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Family

Drew Barrymore explains why she opts for experiences instead of Christmas gifts for her kids

'I just feel like a better gift would be a life memory.'

drew barrymore, drew barrymore show, christmas gifts

Drew Barrymore's kids don't expect to see presents underneath the tree.

Christmas time is here again, and along with it can come the stress of purchasing gifts. This probably goes double for parents with young children. Whether it’s the latest toy, tech or item of clothing, there’s an overwhelming amount of stuff that people can be pressured to purchase to see faces of their loved ones light up.

However, actress and talk show host Drew Barrymore would argue that perhaps what’s more important than physical gifts during the holiday season is creating lasting memories.

In an exclusive interview with ET, Barrymore shared a fairly unconventional Christmas tradition—rather than spotting Christmas gifts under the tree, her two daughters (Frankie, 8, and Olive, 10) go on a trip every year.

Barrymore admitted that at their age, not getting presents was a bit of a hard sell. But she continued to affirm the importance of her decision, telling them, “I think we'll remember the place and the photos and the experience and that's what I want to give you.”

She also clarified with ET that "they get plenty of things throughout the year, so I'm not like some weird, strict, cold mom who's like, 'You don’t get any gifts!' I just feel like a better gift would be a life memory. I'd rather invest [in that than in] a doll house or something. It all evens out and it's fine."

There’s no rigidity in the plan—over the pandemic when travel restrictions were at an all-time high, Barrymore did offer Christmas gifts. And unprecedented global events notwithstanding, she still prefers to keep things open to change.

"[I try] to remember that one holiday won't be probably the same as one 10 years from now, that your life can dramatically change, and new people and new traditions can come into it," she said. "I like looking at the holidays through a comedic, realistic lens of, ‘we're gonna have a lot of different holiday stories. What one do you want to keep going and build as a tradition?’ Rather than, 'this is my tradition and I'm stuck in it.'"

Obviously, for many people, buying trips is even less financially feasible than buying presents. But the real point that’s illuminated through this story is that focusing on experiences can be just as rewarding (and many times more rewarding) than getting stuff. The pressure to spend money during the holidays is real, but what’s more important is making memories with the people who matter most. Especially in our modern world where everything moves at a mile a minute and carving out quality time is a difficult task. Luckily, that doesn’t have to cost a penny.

Even people who are extensively wealthy are choosing to invest in Christmas differently. Recently a successful CEO made headlines for sharing that she only gives her children one gift each year, and uses the rest of the money to provide gifts to other kids who might go without a gift. Odds are, those kids will remember learning how to embody kindness and generosity long after the shiny newness of whatever gift they got has faded.

It can be hard to not feel as though Christmas gifts will somehow make the day feel more Hallmark Channel-worthy. But it’s true that presence is a precious gift unto itself, and simply being there with loved ones might be all it takes to get that warm, fuzzy Christmas feeling.

via @5kids5catssomedogstoo/TikTok

Lynalice Bandy shares what her home looks like after working six 10-hour days and getting no help from her husband.

A viral TikTok video highlights an extreme version of inequality that many wives and mothers in heterosexual relationships face. However, the mom in this story hit her limit and won’t deal with it anymore.

Lynalice Bandy, who goes by @5kids5catssomedogstoo on TikTok, posted a video that showed her home looking like a disaster after she worked six 10-hour days straight while her husband did nothing to help.

Her time-lapse video shows every room in the house completely trashed, with toys, food and laundry scattered everywhere. "Shampoo on the carpets in the girls' room, nail polish all over Nugget covers, hair, and carpet. Scissors were used to cut hair, the down comforter, the mattress cover, and two Nugget covers," wrote the mom.

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Identity

Tori Roloff shares how she talks to her 5-year-old son with dwarfism about being different

The “Little People, Big World" mama says, "I WANT him to know he’s different.”

The Roloff family from "Little People, Big World"

It isn’t easy having to explain to a child who is different that they aren’t quite like other children. Most parents would probably prefer to downplay the situation, saying "It's no big deal. You aren’t quite the same as the other children, but everyone is different.”

However, Tori Roloff, 31, star of the TLC’s long-running “Little People, Big World,” has decided to go the other route. She’s asking her 5-year-old son, Jackson, to lean into his uniqueness and use it to help others.

