Danny Pellegrino Has No Problem With Regifting
Danny Pellegrino oozes Christmas cheer. The author of last year’s holiday essay collection The Jolliest Bunch (and the best-selling How Do I Un-Remember This before it) and host of the Everything Iconic podcast just premiered his first Hallmark Christmas movie, Deck the Walls. It is, as any fan of his would expect, a perfectly calibrated holiday romance replete with Real Housewife references and shopping trips to HomeGoods (with which Pellegrino also partners). Pellegrino, who wrote the script, plays Sal Demonte, a contractor whose childhood enemy becomes his love interest. My only quibble: Sal and Jake have excellent chemistry but don’t kiss. “The LGBTQ story line expanded throughout the process, more so than my initial script, so I couldn’t have been happier that Hallmark wanted to expand that relationship,” he says. “My hope is that they’ll give us a sequel, and we’ll get to explore that relationship further.”
Before his Hallmark debut and best-selling books, Pellegrino was perhaps best known for his warm-but-incisive opinions on the best and worst Bravo has to offer. He’s hosted Everything Iconic — usually, impressively, on his own, with a much-beloved soundboard — for over seven years. He’s a BravoCon fixture and appears frequently on Watch What Happens Live. This Thursday, Pellegrino may just become a reality star himself, appearing in Paris & Nicole: The Encore, a three-part The Simple Life reunion, on Peacock. He hasn’t seen the show yet but says he serves as a sort of host–cum–high jinks participant. “I had the best time ever,” he tells me. “It was a dream come true.” To discuss all manner of Christmas etiquette opinions, we met for coffee and Christmas ornament shopping in Los Angeles last week.
There’s a grand Christmas tradition — I think especially for those of us from the Midwest — of sending these really braggy family newsletters. You had a really big year, career-wise. Will you send a newsletter? Is that just what Instagram is now?
Newsletter culture is insane, and I love that people do that. It’s really not too different from people posting their end-of-year recap on social media, but there is something about putting it in print and getting it in the mail that is crazy, which I love. My family and most people in my life are already aware of my projects, but I do want people to watch. It’s interesting: With Deck the Walls, I feel like other people are projecting that I shouldn’t be proud about it, because there is this idea about what Hallmark movies are. But I’ve always been a fan, so I’m just proud. I try not to be too shameless about it.
Let’s say you’ve got a Christmas party to attend later today, and you need a host gift, but everything is closed. What do you bring?
I would regift. I’d find something in the house. I’ll usually have a bottle of wine.
I guess with the number of press packages you get, you’d have an easier time regifting than most.
You’ve got to be careful with that, because all of a sudden, you’re accidentally giving someone something with a movie logo on it. I have a candle closet, so I would probably be able to grab a candle from there. Whenever Bath & Body has the three-wick sale, I’ll stock up. So I always have nice, new candles at home. There are layers to candle gifts. The top-tier friends get a large, five-wick Voluspa. After that, maybe then would be the Nest candle. And then Bath & Body …
You’re not that close.
Unfortunately. That’s like, grab and go. It’s not a bad gift, but if I’m grabbing the Nest candle, that’s gonna be for someone who is giving me something too.
And those huge Voluspa ones with the sort of crystal exterior?
Nobody’s getting that. That’s just mine. I’ve had one for four years, and even then, every holiday season, I’m like, “We can’t light it. Just save it.”
What are your go-to stocking stuffers?
I like ornaments. They’re easy to fit inside a stocking, though sometimes I like tying them onto a gift with ribbon. Otherwise, candy. I think it’s super important for everyone to have a chocolate they like in their area. You should know where to get the chocolate you like. I like this place in Ohio called Malley’s Chocolates, but everybody should have one. I also like nostalgic candy gifts, like the Tootsie Roll piggy bank or the Life Saver storybooks. I bought some of those for my nieces and nephews.
Speaking of children — to what extent do I or does any adult have to participate in the fantasy of Santa for other people’s children?
