Martha Stewart will celebrate Thanksgiving in the Eternal City.
“We’re going to Rome,” the lifestyle expert tells PEOPLE. “We’ve decided the kids want to go, the grandkids, so we’re all packing up and going to Rome for a few days to visit the sites.”
Stewart is grandmother to Jude, 13, and Truman, 12, the children of her only daughter, Alexis Stewart.
“We have such an itinerary,” added Martha. “My grandchildren will be angry with me. They think they are going on vacation for five days, but in fact we will see everything. I have quite a trip planned.”
The domestic diva is also celebrating the holidays with a new collection for JCPenney that includes a patchwork quilt, cookware and tableware, and bath products, sold in stores and online.
Martha Stewart’s Holiday Collection for JCPenney.
courtesy of JC Penny
Martha Stewart’s 2 grandchildren: All about Jude and Truman
“We have a beautiful table and we have lots of cookie jars and salt and pepper shakers,” she says. “It’s just kind of very, very indicative of the holidays and it just changes your table. It’s just that time of year, but it’s fun to have.”
“I store all that kind of stuff in the basement with the dishes,” she adds. “I have a basement lined with shelves where I put all my vacation stuff.”
The celebrity chef’s Christmas treat is buche de Noël, a traditional Christmas cake.
“I’m making a really good almond cake with chocolate ganache filling,” she says. “Oh, I love that cake and mushroom meringue. It was a little hard and a little tiring, but it’s so beautiful and people love it. I like the croquembouche at Christmas, a big mound of puff pastry filled with a lovely custard held together with caramel, but fancy but really delicious.”
When it comes to decorating, Martha says Christmas lights are a must on her farm in Bedford, NY.
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Martha Stewart with her grandsons Jude and Truman.
Dave Kotinsky/Getty; Michael Simon/Shutterstock
“I love my shooting stars and we put them on top of all the outbuildings, so the roof tops look so pretty,” she says.
“I make a lot of Christmas decorations and a lot of pre-lit Christmas trees,” she adds. “I’m all for artificial trees that are pre-lit with beautiful battery operated lights that you can put on timers and they can light up and they’re safe. You never have to worry about fires. These are very important characteristics for me, since I live in a lot of old wooden houses. I think it’s also neater, and it’s a good investment to buy a really good artificial tree and maintain it year after year, changing decorations.”
After traveling for Thanksgiving, Martha will find time to host at home for the winter holidays.
“If someone comes over in the afternoon, you have to have homemade Christmas cookies,” she says. “You just have to, and you have to have a few dinners for your family and friends.”
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Martha Stewart’s Holiday Collection for JCPenney.
courtesy of JC Penny
Martha Stewart Says Her Autobiography ‘Will Be Even More Revealing’ Than Her Documentary: ‘Watch Out’
The soundtrack to her holiday parties might include Eartha Kitt’s “Santa Baby” or Christmas music “sung by great sopranos or baritones.”
“Sometimes we even have someone come and play the piano and we all sing Christmas carols,” she says. “That happens at my Christmas parties.”
Apart from a “creepy guest”, he says there isn’t much that can spoil a festive gathering.
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Martha Stewart’s Holiday Collection for JCPenney.
courtesy of JC Penny
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“I think the holidays are kind of a time when people come to see you, exchange gifts and have a little fun,” she says. “I try to make it very relaxed and pleasant around the holidays. Family quarrels, there is no place for that during the holiday season.”
She recently received an unforgettable gift from her good friend Snoop Dogg.
“He gave me a blanket for one of my horses,” she reveals. “It was a very thoughtful and beautiful gift. Having done the equestrian events at the Olympics, I thought it was very appropriate.”
When Christmas is over, Martha, Jude and Truman will return to jet-setting.
“It’s not completely planned, but we usually go,” she says. “The children like to go away for about 10 days. Everything revolves around the grandchildren. We are here now. Time for the grandchildren.”
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education