Tori is married to Zach Roloff, 32, who’s been a star of “Little People, Big World” for 24 seasons. Zach and Tori have three children: Josiah and Lilah, 3, and Jackson, 5. All three of them have achondroplasia, the most common form of dwarfism.

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Identity

Gay choir teacher breaks down when his class gives a surprise performance at his wedding

Christopher Landis had kept his marriage secret because he wasn't sure how students or parents would react.

via Pexels

Two men exchanging rings in a wedding ceremony.

Christopher Landis, a choir director at Hingham Middle School in Massachusetts, didn’t tell his students he was engaged to Joe Michienzie three years ago. According to Inside Edition, whenever they asked who Michienzie was, Christopher would say, "That's Joe. He's my friend."

Landis kept his relationship a secret in front of his students because he wasn’t sure how their parents would react. Sadly, even today, LGBTQ people still have to be discreet about their personal lives in some professions.

This is sad for the teachers who have to stay closeted and also for the LGBTQ students who miss out on having a positive role model.

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You're never too old to cheer with the Sun City Poms.

Age is just a number if you ask some people. Once you pass all of the milestone birthdays, time just seems to zoom right on by. You still feel like you're 32, but your birth year is saying you need to add a decade or two. But if you don't feel old, are you actually old or is society trying to put you in an age-shaped box?

If you ask the ladies of Sun City Poms, a cheerleading squad in Arizona for women over 55 years old, age really is just a number. That's right, these ladies, some of whom are well past retirement age, have a cheer squad and man, are they active. Not only do the ladies perform, but they also march, and their practices would be a lot for people half their age.

According to People, the seniors practice three times a week for three hours at a time. That's pretty intense, but it doesn't stop these women from sticking it out, even the ones who are in their 80s.

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Pop Culture

Legendary organist Garth Hudson, 85, makes his first performance ‘in years’ at a low-key show

The backbone of The Band may be frail, but he still stunned the crowd with his soulful playing.

Garth Hudson performing with The Band. Hamburg, May 1971.

Garth Hudson, 85, made a name for himself being a quiet presence in a raucous band ... The Band, that is. Hudson played organ, accordion, and the occasional saxophone in an outfit initially known as The Hawks, which became known as The Band after backing Bob Dylan in the mid-'60s when he controversially went electric.

The Band would also back Dylan on his famous “Basement Tapes” sessions in 1967 that were eventually released in 1975.

After being introduced to the world through Dylan, The Band made a name for itself as one of the most talented ensembles in rock history, recording classic songs including "The Weight," “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down," and "Up on Cripple Creek."

Hudson changed rock history by being one of the first few to play a Hammond organ on stage. He was known as the “mad scientist” in the band who joined only if he could give music lessons to fellow members Levon Helm, Rick Danko, Richard Manuel and Robbie Robertson.

Hudson also composed music that appeared in Martin Scorsese's masterpieces “Raging Bull” and “The King of Comedy.”

Today, Hudson lives in an assisted living facility, and recently fans started an online campaign to show appreciation by sending him cards. But even though Hudson is in the last chapter of his life, he recently revealed that he’s far from finished. On Sunday, April 16, he surprised the rock world by performing at a house show hosted by musician Sarah Perrotta in Kingston, New York.

He performed Duke Ellington’s “Sophisticated Lady” on piano during the show. The footage shows that although Hudson is frail, the music in him is still as strong as ever.

Identity

Hardware store employee builds parallel bars so a boy with cerebral palsy can learn to walk

"Just go the extra mile. And it just may reward you 100 times back.”

A sunny day at Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse.

A story first shared by Fox 29 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the epitome of customer service that goes above and beyond.

Jessica Getty and her husband, Mark, went to a Lowe’s hardware store in Brookhaven, Pennsylvania, earlier this month to buy materials to help their 5-year-old son, Will, make a significant leap in his development. They were looking to buy PVC pipes to build parallel bars so he could learn to walk.

"He was born very prematurely, just 23 weeks, so as a result, he has quadriplegic spastic cerebral palsy," Jessica told Fox 29. People with spastic cerebral palsy have difficulty controlling muscles in their arms, legs, trunk and face, making walking difficult.

The Gettys hoped their son could learn to walk by training on a set of parallel bars that would help him safely remain upright while he moved his legs and feet. “One of our goals for William is to get him walking,” Jessica told Fox 29.

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