Adamari Lopez Shares Super Cute Holiday Rituals and Plans

Adamari Lopez is a big fan of La Navidad. The Puerto Rican actress and co-host of Telemundo’s morning show Un Nuevo Día shares her holiday plans and traditions in the latest issue of People en Español, which includes exclusive family photographs of her home in Miami in full festive decor.

“Before we used to spend it at my parents’ house and we traveled to Puerto Rico,” she said about how she spent Christmas prior to welcoming daughter Alaïa, 2, with Spanish dancer and choreographer Toni Costa, 34. “Now we enjoy this beautiful tradition in Miami. Waiting for Santa Claus, dining as a family, opening presents; that’s what we used to do when my parents were alive in their house and now we celebrate it in ours.”

Lopez lost her mother Vidalina Torres to cancer in 2012 and her father suffered a heart attack in 2015. She misses them deeply, especially during the holidays, but she honors their memories by keeping their traditions alive and enjoying them with her beau and daughter.

The star told People en Español that she enjoys embellishing her home when fall comes around. “For me the table is essential. It’s important to have a beautiful table with flowers,” she said. Lopez, 46, admits that her family makes fun of her vast storage of plates for every occasion, especially Christmas. This year, she’ll play hostess, a favorite role, and prepare a fancy feast for eight family members. For the party, she’ll decorate her home in festive colors: purple, gold and silver.

“In Nochebuena we make oven-roasted ham, my sister’s recipe,” she said of her menu for Christmas Eve. “I’m not the greatest cook so we divide up the tasks during those days. I love to decorate the table so that it looks spectacular when dinner is served.”

Alaïa is mom’s little helper when it comes time to decorate. “She is so curious. Sometimes she makes a bigger mess when she tries to help out, but she thinks she is helping and we let her do as much as she can. She places the utensils, the wrong way, but she places them,” Lopez jokes. “She’s part of all the house festivities.”

Costa enjoys putting up the Christmas tree with Lopez and their little one and adds his own culinary touch to the holiday with Spanish dishes.

“We do a lot of things to celebrate New Year’s. We wear red or yellow underwear,” she said of their good luck rituals, “and run around the house dragging our suitcases and we voice the positive things we want for the coming year.”