Screens at the table? Sarah Michelle Gellar will allow her family to use electronics during Thanksgiving to stay connected to loved ones who couldn’t join due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Buffy the Vampire Slayer alum, 43, exclusively told Us Weekly about her and husband Freddie Prinze Jr.‘s holiday plans while promoting her collaboration with Apothic Wines. The actress teamed up with the wine company in October to create an interactive Halloween experience.
“We’re fortunate that this has now happened in a time where we are so technologically connected and this is the one time I’ll allow electronics at the table,” she said. “People will sit at the table together and we’ll be with computers.”
Gellar explained her Thanksgiving dinner with Prinze. Jr, 44, and kids Charlotte, 11, and Rocky, 8, will be hosted outside to allow for social distancing, but noted it’s an option she wishes was available for more people in the U.S.
“Normally we host for a lot of people,” Gellar explained. “We don’t usually travel during Thanksgiving. We usually host it for people that can’t afford to go home or can’t get to their families and we usually do a really big one. And it’s so sad that this year there’s going to be so many people that can’t get home, but I don’t think it’s something that we can actually do. I mean, the beauty of living in California is that our weather usually does hold up until we will be able to do something outside.”
She added, “I know that’s not something that most of the country will be able to do and it really breaks my heart. But again, it’s going to be about forging new connections and making do as we can.”
The Cruel Intentions star is also considering celebrating Thanksgiving in March when she hopes the pandemic will have improved.
“There’s no rule against having Thanksgiving dinner in March, you know?” she said. “Maybe we’ll throw one when things are calmer in the world, but for a March Thanksgiving, we’ll have a lot more to be thankful for.”
Gellar also shared her entertaining tips for the holiday noting that decorations are less important than the food and wine. The actress said she counts “a nice Apothic red” as one of her favorite wines to enjoy.
“I think sometimes we get so bogged down in the tablescape and the settings and the flowers that we forget that it’s about enjoying the meal,” she said. “I always say this when people get married too. I’ve never left a wedding and been like, ‘That was the best floral arrangements I’ve ever seen, that was the best silverware.’ We leave with the memories of togetherness and a meal. So, I just always say to try to focus on that.”
With reporting by Kayley Stumpe