Jaime King On Her New Hallmark Movie Mistletoe Promise and Her Family’s Holiday Traditions
Jaime King is making a Mistletoe Promise.
In the upcoming Hallmark movie, the actress stars as Elise Donner, a divorcee in her 30s who isn’t too fond of Christmas.
One day, Elise meets single attorney, Nick (Luke Macfarlane), and the two end up bonding over their mutual dislike for the holidays. So, Nick proposes a deal to help them both get through the holiday season.
“It’s about two people that really have terrible memories of the holidays and Christmas,” King tells PEOPLE about the movie based on the Richard Paul Evans’ novel of the same name.
“I think that so many people experience that and not everybody has a ‘Holly Jolly Christmas,'” she adds. “ it’s really important to tell stories from that point of view.”
However, in real life the actress loves the holidays. But King admits, she doesn’t like holiday music. “I like holiday music for a couple of days, but my husband is obsessed with holiday music, so it starts playing early November,” she explains.
As for the family’s own holiday traditions? The couple and their two sons, James Knight, 3, and Leo Thames, 15 months, typically spend Christmas with King’s longtime friend (and James Knight’s Godmother), Jessica Alba and her family.
“It’s always really fun. It’s like being with an extended family,” says King, who’s also passed on another cute holiday tradition to her children, which was started by her parents.
“Ever since I was born, my mom and dad would get us an ornament that was very indicative of our personalities,” says King, adding that “anything with chocolate and animals was because had a sweet tooth.”
So when the mom-of-two—who later realized the majority of her childhood ornaments were from Hallmark—was gifted an ornament made from one of the Mistletoe Promise‘s set props, it was that much sweeter to give to her son, James Knight. “It just meant so much to me,” says King.
As for King’s other baby boy, Leo Thames, he’s “now kissing a lot,” shares the proud mama. “ fantastic. He says, ‘I love you,’ and then he kisses you.”
The family also hit a major milestone of their own: their first family vacation, since Leo Thames was born last July.
“Our trip to Maui was amazing,” says King. “We had the Pearl Harbor premiere in Maui and I fell in love with Hawaii then. Particularly, the Four Seasons , I love it there.”
She continues: “It was really, really special to all be together and be in this place that I’ve loved for so long.”
Another new experience for the family? King and her husband are preparing to leave their little ones at home for the first time.
“My husband and I have never left them their whole lives, and we’re getting ready to this Sunday for a couple of nights because I’m going to do Alec Baldwin‘s game show and to support Hillary for election night,” explains King.
She adds: “I’m really nervous because that’s the first time that the two of us have ever been away.”
The Mistletoe Promise premieres this Saturday at 8 p.m. ET on the Hallmark Channel.
