Beverly D’Angelo Reveals Her Dream Christmas Morning (and It’s Nothing Like the Griswold’s)

Watching National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation might be a classic tradition, but a chaotic Griswold-style holiday likely isn’t on your wishlist. Christmas icon Beverly D’Angelo sat down with Better Homes & Gardens to share her ideal Christmas morning, her most special holiday memory, and her best advice for avoiding the pandemonium of a Griswold Christmas.

“The holidays are full of joy, cheer, and, let’s be honest, a little chaos. Everyone’s merry, everyone’s messy, and somehow, someone always ends up sleeping on the couch,” D’Angelo says. This season, she’s is teaming up with Wyndham Rewards to gift members a status upgrade for their holiday stays.

Read on to learn all about D’Angelo’s Christmas plans and hosting advice, and how doing things a little differently than Ellen Griswold did might be the key to a peaceful holiday season.

D’Angelo’s Ideal Christmas Morning: Booking a Stay

D’Angelo’s picture-perfect holiday lineup looks (understandably) quite the opposite of Ellen Griswold’s typical Christmas chaos. Her favorite way to avoid the craziness is to check into a hotel for a little getaway for the Christmas season. “My ideal holiday would be to have all the things taken care of so I could just enjoy it, like making the bed and cleaning the house. So all I have to do is take a bath or take a shower, get dressed, and go out and enjoy everything,” she says.

Her Favorite Holiday Memory

Everyone has a special holiday memory—some are big and some are small. D’Angelo’s is one of those heartwarming stories that remind us all about the true spirit of the season. “My father became a very successful broadcasting executive, but until I was seven, he was a musician who worked at night, and my mom edited a newspaper during the day,” she says.

“Our Christmases meant he would spend the night, so my fondest memory is sneaking down the stairs and seeing my dad build a little set with Lincoln Logs and American Bricks around the Christmas tree, because it wasn’t about gifts; it was about the event. My fondest memory was witnessing that devotion and the fact that it was humble.”

Her Best Advice for Keeping Holiday Chaos at Bay

To avoid the absolute chaos that ensued at the Griswold family’s Christmas, D’Angelo offers straightforward advice to help readers keep their own holiday festivities calm and collected.

“Put your relatives in a hotel. That’s a huge one, because you’re already in such a caretaking position. And the best thing about the holidays is the beautiful event of giving, and it really is about the kids. You want to give your children a snapshot of what pure love is, and Christmas really personifies that,” she says.

“So, cut out as much stress as possible, and you certainly don’t want to have those contretemps with your parents or your relatives, like the Griswolds do.”