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Like Buddy's mall scene in Elf, all of our favourite stores have officially been hot-glued and bedazzled with the latest holiday decor, and Lili Reinhart is fully ready to kick the holiday celebrations into high gear.
In 2020, Lili was forced to stay in Canada, where she and the Riverdale cast film, due to COVID-19 restrictions [3], which meant she had to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas without her family. This year, she plans to visit her parents at home in North Carolina to celebrate the upcoming birth of her sister's twins. "I haven't been over there in a while, and I really miss my fam. It's been a minute," Lili told POPSUGAR, adding that she can't wait to play board games and decorate sugar cookies.
Ahead of the festivities, she and the Riverdale crew also celebrated a major series milestone: they filmed the show's 100th episode [4]. "We were all talking about how this is probably the only time in our lives we'll be lucky enough to be on a show that gets a hundred episodes, and it's true," she said. "I really don't think I'll ever have that experience again. So it's special, it feels really special."
"I'm talking about it like it's going to end tomorrow, but I guess I'm just being nostalgic. It's been a journey."
Thinking back to when the show first debuted in 2017, Lili can hardly believe so much time has gone by, reminiscing on what it's been like to spend her 20s working on such a fast-paced production. "Even kind of booking the pilot, you think there's a big chance that this thing isn't going to go anywhere," she said. "I've spent my entire 20s in Riverdale, so it'll be such a trip when it's over. I'm kind of at the point now where I'm just trying to enjoy it and be present with it because I know I'm going to miss it [so much] when it's over. I think it's really special to be a part of something that has such a dedicated fan base. I'm talking about it like it's going to end tomorrow, but I guess I'm just being nostalgic. It's been a journey."
The nostalgia is welcome, and Lili's ready to make even more heartwarming memories with her family, friends, and puppy, Milo, over the holidays. To help her younger fans feel more at ease during gift-giving season, the Chemical Hearts star [5] partnered with Affirm to promote the brand's new Debit+ card [6], which offers payment plans for purchases anywhere in the country. "The world's coming back alive again, and people want to get out," she said. "They want to travel, they want to entertain, they want to buy pretty dresses to wear to parties. It can, obviously, be really hard to pay for everything, especially because of COVID — money is tight for a lot of people . . . [But] this is a great jumping-off point for them, especially coming up on a season where you're kind of expected to spend money."
As part of the partnership, Lili also hosted a private event where she and five fans re-created some of her favourite holiday desserts. Ahead, hear more about some of Lili's favourite holiday desserts and traditions and what she plans to get Milo for Christmas this year.
POPSUGAR: What puts you in the holiday spirit?
Lili Reinhart: [Last year,] I was definitely splurging on some Anthropologie Christmasy decorations and I was just trying to make my home feel very much like the holidays. I love a good pine-scented diffuser so my house smells like a Christmas tree. Also, I made sure that I have speakers in every room of my house because I love to play music, and it sets the mood to have Christmas or holiday music playing in your space. I also love candles. I have a bunch of tall candles, like candlesticks, which look kind of medieval, but I think it's really romantic and cute and puts me in the holiday spirit.
PS: What is one of your favourite holiday traditions?
LR: Usually, the day after Thanksgiving, I try to get my family to rally and go get a Christmas tree because I like to be a part of [that], even though I don't live in North Carolina with them. I try to decorate the tree with all of the family ornaments and stuff like that.
PS: What are some of your family's favourite holiday recipes?
LR: We experiment. We're not chefs or bakers, but I think we enjoy the process. And it's fun, so we get a kick out of it. I grew up watching Cake Boss and all these cooking shows, and so I remember a couple of years ago, I went full out and made a cake from scratch [with] these little decorations. It ended up tasting pretty terrible — it tasted purely like almond extract — but it was still a fun experience.
I always refer to my grandma when it comes to baking. She's a really good cook, and she always makes ginger cookies around Christmas — they're the best! As a kid, I would end up throwing up from how much I would eat of whatever she made. That's like the extent of how overboard I would go. We have a wonderful gingersnap recipe in the Reinhart family.
PS: What do you plan to get your puppy, Milo, for Christmas?
LR: He's my son; he's my family. I don't get to see my family a lot throughout the year, but he's with me almost 24/7, so he is genuinely my family. Even though he doesn't understand that it's Christmas time or Thanksgiving, I'm like, "I'm very thankful for you. And I want to give you an extensive zone to celebrate." Growing up with my dogs at home, when it was Christmas or their birthday, I'd always be like, "Mom, we have to get them a little stocking. We have to fill it with treats and stuff." So on Christmas Day, I'm definitely making sure I get him a new toy. He loves bully sticks. High-end lavish treats — nothing but the best for my boy.
PS: Favourite holiday movie?
LR: I love How the Grinch Stole Christmas, the Jim Carrey version.
PS: Favourite holiday song?
LR: "Last Christmas" by Wham! and "The Christmas Song" by Nat King Cole.
PS: Favourite holiday dessert?
LR: Sugar cookies . . . I'm sure mine will look a little worse for wear. But hey, it's all about how it tastes.
PS: What is one of your favourite winter fashion trends right now?
LR: I think the wool bucket hats are really cute, and they look cosy. I also love big puffy coats. I live in Vancouver for my show. When the show ends and I have to come back to LA, I'm going to have to load FedEx with 20 winter coats back to my house.