their list.

Keke Palmer

Though she spent Thanksgiving digging into a charcuterie board, the Hustlers star is focused on fitness—both for herself and others. When grabbing a gift for someone who is hard to shop for, “I always go for something tech-like,” the Affirm partner tells AD. “If I don’t know what to get somebody, a go-to is some headphones or a Fitbit. Something practical for everyday use.” And she’ll be asking Santa for the Peloton Tread+. “I’ve been working on this film Alice for the last month and it just forces me to go to a lot of really heavy places mentally. I’ve found that when I focus on my fitness or my health it allows me the focus and strength to go in and out of those dark places without falling apart. So also I’ve been using [working out] as a superpower,” she says.

Katie Holmes

The Batman Begins star is already a pro at long-distance holiday celebrations. “My family has a tradition of ‘phone caroling,’ where we call other family members and friends and take turns singing,” she tells AD. “Since so many celebrations will be virtual this year, we’ve decided to up the ante and turn our phone calls into caroling happy hours.” She makes sure to capture these special moments on her Polaroid camera. “I write thank-you notes and season’s greetings on the back to send to friends and family. You can even turn them into fun hang tags to put on a bottle of wine for a simple, yet very thoughtful gift,” she says. But even at-home celebrations can be stressful, so Holmes sticks to a skin-care regimen as part of her self-care routine, she says. “I use Barbara Sturm face cream every day.”

Jason Bolden and Adair Curtis

The JSN Studio founders—who created the rooftop terrace for AD’s iconic home—are expert hosts. Although this year the husbands and Styling Hollywood stars had a virtual Thanksgiving and are forgoing their usual Christmas trip to Bolden’s hometown of St. Louis, they’re making things festive by sending their loved ones all the ingredients to make Grand Marnier’s Grand 75 cocktail with them via Zoom. And luckily for Bolden, Curtis can do the cooking. “Jason doesn’t cook at all unless we count warming things up. I do all the cooking in our relationship and that’s fine for me. I love it!” says Curtis. “I’d count our convection oven and multipurpose Instant Pot as must-have kitchen tools for big meals.”

Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent

Your holiday celebration might be smaller this year, but it doesn’t have to be any less stylish. The interior designers and stars of Nate and Jeremiah Save My House know how important it is to create a chic tablescape. They’ll use “meaningful objects gathered from around the house, candlesticks and votive holders, monogrammed white linen napkins, hand-painted dishware, handblown glasses by Giberto, and selenite logs or geodes,” says Brent. Around the rest of the house, expect to find “a lot of candles, fresh flowers and greenery, incense burning, a good playlist, moody lighting on a dimmer,” says Berkus.

Brandy

While the singer prefers to leave the cooking up to her mother, she can whip up a perfect holiday playlist in no time. “Some of my favorite music to listen to during the holidays is Ray Charles, the Temptations, Mariah Carey, and Whitney Houston’s The Preacher’s Wife [soundtrack],” she tells AD. She is also happy to provide the accommodations. “My favorite holiday tradition is decorating my home with beautiful decorations. Christmas is always held at my home. My mom cooks her best dishes on Christmas and my home always feels warm and smells like Christmas.”

Angela Kinsey

The holidays at Kinsey’s house are all about fun and games. “We love charades or holiday gift exchanges,” she tells AD. “For years I hosted a Yankee swap party much like the one we had on The Office—but more fun! Some of the most coveted prizes from my last Yankee Swap party were a garden hose, a sarcophagus jewelry box, and an apron that made you look like Wonder Woman.” This year, she’s taking the concept of gift swapping to another level through her partnership with the Ice Cream Shop. If you need some inspiration, Kinsey says her favorite is Talenti Salted Caramel Truffle Gelato.

Karamo Brown

If you watch Queer Eye, you know that Brown is an expert at creating sentimental moments. So it makes sense that this holiday season, “the biggest thing on my wish list is for people to smile and feel connected,” he says. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, he’s been fostering this feeling among his own family and friends by writing them letters. “It's just a nice surprise. And it's kind of nostalgic, and it feels so much better than you can ever imagine them, like, receiving a text or an email.” He also plans to bring smiles to strangers by giving $25,000 to three deserving people on Instagram Live on December 17, through his partnership with Zelle. “I don't need anything this year, I just want to make people as happy as possible and to give back as much as I can,” he says.

Tiffani Thiessen

The host of the new MTV show Deliciousness (premiering December 14) fills her home with delicious treats during the holidays. Her go-to gift for hard-to-shop-for-friends, she says, is “either homemade treats like my chocolate peanut butter balls or my holiday chocolate bark or personalized stationery.” And as an avid cook, she swears by “my Dutch oven by Great Jones or my Kitchen-Aid stand mixer” to help get her through the holidays.

Olivia Palermo

During an especially stressful year, “a nice bottle of wine or tasty cocktail definitely helps get me through the holidays,” says Palermo. She recently indulged in a Muddling Memories cocktail kit and some Patrón Reposado, and also loves to have Perrier-Jouet on hand for celebrations or as a gift. “I am a bit of an expert gift wrapper, and one stylish and easy way to spruce up your presentation of a bottle of wine if giving as a gift is to add a chic silk scarf tied in a bow around the neck of the bottle,” she says. “My capsule of LeScarf silk scarves come in the perfect size to accomplish this, and the best part is that the recipient also gets a fabulous scarf out of it—men included, as they make a great pocket square.”

With reporting by Jordi Lippe-McGraw and Eva Fedderly