It depends on how old they are. I’d say for kids 10 and under, you should participate. I think there should be a baseline of respect, because they’re young, but, like, it’s up to the parents to worry about all that. I will try my best to keep the magic alive in a very low-stress way, but if something slips out of me, and you have to explain Santa to your kids, that’s on you.
How do you feel about the proliferation of ugly Christmas sweater parties?
Look, I’m a very festive person, and I hate the ugly Christmas sweater theme. Most people aren’t even wearing ugly Christmas sweaters anymore. They’re wearing a sweater that’s labeled “Ugly Christmas Sweater.” It’s just a mass-produced thing, and then I feel weird wearing my ’90s old lady’s sweater with a scarf attached. I’m not a fan of costumes. I went to Catholic grade school, and I think there’s some level of me that’s like, “I don’t want you to tell me what to wear.”
I did too, so maybe that explains it. I’m supposed to wear one to a work meeting, but I don’t want to have to buy one.
My advice would be to grab a garland or one of your decorations and wrap it around your neck. If you have to, throw on a fucking wreath.
What do you make of TikTok Christmas décor trends? I saw one that was “Ralph Lauren Christmas” themed, and I’m wondering if they think we’re all buying new crap every year.
The trends are coming too quickly. I follow a lot of décor accounts on TikTok, and I noticed that this year, they’re really leaning into pastels for the holiday season, and I feel so strongly against it. If you bring in a pastel snowman or nutcracker, it’s going to throw off everything you already own that’s red and green. I’m a traditionalist when it comes to holiday décor. I like stuff that has a meaning.
Do you enjoy Secret Santa? Do you have any go-to crowd-pleaser gifts that work across ages and genders?
It goes back to the chocolate thing. Chocolate or candles. If you know someone doesn’t like sweets, I would go with the candle, but otherwise I would just do good chocolate.
Do straight men like candles? I guess I don’t know.
Straight men might prefer chocolate. But have you ever been to a straight guy’s apartment?
Not in many years.
It’s been a while for me too. But I used to live with these straight guys in Chicago, and their house smelled terrible. We could have used a nice Le Labo candle.
How much Christmas does a movie have to have in it to count as a Christmas movie?
A lot. I just watched Die Hard on a plane, because that’s the constant joke, right? I was like, “You know what? Let me watch it again, just to have an opinion.” And it’s not a Christmas movie. A Christmas movie has to be warm and fuzzy and visually cozy. Visuals are almost more important than the story to me: I have to see lights and trees and winter scarves.
Which classic Christmas movies are your favorites, and which ones do you hate?
At the top would be National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, The Family Stone, The Holiday, and maybe Muppet Family Christmas. I love The Muppet Christmas Carol, but Muppet Family Christmas is my favorite. It’s a special from the ’80s.
I don’t like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. I was very scared of that as a kid. I didn’t like the sound his nose made. I’m frustrated by The Santa Clause 3, because they got Martin Short to play Jack Frost, and they fumbled it.
White lights or colored lights?
If you’re using white lights, then I think you need to add color with ornaments. Generally, I prefer colored lights. I want to feel like someone threw up Christmas wherever I am. The only thing that I feel very strongly against is that I don’t like blowups. They just keep getting bigger and tackier than ever. I know kids love them. My mom always hated them, and as a kid, I wanted them. Now that I’m older, I’ve fully morphed, and I see that Linda was right. They look so bad when they’re deflated, too. They look like that old anti-drug commercial where the girl is high on the couch.
Blowups are really the only thing you hate?
I do feel like the Grinch décor is getting out of control. I don’t know if the license just went wider or what.
What do you do if you get a gift you don’t like? Do you fake it?
I would fake it. I’m a Libra, so I want everyone to get along and be happy. So I think I would just shut up and suck it up. I would keep it forever, and every time they came over, I’d be over-the-top trying to show it off.
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