Jennifer Garner sees her birthday as an opportunity to give back, and this year is no exception.
“Every year I do something for my birthday,” the actress and Neutrogena brand ambassador tells PEOPLE when asked about her plans to celebrate turning 52 on April 17. “For me, that day is like, ‘Okay, how am I going to look forward to this next year? How am I going to look beyond myself? How am I going to give back to the world that gives me so much?'”
Garner says she “planted trees with my kids” last year in partnership with the LA Parks Foundation. (She shares children Violet, 18, Seraphina, 15, and Samuel, 12, with ex-husband Ben Affleck.)
Jennifer Garner brings in ‘Cooking Fairy’ Ina Garten for another Pretend it’s a cooking show Episode
She also recalls her 50th birthday party, when she asked guests to each fill 5,000 backpacks with enough food to feed a family of four. The bags used the Blessings in a Backpack program.
“So every year there’s something, like, that feeds me and that I like to just involve people in,” she says. “And I know what I’m going to do this year and it’s coming together, but I’ll talk about that later.”
Jennifer Garner.
Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Netflix
In addition to the charity aspect, there will also be the usual party elements. “I like to have a good time and I like it to be nice and there’s going to be great food and all that stuff,” she teases.
Food and cooking are still a great source of joy for the actress.
Garner, co-founder of organic brand Once Upon a Farm, has been showcasing her culinary skills on her “Pretend Cooking Show” on social media since 2017.
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During the visit View in November she poked fun at some of her cooking failures.
“My biggest kitchen disaster is that they let me in the kitchen at all,” she joked.
“I love to cook and thank goodness I’ve taught my kids to really like the taste of charcoal,” Garner said. “They say that’s how they know I made it. Because I always want things to be just a little bit crispy and then I forget. It’s like, whatever. My toxic trait is optimism. I’ll remember to take things out of the ovens.”
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Jennifer Garner. Jesse Grant/Getty
In 2022, Garner admitted to PEOPLE that about half of her recipes fail.
“Sometimes I really think about 50 percent of what I do works. It doesn’t discourage me. Honestly, my kids are pretty patient with me,” she said. “I’ll bake cookies or I’ll bake bread and I’ll forget and leave it too long or I won’t pay attention and I’ll pull it out too early.”
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But all this was done with love for her loved ones.
“To me, baking and cooking for your family is love. They know I care and I’m doing my best. I wish I was type A like some of my characters have been in the past, but that’s not my skill set,” she said with a laugh.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education